How To Self Study Korean Alone – the “Snowball” Method

Annyeong!

Want to learn Korean by yourself?

Good news—you CAN do it. In fact, tons of people around the world are doing it right now.

And you’re smart enough to do it. After all, you’re here… reading this “How to self-study Korean” guide.

So here’s a step-by-step guide on how to learn Korean by yourself. Plus, I’ll introduce a “snowball” method that had me hooked on learning Korean.

Learning Korean Alone: Resources & First Steps

So, every learner wants to know two things:

• What resources should you use?
• What’s your first step?

A. The Alphabet (Hangul)

First things first: Learn Hangul, the Korean alphabet.

This is your first step — your foundation, so don’t skip it.

Honestly, you can learn Hangul online for free… and it won’t take long. Or hey, you can pick it up with whatever Korean textbook you are using. Trust me on this—your life will be 1000 times easier once you know Hangul.

Why? Because unlike English, Korean words are written exactly as they sound. You can read anything in Korean once you know Hangul.

B. Speaking & Listening

Now, everyone wants to speak Korean.

But here’s the problem: You can’t just read, passively watch YouTube, or “tap on apps” your way to speaking.

You need to actually listen and speak.

So, what do you… if you want to learn Korean by yourself?

Audio lessons are your best friend. Get yourself some Korean lessons where you can hear native speakers. Listen. Repeat. Speak out loud.

You know what’s even better? Repetition. Play the same audio again and again. So it sticks into your brain guaranteed.

For that, I suggest KoreanClass101.com. They’ve got audio lessons that’ll have you speaking from Day 1.

C. Reading & Writing

Learning Hangul was the first step…

But you’ll need something to take your reading and writing to the next level.

And to be honest, a good textbook will do you better than some app. Why? Well, textbooks are structured. They take you from zero to learning the Hangul, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, and so on. They guide you in a linear fashion from start to finish.

You need that linear structure if you want to self study Korean.

And most apps fail here…

Some suggestions?

Integrated Korean Textbook (used by schools and colleges). Click here to see it on Amazon

Korean from Zero textbook – a learner favorite. Click here to see it on Amazon

But what if you already have some book or app that you bought? 

Good, then stick with that.

The worst thing you can do is to go on a resource hunt, looking for the “perfect” method and wasting time in the process.

I’ll say it now — aiming for perfection is dangerously dumb.

You’ll only slow yourself down and you’ll forever be looking for the next shiniest thing… instead of focusing on improving your Korean.

So, if you got something, stick with it.

Don’t worry about the “best possible” program. Only people wanting to fail do that.

Now….

Why the Heck Are You Learning Korean?

Now that you know your first steps… and you got your resources…

This is the next step.

Why are you learning Korean?

Some people do it for K-Pop. Others for K-dramas. Some do it for a mix of the two – the K-popadrama. Others for family and heritage. Some are living there so they need the language.

And finally… those that do it just because they want to. Like me!

Some of these reasons are powerful motivators — living there.

Some reasons are weak.

Don’t worry about this — people with “weak” reasons succeed. People with strong reasons fail all the time. Strong reasons don’t guarantee success… and weak reasons don’t doom you to fail.

But you need to know your reason because…

• it’s motivation (it gets you started)
• it’s a benchmark (did you reach your goal yet?)
• it shows you progress (you started at zero – how close are you now?)
• and it gives you purpose

It’s like Nietzsche said…

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

A person with NO reason (weak or strong) will fail.

A person with a reason (weak or strong) will succeed.

Consistency is King

I’ll start with some bad news…

Many self-learners fail.

They’ll start Korean with some book or app.

Maybe they’ll try to learn for a week. Then they start falling off.

Why?

Well, the reasons are many. Bored. Life. Busy. School. Work. No Progress. Excuse #7. Blame their resource. Excuse #8. Excuse #9. Look, it doesn’t matter what the dang reason was because it was 99.9% not the reason.

The biggest reason why they fail is… they don’t understand consistency.

Now, I warn you.

This part will sound like SELF-HELP preaching. And it is because…

 …no book, app, online article or YouTube video that will save you. Not me. Not this article. No-one. Only you can save yourself. I can’t do it for you.

If you’re not doing it, you’re letting yourself fail. That’s all there is to it.

If you’re learning all alone…

It’s a bit harder than having people push you.

Which is why consistency becomes so important.

So, if you want to self study Korean, you need to brainwash yourself and understand that….

If you can’t understand this… you’ll never learn Korean… or anything else.

I’m sure you have that one friend that starts new hobbies, quits, and starts something else. Yeah, don’t be him.

You need to be consistent.

Just think about it…

• Why do bodybuilders spend most of their time in the gym?
• Why do people who consistently eat burgers get fat?
• Why do athletes practice consistently?
• Why is your favorite musician so good?
• And why do the kids that started playing piano or programming at a young age (and never stopped) so good now?

Time. Effort. Long period of time.

They all understand consistency. For some people, it’s built into them. They understand it innately. They’re the ones that usually started young. Because they were raised on it. So they can easily continue it.

Others had to practice hard to get it.

So how do you get consistent with learning Korean?

Here’s a story.

A student came to a Zen Master and said “Please give some wisdom that will help me pay attention.”

So, the old Master wrote “Attention” on a chalkboard.

“Is that it?” Asked the student.  So, the old Master wrote “Attention” again.

“But that’s not wise or profound. Give me something that will shake my mind” whined the student.

Again, the old Master wrote “Attention” on a chalkboard.

Attention. Attention. Attention.

The student demanded “What does this Attention mean??”

Attention means attention” replied the master.

You see, the student was looking for something deep to stir his soul…

This is the mistake most learners make…

This is the mistake people make when reading self-help books. We’re all looking for some incredible inspirational truth. And once we stumble upon and read this magical truth…  it will penetrate our soul. Suddenly, our minds will become clear. Our vision will become sharpen back into perfect focus. Our stuff noses will clear up. Our sense of smell will become stronger… and we will be… different. 

Except… it doesn’t work that way. Never did. Never will.

(Otherwise, it would have happened and you wouldn’t be reading this.)

See, instead of practicing the damn thing, people go to read about the damn thing. Just like learning Korean, same goes for learning piano, dance, cooking, business, or anything….

Rule of life: through physical practice, you develop the mental habits. Through the physical, you develop the mental.

So, to be consistent, you must practice being consistent. You must DO. You must make a habit of doing it every day or every 5 days out of the week.

If you’re not actually doing the studying, the speaking practice, and the reviewing…. you’re never going to get it.

The Snowball Method to Consistency

For you to understand consistency…

…and understand why NOW is the best time to learn Korean (and toss aside this guide – you can always come back later)

I want to introduce to the snowball method.

The snowball is a very accurate metaphor to how progress works.

So, imagine a snowball.

If you roll it in snow, it grows. If you stop, it stops. If you stop, it can start melting.

Now, if you roll two snowballs down a really long snowy mountain… and one pauses and the other keeps going, the one that keeps going will be forever bigger than the one that stopped for a moment.

Think of your progress and your routine as a snowball.

Look at routine A and routine B in the image below.

With A, you skip a day. With B, you keep on going.

You see?

If you kept on going, your Korean would be so much further ahead.

By skipping, you’re losing…

1. Day 3’s progress
2. Future progress made thanks to day 3’s progress

And the second one is something you can’t gain back. It’s like missing the one and only train that comes by. You can chase it but you’ll never catch it.

What’s even worse is that you’re also losing…

3. Your existing progress.

Remember, your brain works on a use-it-or-lose-it basis. So you’re also losing what you’ve already learned.

But you’re also gaining something else.

You see, we humans are creatures of habit. Our habits tend to define us. So, if you’re consistently learning Korean, your brain understands that this is who you are and this is your identity. When you stop rolling this snowball…

You start rolling another – the snowball of laziness and inconsistency, and it’s going to get stronger the more you keep at it. You’re going to gain an identity of laziness and inconsistency.

Are you feeling guilty yet? Good.

So, that’s why NOW is the best time to start. You can make Korean progress right now. Then, tomorrow. And if you keep that snowball rolling, the better you get.

But, the more you delay it, the more you lose.

Something to keep in mind when you’re self-studying Korean.

How Much Korean Should You Learn Right Now?

Alright, before you rush out all motivated…

…and spend the next 2 hours with a Korean textbook…

Stop.

First, cramming and overwhelming yourself doesn’t work for honest learning. Passing tests, maybe. True learning, no.

• Learners who steamroll through their first few days fail in the long run.

Let me say that in another way…

• People tend to jump in and give it their all. They overwhelm themselves with big goals. They think they should suffer for hours and hours. Sure you need hours. But not now and now tomorrow. It’s like gym. You can’t lift 200kg or pounds on your first day… and nor should you study for 2 hours. You don’t need to.

Put in just 5, 10, or 15 minutes a day, and then walk away.

“But 5 mInUteS wiLl nOt mAke me FluenT!!”

I know.

But learning a language is a marathon, not a sprint. 5 minutes won’t get you fluent but…

• It adds up
• it will help you become consistent
• it will strengthen your habits and make it harder to quit
• and you will be able to spend more time later

Later.

Language learning is about 2 things — what you do now and what you’ll be doing in 1 or 2 years. Sure, you should learn some now… but what REALLY matters is that you’re still at it 1 or 2 years from now.

Set Small & Easy Goals

If you want to self study Korean, goals are important.

Earlier, I mentioned that people fail because of big, vague goals.

Like, “I want to be fluent.”

Oh yea? How? How soon? How will you get there?

When they realize that this goal is way too overwhelming, they give up.

Don’t be like them. Set goals that are:

• Small and easy – Why? So you can easily get to it.
  • example – learn 50 phrases in 1 month.
• Measurable – Why? So you know when you reach it.
  • example – 50 phrases is measurable
• Have a Deadline – Why? To give you the push to reach it. Otherwise, you’ll be forever “trying to learn” with no direction.
  • example – end of the month, by say… December 31st.

Following this approach guarantees that…

1. Your goal is realistic.

2. You know how much progress you’ve made.

3. Inspires you to aim a little higher.

And 4… you actually learn Korean along the way.

To do now:

Before you self study Korean…

• Write down your small goal for the month. Write it down in the comments!

Back to You

Now you have everything you need to self study Korean.

I mean, yea, you still need to go and learn the language…

But you will have a good approach and mindset for it with this guide.

If it has helped you, feel free to leave a comment.

I read ’em all.