How to Use Dramas to Study Korean
Books can be super helpful, but they don’t necessarily help with pronunciation, phrasing, or vocabulary people actually use on a regular basis. That’s where realistic or real-world-like experience comes in handy. Most people who are learning Korean don’t actually live IN Korea or are able to be surrounded by Korean speakers in general. So what should you do? DRAMAS~
Dramas, when used properly, can be an excellent learning tool. But just passively binge watching W may not (and probably won’t) be particularly helpful for most people. So I’m here to help give some tips for using dramas to learn in a fun, yet still educational, way!
~ Web Dramas Are Your Friends ~
For educational purposes, I prefer web dramas to full-length dramas. They usually run anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes long, which is perfect for a quick study session. They also have subtitles in Korean for both the dialogue and the narrator.
My personal favorite channels are:
Love Playlist(?) 연애플레이리스트
But of course, simply typing in 웹드라마 into the search bar on YouTube will allow you to scroll through countless dramas until you find something you like. Once you find a drama you like, it’s time to get started!
Note: I recommend using the same drama/eps for studying until you fully understand each one before moving onto another one. Even if you might be an upper intermediate learner, starting at the beginner steps to make note of vocab or grammar is fine and even helpful! If you’re a beginner and wanna push yourself on your listening, go advanced. Do whatever works best for you. These are just my suggestions.
Try to find a drama that has both English (or whatever language you feel most comfortable with) AND Korean subs up. At the beginner stage, your comprehension and ability to keep up with fast, natural speech is a bit lower, so the subs in your native language will help.
Watch through once and make note of plot lines. What were some phrases that you want/need to know how to say? What were some phrases that you noticed get repeated? Now watch through that same episode again, and by using the Korean subs (to make sure you are spelling correctly), write down those phrases. Practice them aloud. If you feel discouraged, feel free to write down all of the words/phrases you DO know to see your progress~
Same exact concept, but this is for people who have more grammar and vocabulary knowledge. You understand how sentence structure and basic grammar works.
During your watch-thrus, make note of specific words or grammar points you may not know. Do a quick google (or Naver) search after the episode is over.
ex: 몸치 definition; 으면 grammar
This is a good way to get yourself exposed to grammar in natural ways. Don’t overwhelm yourself though. Pick a grammar point or 2 a day to focus on practicing/researching.
Now is a good time to turn those native language subs OFF. You should have a basic understanding of most conversational vocabulary by now and be able to distinguish plot lines and main points in speech. Focus through reading the subs and how they pronounce things. Is there an accent? Are they using formal or informal language? Which words are they emphasizing? Were there any words you had heard or read before but didn’t realize how they were spelt/pronounced? Write those down!
Try to repeat the dialogue. Pause as needed.
Level 4: Upper Intermediate
Work. On. The. Pronunciation! You should be able to get your sentences’ rhythm to match those of the characters. And by that I mean emphasizing the right words and being able to speak longer sentences.
This is when you can also really improve your listening skills. Those Korean subs can make you think you understand more than you do. Sure you know what some words are when you see them? But do you know when you HEAR them? Cover up or turn of the Korean subs. Right down any words or phrases you didn’t know by the sound only (go back and check the subs if you need to). Go through and watch again to see if you can understand more now that you know what to listen for.
Are you ready to listen? Turn that screen brightness down to 0, shut off your phone while the audio plays, turn your laptop around, do whatever you gotta do to NOT look at the screen and just LISTEN. Pick a shorter video and wait til the end (or a longer one and pause after 3-5 minutes) and write down what you heard in major plot points. Who are the characters? What were they talking about? What’s going on? Are there major plot points? A breakup? New neighbor? Job difficulties? How do they sound emotionally? Is there an accent? Are they speaking formally or informally? What setting are they in? What’s the relationship with the characters?
Start with a series you have seen (but maybe not that episode) and then switch to a drama that you have never seen. Hopefully you can still understand most, if not all, of a dialogue even without familiar context.
Writing out the entire script from the subs can be super helpful for you to have as a resource. Handwriting increases your memory more than typing does, but do whatever works best for you. Mark that puppy up! Highlight words you do know, circle ones you don’t, underline grammar you don’t understand, etc. Get yourself a system so you know how to better organize your studies.
Once you feel comfortable, try to write out your own dialogue of any scenario of your choosing to see how much conversational skill you ACTUALLY have. Are there words or phrases you want to say but don’t know how to say them correctly? This will help you know what to focus on during your next study session!
