FSI Korean Basic Course (new)

What is the FSI Korean Basic Course?

This FSI Korean basic course first appeared in 1968, but despite its age, it is one of the easier FSI courses to study. It provides a highly comprehensive introduction to the Korean language and consists of two parts, comprising a total of almost 50 units and many hours of audio.

In the first part, a system of transliteration is used, but since Hangul is so easy to master, the second part is written only in Korean script with an English translation next to it.

This means that, unlike many other FSI courses, you will be able to use this material to practice reading Korean rather than just speaking and listening.

How was FSI Korean Basic originally used?

FSI Korean was originally created for US diplomatic staff who needed to learn the language before being sent to postings abroad.

They had around 20 hours of class time per week, during which they spoke only Korean, and they were also expected to complete at least two hours of personal study per day.

Even when they weren’t studying, they were expected to speak only Korean among themselves, and in these perfect conditions, they were able to reach a high level of proficiency in Korean in around only six months.

How can you use FSI Korean Basic?

Although you probably can’t recreate anything like the conditions enjoyed by US diplomats, if you know how to adapt them to your needs, you can benefit greatly from the wealth of learning materials found in this FS Korean course.

If you are studying Korean with another coursebook, you can use the dialogs and drills contained in this course to work on your pronunciation and fluency.

Alternatively, since this material is so well-written and easy to use, you could use it as your primary source of Korean language input, supplementing it with any other material you can find.

Taking it further

When learning a language, you need to start using it as early as possible, and for this reason, once you begin this free Korean course, we also urge you to take your Korean and put it to use in the real world.

Find Korean friends you can practice with and look for every opportunity to speak Korean. Then, when you do this, you will be able to see the progress you have already made in this challenging but rewarding tongue.