Are you currently studying Korean and also love to read? Then Korean short stories can be perfect for you! Of course, you may not immediately be reading an entire novel in Korean. However, you can enjoy numerous Korean stories while your Korean reading comprehension and language skills soar.
Reading can be one of the most fun and fastest ways to learn Korean – not to mention one of the most valuable methods to do so. So, how do you then get started finding these short stories in the Korean language that is a perfect fit for you? If you keep reading, we’ll let you know!
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Why should you read short stories in Korean?
There are various reasons why you should add some short stories in Korean into your life.
They are easy to understand
They usually have a plot that’s easier to follow in comparison to a full-fledged novel. Their vocab may be easier to comprehend since many stories are directed toward a young audience. You no longer need to rely on Korean romanization to know what the story is about.
With the help of these stories, you can better understand Korean grammar and the general way of writing. Plus, you’ll get more accustomed to Korean idioms and whatnot!
They are fun to read
Additionally, studying Korean through something imaginative and creative, rather than a traditional school book, is a lot more fun. And on the side, it may easily help you build your creativity in Korean and enhance how you learn by letting you not overthink it.
You’ll know more about Korea
Not to mention, reading these stories is also a gateway to knowing more about Korean culture – both traditional and modern – and, naturally, getting a deeper understanding of the way a Korean person thinks, speaks, and behaves. So, if Korean culture interests you, reading these stories in Korean seems like a must!
How to learn Korean by reading Korean short stories and fairy tales?
Now that you know why you should read these stories, here are some ways to do it.
Choose stories that you know about
If possible, start by reading short stories that you are already familiar with. It is more understandable, even if your understanding of Korean isn’t perfect, when you already know the characters and what it is about. That way, you can focus on picking up specific vocabulary and grammar structures.
You also will not be met immediately with frustration over understanding the narrative itself and having to stop translating every sentence. You can indeed find some world-famous stories translated into Korean by searching online!
Take notes
Whether the stories you are reading are familiar or new, take some notes. Create a list of Korean words like nouns, grammar, phrases, and sentences. It’s incredibly beneficial to write them all down, even if it may seem like a tedious task. But it will help you remember them better, and not forget them quickly, and you’ll thank yourself for it later.
Once you’ve gone over and translated all that you’ve written down, and spent a little bit of time memorizing them, try reading through the story again. During this review, see how much you understood without the dictionary. It’ll also help you a great deal with your Korean studies if you can officially include reading stories into your Korean routine.
Take it slow
Lastly, although these stories are described as short, there is no need to read the whole story in one sitting if it feels too overwhelming, especially for beginners. It is totally fine to read just a little bit each time!
Even if you just read once a week, you’ll have done an excellent reading practice and created huge progress as you learned a lot of new useful, and interesting words.
Resources for Korean Short Stories
Reading is the best way to learn languages for some. Here are some links to useful books, sites, and apps with short stories to help you with your Korean studies.
90 Day Korean Short Stories. This resource will provide you with a downloadable PDF with short stories followed by short exercises to test your comprehension. It’ll also provide you with tips on how you can improve your reading skills and ways how to use the PDF.
Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners. This resource was put together with intermediate Korean learners specifically in mind. It will even develop a word list to speed up your search for unfamiliar and difficult vocabulary.
Story Korean. On this free website, you can find stories in Korean for both beginner-level and intermediate learners. These stories also come up with a word list and even cultural notes. There are only a few stories on this website, but all of them are popular stories that all Korean children have heard many times, such as bedtime stories or otherwise.
Beelinguapp. This is a website and application with which you can study Korean by reading different texts and stories. It has a couple of cool functions, such as suggesting to you which words you should pay particular attention to and listening to audio as you read the texts in Korean through videos. Whether you’re learning English, Korean, Spanish, or other languages, you can find them here.
Naver Manhwa. Reading Korean webcomics can also be seen as a type of short story. The free Naver website has a huge collection that they post for you to read. As it’s a Korean website for Koreans, it may be a little tougher to navigate, but once you find some cool manhwas to read, you’ll start having a blast.
Korean Comics. This is more of a blog-like website that you can use to read Korean stories and learn new words and speaking patterns.
Wrap Up
Using the resources above can definitely improve your reading skills and Korean language skills in general!
You can also refer to our blog post on Korean children’s books to find something to read. While children’s books and fairy tales are not the same as short stories, it’s an excellent resource for learning Korean. After all, even Korean children learn to read Korean by reading these books. You can also access a course on Korean stories by signing up for our 90 Day Korean membership.
Now you know what benefits can come from reading Korean stories and some awesome sites to get started reading them! Have you ever read Korean short stories before? And what kind of stories do you typically like to read? Let us know in the comments!
