Book Review - Elementary Korean

Book Review - Elementary Korean

Cover of the book Elementary Korean

Elementary Korean by Ross King and Jaehoon Yeon, and Insun Lee is a great textbook for people starting Korean up to upper-beginners. The book is composed of 13 lessons and two review chapters. The first four lessons focus on reading and writing individual characters, and learning how to pronounce Korean words. The remaining lessons consist of one to four dialogues and reading passages on conversational and practical topics, such as introducing oneself, booking a train ticket, or deciding what to eat and ordering at restaurants. Each lesson also introduces vocabulary relevant to the theme of the readings, and corresponding grammar points.

Positives about Elementary Korean:
– Contains everything to get started in Korean, reach a level sufficient for basic conversation with strangers and friends, and building a solid foundation for further Korean studies.
– The progression in difficulty is very gradual like other books in this series, so the reader does not feel lost as long as the order of the book is folowed.
– The pronunciation rules at the beginning of the book (especially Lesson 4) go well beyond most books targeted to beginners, and are a great reference even for intermediate and advanced learners who need a refresher.
– The authors highlighted the most common mistakes that learners make in big grey boxes, making them impossible to miss.
– The book comes with an audio CD containing all the spoken dialogues, words and phrases, making the book a great investment for autodidacts.
– For the most part, the dialogues are relatable, making it easier to understand the context of use of specific words.
– The grammar points are well written and easy to understand.
– Pronunciation written in English is fortunately confined to the first four chapters, forcing the reader to memorize hangeul before progressing to Lesson 5.
– The dialogues are translated and the exercises solved at the end of the book (great for self-study).
– Mastering this book should be enough to pass TOPIK I Level 2.

Negatives about Elementary Korean:
– The lists of vocabulary given at each lesson are almost always over the top, especially for readers new to Korean. For example, the list in Lesson 5 (the first lesson with dialogues) has the words 수입품 (imported goods) and 외교관 (diplomat). While 수입품 is used in the dialogue (which probably could have been avoided altogether), KoniKorean doubts the usefulness of teaching 외교관 to beginner learners.

This book is highly recommended by KoniKorean for newcomers to Korean up to upper-beginners who want to have solid bases before moving on to more advanced books, and for people studying for TOPIK I.

Elementary Korean on KoniKorean

KoniKorean has published a few study companions to lessons from Elementary Korean. Links below point to lessons already published on KoniKorean. If you want notes for a lesson that has not been published yet, please leave a comment on this page or submit a request.

Table of contents of Elementary Korean (condensed)

  1. Basic Expressions
  2. More Basic Expressions
  3. Korean Writing and Basic Pronunciation
  4. Further Pronunciation Guidelines
  5. This is my wife.
  6. Excuse me, but where is the Plaza Hotel?
  7. Where do they sell tickets to 대전?
  8. Aren't you taking any other subjects?
  9. Did you have a good weekend?
  10. Review 1
  11. I'm 21. I was born in 1987.
  12. I like plays, but I don't like music much.
  13. I just called a moment ago, but nobody answers.
  14. 동대문 Market is probably the best, right?
  15. Review 2

Table of contents of Elementary Korean (full)

  1. Basic Expressions
  2. More Basic Expressions
  3. Korean Writing and Basic Pronunciation
  4. Further Pronunciation Guidelines
    1. Automatic Voicing of Plain ㅂ ㄷ ㅈ ㄱ
    2. Non-release of Final Consonants
    3. The Gang of Sever: ㄹ ㅁ ㄴ ㅇ ㅂ ㄷ ㄱ
    4. Other Gang of Seven Situations
    5. When the Gang of Seven Gets Up Your Nose
    6. Peculiarities of the Korean ㄹ
    7. Automatic Doubling
    8. Leapfrogging ㅎ h
    9. Pronunciation of ㅌ before i
    10. Long and Short Vowels
    11. The Names of the Korean Letters
  5. This is my wife.
    1. Pronouns in Korean
    2. Sentence Subjects in 이/가 and Topics in 은/는
    3. The Copula and Equational Sentences
    4. The Particle 도
    5. Expressing Possession with the Particle 의
    6. Nouns
  6. Excuse me, but where is the Plaza Hotel?
    1. Existence and Location with 있어요 and 없어요
    2. Possession with 있어요 and 없어요
    3. Location Particle 에
    4. Particle 하고
    5. Place Nouns
    6. More about 은/는
    7. Answering Negative Questions
    8. Plural Marker 들
  7. Where do they sell tickets to 대전?
    1. Verbs: The Polite Style and the Infinitive
    2. Korean Verbs with Consonant Bases
    3. The Dictionary Form of Korean Verbs
    4. Three Types of Special Consonant Base
    5. Korean Verbs with Vowel Bases
    6. Direct Object Particle 을/를
    7. Particle of Direction 에/한테/에서/한테서 (see Usage of –에 on KoniKorean)
    8. Static and Dynamic Location 에/에서 (see Usage of –에 on KoniKorean)
    9. Using Location to Express Possession
    10. Different Kinds of Verbs
    11. More on the Particle 도
    12. Placement of Manner Adverbs
  8. Aren't you taking any other subjects?
    1. Verbs: Short Negatives with 안 and 못
    2. Verbs: Honorifics
    3. Verbal Nouns: Processive and Descriptive
    4. More on Adverbs
    5. More New Particles: Instrumental (으)로
    6. More New Particles: (이)랑
    7. Particle Sequences
  9. Did you have a good weekend?
    1. Verbs: Past tense
    2. The Particle 과/와
    3. Ways to Say (together) with
    4. Ways to say like
    5. The Purposive Form –(으)러
    6. Expressing Wishes with –고 싶어요 (see V–고 싶다 on KoniKorean)
  10. Review 1
  11. I'm 21. I was born in 1987.
    1. Numbers and Counting
    2. Numerals in Time Expressions
    3. Four New Particles: 마다, 만, 씩, 쯤
    4. The particles 부터 and 까지
    5. Formal Style
  12. I like plays, but I don't like music much.
    1. Verbs: Suspective Form –지
    2. Use of the Suspective –지
    3. The Particle 도: Noun Agreement
    4. Suggestions and Tentative Questions with –(으)ㄹ까요
    5. Thinking of Doing... with –(으)ㄹ까 해요
    6. The Adverb 또, Particle 도, and Pseudo-particle (이)나
    7. More Ways to Say or
    8. The 'wanna' Form in –(으)ㄹ래(요)
    9. Meanings for 좋아요 and Related Words
  13. I just called a moment ago, but nobody answers.
    1. Verbs: the Sequential Form –(으)니(까)
    2. Honorifics: Nouns and Particles
    3. Kinship Terms
    4. Probable Futures with –(으)ㄹ 거에요
    5. Rhetorical Retorts in –잖아요
    6. Is doing with –고 있어요
    7. As soon as with –자마자
  14. 동대문 Market is probably the best, right?
    1. Way to Say only: 만 plus AFFIRMATIVE, 밖에 plus NEGATIVE
    2. Another Use of (이)나 as many as
    3. Expressions for Going and Coming
    4. Verbs: Future-Presumptives in –겠–
    5. Verbs: Past-Future and Past-Past
    6. Immediate futures in –(으)ㄹ게요
    7. Synopsis: Types of Base and Types of Future
    8. Suppositives in –지요
    9. Synopsis: Compatibility of –겠– with Endings Previously Learned
  15. Review 2