It is time for another compilation post, written by yours truly. I was sitting, one day, watching my fifty million Korean TV Shows and dramas. While doing this, I thought to myself “Which shows did I wish I knew about when I began learning Korean?” Hence, my list of “Best TV Shows to Watch to Learn Korean”.
Obviously the following list is not all inclusive as to what shows you should watch, but these are a number of suggestions that will greatly help you learn Korean speech patterns, pronunciation, and also help you reinforce your skills, as these shows will all help reinforce your listening and reading skills. If you are like me, and yell at the TV while watching it, they may also help with your speaking skills as well.
Let’s get started!
Best TV Shows to Watch to Learn Korean
Reality and Variety
Running Man (런닝맨)
Running Man is by far one of my favorite TV Shows on Korean television. It was also one of the most useful shows that I have watched to date. All of the regular cast members are so dynamic when they speak that it really helps reinforce certain phrases. On top of all of that, a lot of those bubbles that add to the story, or repeat what the characters are saying on the screen. It really helps reinforce words that you just learned, and also shows you how to spell them.
The show also teaches you about Korean culture. Most weeks there are special guest who appear on the show who are in various professions. Sometimes there are comedians, actors, musicians, idols, etc. They even do episodes on Korean History, different provinces around the nation. On top of all of that, occasionally they travel to different neighboring countries and teach you a lot about the local cuisine.
For someone learning Korean, I cannot emphasize more the importance of watching a show like this. It is fun, hysterical, and it teaches you quite a bit about Korean culture. Plus, there are over 8 years of episodes for you to watch. You will really learn a lot from this one.
This show can be watched on DramaFever and Kocowa.
Roommate (룸메이트)
Although this reality show is no longer on the air, I learned a lot about Korean culture and home life through this show. It really helps you understand the confucian hierarchy system that they have over there, as well as speaking to those around you. While watching this show, you should especially pay attention to when they use 반말 (half speech) and 존댓말 (formal speech) and who the celebrities use which form of speech with.
The general principle of this show is that a bunch of Korean celebrities are put into a home share together, and have to learn how to live with each other. It is the most tame and adorable show that I have ever seen. The show also features this clip of EXO’s Chanyeol:
Not only is the show adorably funny, but it is very useful for learning Korean. Besides listening for formalities and informalities, the celebrities on here are speak relatively slow and clearly, so it is pretty good to watch to learn the language. There are also long moments of silence with text on the screen, so you can practice your reading skills.
This show is available on Dramafever for you all to watch.
Knowing Bros (아는 형님)
If you have never seen Knowing Bros. before, I highly recommend it. The whole concept of the show is that they are all students at a school where they are introducing themselves. They play games, and tell fun facts about themselves through the whole thing. The show is hysterically funny, and will teach you a little bit of adult humor that you can pull out inthe right circumstances.
Since this entire show is shot using informal language, 반말, it is very interesting to watch how some younger people come on the show feel using informal speech to the older members. It adds a layer of complexity to the language that although illustrated in Roommate in some situations, it comes out far more frequently in Knowing Bros.
Like the previously mentioned shows, this show also uses the subtitles in the fun fonts that reinforce what the characters are saying. If you hsut the subtitles off, when you feel comfortable enough ,you can still understand what is happening.
This show is available on Netflix and Dramafever. One note about Netflix: I don not believe you can shut the subtitles off.
Dramas
Goblin: The Great and Lonely God (쓸쓸하고 찬란하신 – 도깨비 )
This show is absolutely AMAZING. If you want to watch an extremely engaging drama that will also teach you a lot of terms that you probably have never learned before, I highly recommend that you watch this show. Goblin: The Great and Lonely God goes back and forth between the past and the present, so you can learn a lot old “Shakespeake” style Korean, and modern Korean. It also shows you a bit about different formality levels that aren’t used in modern Korean.
On top of all of that, the plot of this drama will make you both laugh and sob uncontrollably. The story is something truly wonderful and compelling.
You can watch this show on Dramafever.
Birth of a Beauty (미녀의 탄생)
Okay, so this one is on this list, mainly because I really like it. There are a number of things you can learn from it though! For starters, the Korean sense of humor. You can also learn about how Koreans express themselves, and their emotions, in general (which can be done on all of these shows). In general, from observation, Koreans are more likely to show their emotions , in comparison to Westerners. It’s very interesting to observe.
This show also has a great story that deals with revenge, and plastic surgery, as well as many other things that are “Korean”. It really touches on a lot of topics that are relevant issues in Korean society today. This one is also very popular in Korea, which is why it has to be on the TV Shows to Watch to Learn Korean list.
You can watch this on DramaFever.
My Love from Another Star (별에서 온 그대)
Okay, this section is just a lot of dramas that I love at this point. Ages ago, I wrote a post on how much I love this drama. I actually even made my dad watch it with me, which I talk about in that post. the actors in this drama are so good, and the plot is so good that you all just need to watch this one. Plus, it was actually incredibly popular in Korea when it came out.
Just watch this one, you’ll learn something for sure. You’ll also be held captive by the story. It will make learning Korean easy!
This drama can also be watched on DramaFever.
Uncontrollably Fond ( 함부로 애틋하게)
This drama will have you in tears from basically start to finish. I think I sobbed through the whole second half of it. The premise of this show is that a famous actor finds out he is dying of an un-curable cancer. The goal for the remaining part of his life: get back the love of his life from college. This story is truly beautiful, and the worst part is, you know how it ends when it starts.
Like the previously mentioned dramas, this drama will help teach you new vocabulary, with a bit of light medical vocab, speech patterns, intonation, and lots of romance talk. You’ll learn a lot about romance in this one. This is actually the cutest, saddest drama ever. You will not regret watching it, just intermix it with one of the variety shows above!
You can watch this show on Dramafever as well.
Final Thoughts
I know that this list of shows stops at seven, but there are so many that you all should watch. If I didn’t stop now, I don’t know when I would. That’s not to say this list will not be expanded upon at a later date. I am constantly watching new shows, so there are always new ones to see.
As for a starter list of TV Shows to watch to learn Korean, this is an excellent place to start, especially with the variety shows! People say you should watch the news, and things like that. I personally find that very boring. If you need to read the news, read short little things about it. Don’t watch ah hour and a half, unless it is celebrity gossip news!
What Korean TV Shows are your favorites, K-Nuggets? Let me know in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
