Essential Korean Podcast

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This podcast is brought to you by Kay, a veteran Korean teacher and author of several Korean language books, including Korean Through Folktales, Essential Korean for Daily Conversation, and Online Learning Module for Advanced and Superior Korean. If you want to learn from a teacher who explains the nuances of the Korean language and its grammar, asks you questions, and practices with you using real-life examples, this podcast is for you.

Join our vibrant community of learners! Connect with other listeners of this podcast and access comprehensive resources for learning Korean at my.essentialkorean.com. If you're looking for a structured learning environment, check out our weekly classes available through our Premium Membership plan at essentialkorean.com/membership.

For any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at contact@essentialkorean.com. 

We look forward to seeing you in the next episode!

58. Korea Unscripted Ep. 1: 딱 맞아!, 맥사 Maeksa, and the Korean Language of Everyday Life
May 24, 2025 – 24:33
1-Minute Announcement from EK
Apr 8, 2025 – 01:05
57. -지요 in Korean: A Lesson in Language and Love—A Tribute to My Father
Mar 6, 2025 – 33:00
56. Connecting with Han Kang—Korea's First Nobel Laureate in Literature: A Tribute and Language Lesson
Oct 30, 2024 – 37:52
55. Speaking the Language of Olympic Victory: Korea’s '효자 종목' and Archery
Sep 3, 2024 – 29:22
54. Navigating Essential Particles 부터, 에서, 까지, 로/으로, and More
Aug 10, 2024 – 29:04
53. Korean Cinema & Music: A Journey Through 'ㅆ을까
Nov 9, 2023 – 24:07
52. Mastering Korean Food Verbs for Iconic Korean Dishes
Jul 16, 2023 – 31:20
51. How To Use Question Word 몇 for Numbers and Classifiers in Korean
May 23, 2023 – 25:42
50. How To Say 'YOU' in Korean
Apr 3, 2023 – 25:47
49. How To Express Wants or Wishes Part 2: What He/She/They Want (3rd Persons)
Jan 30, 2023 – 29:38
48. How To Express Wants or Wishes Part 1: What 'I' or 'We' Want
Dec 9, 2022 – 24:59
47. 사랑해 줘 Love me VS. 사랑해 주세요 Love me - The difference?
Nov 21, 2022 – 17:03
46. At a Cafe in Korea: What You Will Hear and How To Order
Nov 8, 2022 – 22:46
45. Wrap Up Korean Future Tense (Part 3) + Fun Hypothetical Question! 🇰🇷✨
Oct 24, 2022 – 27:56
44. Future Tense in Polite & Casual Styles + Music Break 🎶🇰🇷
Oct 10, 2022 – 15:17
43. Deep Dive into the Korean Future Tense (Part 2) : Action vs. Descriptive Verbs 🇰🇷✨
Sep 16, 2022 – 25:21
42. Learn the Future Tense in Korean (Part 1) + Irregular Verbs! 🇰🇷✨
Sep 6, 2022 – 17:16
41. Master Colloquial Pronunciation of 고 & Build Complex Sentences in Korean! 🇰🇷✨ (& Tribute to Extraordinary Attorney Woo!)
Aug 16, 2022 – 26:14
40. Combine Korean Past Tense with the 고 Conjunctive! 🇰🇷✨
Aug 8, 2022 – 22:56
39. How to Form the Past Tense in Korean Step-by-Step (Part 1 with situational examples)
Jul 31, 2022 – 24:58
38. Explore "아깝다" + Master the -고 Conjunctive (Part 2) with a Classic Korean Song!
Jun 10, 2022 – 32:37
37. Introducing Your First Verb Conjunctive: The 고 Conjunctive (Part 1)
May 9, 2022 – 28:23
36. More Situational Examples: Present Tense & Its Meanings (Bonus: 김치찌개 recipe!)
Mar 29, 2022 – 21:06
35. Korean Present Tense Form & Its Meanings
Mar 19, 2022 – 21:40
34. How To Use Particle 에 l Part 3: Temporal
Jan 23, 2022 – 20:40
33. How To Use Particle 에 l Part 2: Destination
Jan 6, 2022 – 17:34
32. How To Use Particle 에 l Part 1: Locational
Nov 30, 2021 – 22:28
31. "How Do I Study Korean?" Tips for Beginners & Advanced Learners
Oct 13, 2021 – 16:51
30.5. Korean Pop Music & the Language
Sep 24, 2021 – 11:22
30. How To Use Particle 만
Jul 15, 2021 – 17:06
29. When NOT To Use Particle 을/를 (Part 2 of 을/를!)
Jul 4, 2021 – 11:53
28. How To Use The Object Particle 을/를
Jun 22, 2021 – 21:56
27. Particles Comparison: How To Use Particle 이/가 and Particle 은/는
Jun 7, 2021 – 17:26
26. How To Say the Days of the Week + Ask "What Do You Think?" in Korean
May 5, 2021 – 21:54
25. Learn More Korean Numbers (20 to 90 in increments of 10) & New Noun Connector 와/과
Mar 31, 2021 – 24:50
24. Learn to Count 6-10 in Korean + Master the Particle 도
Feb 23, 2021 – 25:42
23. How To Count in Korean (Yay, we’re learning numbers!) & Use Korean Numbers in Conversation
Jan 30, 2021 – 17:00
22. How To Do 은/는 Particle Contractions + Sentence Connectors in Korean
Jan 15, 2021 – 21:56
21. Learn to Build Longer Sentences in Korean: Learn 하고, 그리고, and 은/는!
Dec 15, 2020 – 24:29
20. How To Use Korean Particle 은/는 as Topic & Contrastive Particle in Sentences (Yes, we're now learning Korean particles!)
Nov 27, 2020 – 24:11
19. How To Express What Someone Doesn't Do in Korean (Verb Negation)
Nov 11, 2020 – 23:06
18. How To Make Korean Sentences with Pronouns 'I,' 'we,' my,' and 'our' & 10 More Action Verbs
Oct 30, 2020 – 26:32
17. How To Make Korean Sentences with Pronouns 'I' and 'we' & 13 Action Verbs
Sep 12, 2020 – 19:40
16. Korean Speech Levels: Learn with K-Dramas and K-Pop (With 6 Verbs of Daily Routine)
Aug 24, 2020 – 19:48
15. Demystifying Korean Speech Styles: Polite vs. Casual
Aug 1, 2020 – 09:50
14. Master the Foundations and Basic Concepts of Korean Grammar
Jul 13, 2020 – 15:30
13. Learn How to Use 있다 & 없다: Presence, Absence, and Possession in Korean 🇰🇷✨
Jun 21, 2020 – 17:35
12. Basic Sentence Structure of Korean
Jun 13, 2020 – 12:59
11. Real-Life Korean Conversations: Review Episodes 1-10!
May 21, 2020 – 16:37

Recent Reviews

Cute 💜 bts

So good

This podcast is really good even if you don’t have any experience with Korean it’s so well explained and helps me memorize vocabulary
Itsamekiki

Wish there was more

I really love this podcast! I learn a lot more from her teaching style, I wish she posted more episodes more frequently, I finished all of them and I would listen to them on my commute to work. I prefer this to TTMIK
SoniaSonvida

Best Korean podcast

If you love K dramas and want to learn Korean, this is the best companion I have found to understand the grammar of Korean, how this language fits together. Kay is a patient and delightful teacher. And thank you Teacher Kay for creating this podcast and the EK website.
Salinger042001

Perfect

This is PERFECT. It’s so helpful and easy to follow-I love it so much I joined the EK site. This makes it so much easier to learn as a complete novice to Korean.
halloweenbean

Amazing! Gamsahabnida Kay!

This podcast is really amazing as a companion to Duolingo or some other learning system. I like to use Duolingo to learn the Korean alphabet and practice learning words. Essential Korean is great to learn actual phrases and conversation points, especially coming from a native Korean speaker. Listening to Kay makes me feel more confident regarding my upcoming trip to Korea. Thank you for your hardworking and teaching, Kay seonsaengnim!
Lil owl

Excellent podcast

This is a great podcast to learn how to speak Korean. The teacher not only teaches you about language, but also Korean culture and history which is absolutely fascinating. Would highly recommend this podcast and the website.
Kota92

So good!

The best Korean language learning podcast I’ve found. Perfect progression of content, very logical and easy to follow.
chachitavee

Motivating

I love this and have subscribed to the online content, love that I can read along with the transcript of each podcast. Her content motivates me to continue learning the language.
D_double_you

Makes learning EASY ^-^

Kay-sem is a great teacher💯 This podcast has helped me tremendously during my visit to South Korea 🙏🏽
PSKGuy1978

Kay 씨는 품사, 역사 또는 뒷이야기, 사용법을 설명하는 훌륭한 교사입니다.

Kay 씨는 품사, 역사 또는 뒷이야기, 사용법을 설명하는 훌륭한 교사입니다.
KadasiaS

Love Ms. Kay!

Idk how I forgot to give a review. But this podcast is lovely. Ms. Kay is so calm and helpful and also gives you quizzes. It’s great for on the go practice. 감사합니다 ❤️🤍🥰
Apee125364

Great learning tool!!

Really good for practice with listening for native conversations not just formal textbook conversations!!
imblee123

Great

I always had a hard time with languages. This podcast is a level above the rest tho. My korean is finally improving!
Integrity201

A treasure for someone looking for thorough explanations and practice

This podcast has become my go-to when driving. The explanations are concise and address the natural questions I have with the topic of the episode, and being able to say the Korean with repetition is excellent practice. I also appreciate that the episodes seem to have gotten better over time (the songs are a nice touch!): truly, Korean learners find a hidden gem in this series.
Habsbsnshanaha

first listen

restarted practicing my korean today and I was happy to find this podcast. I’ve searched for something like this for a while and finally found it, the repetition in the episode and real life scenarios make it so much easier to understand words and phrases and actually apply and remember them. thank you!
luuuuuuuuru

It would be perfect if

If there were show notes to follow along with the writing and how to pronounce it