Living Language Korean, Complete Edition: Beginner through advanced course, including 3 coursebooks, 9 audio CDs, Korean reading & writing guide, and free online learning

this is the 3rd living language course I've ordered- I speak Spanish fluently and ordered the Spanish version for my parents. I was really pleased with it, so I recommend it to everyone. I ordered the French version for myself and have been super pleased with it also- I have learned a lot, even just using the course on my own. so I thought I would give the Korean version a shot since that language really interests me a lot. I saw it was coming out and preordered it. got it as soon as it was released- arrived quickly. the price was great as always for such an extensive course. I could not be happier!!! the extra book on learning to read and write hangul is something most other courses don't give you- I finished it failry quickly and have been amazed at how quickly ive learned to "read" hangul. I watch a lot of Korean tv shows (with English subtitles) but I have surprised myself now because I can now read the Korean subtitles that come up (I don't understand the meanings of the words yet but I am able to read the Korean with correct pronunciation) I think it gives you a really good basis- like a child learning to read, learning to write, sounds words out, etc. I have now moved on to the first lesson book and am learning quickly. perfect for the price- the series are always in depth, yet simple to understand. very happy and would recommend this to others. p.s. im an ESAL teacher so have experience with language teaching and find the living language method very good. it really works for me, as im a visual person and the reading and writing is what allows the language to "sink in" for me. the cds are also great too and are good for people who learn better by listening.

I purchased the first volume of this set at a used book sale and was so struck by the clarity of the grammar explanations that I determined to buy the set even though I had already purchased an integrated set my granddaughter is using in college along with several handbooks and readers. Living Language Korean offers answers to exercises, eminently helpful in self-study. Although I've gained some ability in several languages, this is my first non-Indo-European language and it is quite an adventure. My only question is why include a notebook when it only adds weight to the package and there is not even a suggestion as to how to use the notebook? OK. Let me put an addendum here.... and a warning to people reviewing a book before they have fully read it. I stand by my rating. However, the issue I did not expect to encounter was access to the vocabulary: vocabulary is presented in context - which sounds good - but, without some sort of list like say a glossary with each chapter or a glossary at the end of the book, I was often left searching one of the outstanding features of the series: answers to the exercises. So I would search the exercises for an unknown word, then go to the answers to find the Korean equivalent. Cumbersome, to say the least. It was so hard, requiring so much searching, that I wound up learning quite a bit and I began to wonder if maybe there was a method to her madness. Anyway, all the other positives I mentioned earlier still hold.

I had JUST received my package about an hour ago and I looked and skimmed through all of the books. I have yet to listen to the audio CDs though . The way the packaging is is very beautiful . It's one of the things that sort of brought my attention to the product. As you may have read or seen from other reviews , it comes with 3 lesson books (beginner to intermediate), and audio CD folder with 9 CD's (three for each book), a reading and writing book , and a notebook to take notes in of course . I bought my set from a bookstore for a cheaper price , so I was expecting much lower quality as if it were used . But its a brand new set and I'm a happy customer I must say . I've read a few reviews about spelling errors and wrong answers in the answer keys, but I believe that if you atleast know how to say something , you can make progress rather than just dwelling on typos and wrong answers . Also, I would take advantage of the online resources they have on their site. Practice makes perfect . And finally, if you're buying this and just starting out learning Korean, do not rely on this program to make you fluent. You'll need to buy a couple books and/or use all of the free resources you can online and whatnot . I believe this program has the ability to get a person to understanding a good enough chunk of the language to where you can make conversation and understand the language , but I don't think this can get you to a fluent or near fluent level. Overall though, I am happy so far(

Bought this program for my ex-husband because he’s Korean. They make it easy for learning. They have a step-by-step guides and modules. They also have a book where you can practice writing the alphabet and sentences in Korean. They make it beginner friendly, so it’s not confusing at all.

these books are great help toward learning korean and i dont regret buy the books but the problem but first let me talk about all the good these books are! im as of now in lesson 5 of the essentials book and i have already learned alot! when i first got the books, i just want to say i was expecting bigger books and thought i would finish the books fast but now i can say these books have alot of information in them(and very easy to carry along)!! its taken me a while to get to page 90 so that says alot. they are very challenging..i recommend doing the guide to reading and writing hangul first IT HELPS :) i was happy i had already knew the hangul so i could go straight into the book. the package includes 5 books (1.essentials 2.intermediate 3.advance 4.guide to reading and writing 5. and extra notebook) and 9 CDs (3 for each book) some say in other reviews that these books only teach the basics but from what ive experienced so far, i believe its more than basics.. ok so now back to the one problem with the book....: is they have typos and some errors (im in the first book still in lesson 5... so i cant say about the other books) and they are very easy to find and change (its nothing that will confuse you) anyway i say if you want to learn korean these books are a good choice to start with! the books are at a great price (original price is almost $50)

Very good quality! I was very surprised how good of conditioner the books and Discs were in. Though CD looked to have smudges or nick (mist be just dust or something) they played beautifully. Sound if very clear and words are easily understood. Can't wait to get to studying.

I've only made it through the first book thus far, which is just the beginner's level, so I can't speak for the other two books - Intermediate and Advanced. But I'll only speak of the first one -Essential- only. It is okay for learning, it's not like it's entirely HORRIBLE. But there are several spelling errors in some of the Korean words themselves, and also some spelling errors where there are english letters used to show pronunciation so that they are actually giving you the wrong pronunciation. Also, this book contains answer keys however, I found one too many errors with them. Beside spelling errors, some of the answer keys don't even match up with the quiz/practice/work out questions. I also found it unfair, that some of the answers given in the answer keys were not even words that were taught yet or at all. So how is it possible to check if your work is right if the answer key is not understandable to you? There were some answers in the answer key also that were mixed up, such as the first answer was given as the second answer and the last answer was assigned to the first question. It was the wrong order. And here's the thing: I only recognized these mistakes BECAUSE I have knowledge already of the language, and have been studying it for years now. So that's the issue. I can recognize the problems, as can native speakers and other students who have studied this language for years or months. But for those of you who are truly beginners and start with this? It will only confuse you or give you wrong information. So for someone who is already learned in some of this language, the basics at least, then this book may be helpful for your continued learning. But for those of you who have no prior knowledge of Korean, I don't recommend these books TO START OFF WITH or to USE THEM ONLY. But that is how it is when you're learning a language. Don't get one course/book only. Make sure you have other sources to learn from, whether it's other books or teachers or native speakers. Don't rely on one source only and certainly this course is not the one to start off with. It's not exactly beginner-friendly. For those of you who are beginners, wanting to dive into learning Korean for the first time, I would recommend Korean for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Korean. and I also recommend Talk To Me In Korean (they have really good lessons for FREE on their website). I have found those two good as introductory to the Korean language before immersing yourself in a full, deeper course, such as this Living Language one. And of course, watch some K-Dramas and listen to K-Pop, it'll help with tuning your ear to the pronunciation and sound of the language as it naturally sounds and is used. And of course, make sure you get a Korean-English dictionary as well. Anyway.. Good luck, everyone! ^^ And don't give up even when you feel discouraged. Korean is a very beautiful language, it's rewarding to learn and can be mastered if you keep trying.

The kit includes three language instruction books with CD's for beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Two additional books are included, one for learning the writing system and one for doing assignments and taking notes. While the kit includes these five books they also allow you to utilize their additional resources online. Overall it is a good set of books and materials to get you into a language. This program is set up for those who are serious about learning the language and its fundamentals. If you are looking for simple "tourist" Korean to get by on a trip this will not be ideal for you. It teaches you grammar from the ground up and as a tourist it would be more beneficial for you to find a phrase book, app, or instructional videos to teach you the survival phrases. A program like this may be too intensive for those who want to speak a little, but not necessarily learn reading and writing.