Talk To Me In Korean

What Talk To Me In Korean is

Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) is a Korean language school that teaches through self-paced online courses, sold as one subscription. The courses site opens with its central promise: "Anyone can learn Korean with the right steps, in the right order." TTMIK has been teaching Korean since 2009, and the home page says it has spent 16 years working out that order with over two million learners.

The numbers it publishes are large for a single-language school. The home page lists 2M+ learners worldwide, 1,700+ structured lessons built one at a time over 16 years, 2.1M+ subscribers on YouTube, whose questions it says shaped many of the lessons, and 48 books published with 1M+ copies sold worldwide. Beyond the courses, the footer links TTMIK Books, TTMIK Stories, a separate app called Seyo for learning and speaking Korean, a blog and a help center.

One lesson, four steps

Every TTMIK lesson follows the same four-step structure. Step 1 is a warm up, a quick look at what you already know "so the new material has somewhere to land." Step 2 is the lesson itself: new grammar and vocabulary, "explained with the why, not just the rule." Step 3 is speaking practice, where you say the material out loud right away; the company notes that most learners skip this part, so it built it into every lesson. Step 4 is a short review quiz to check that it stuck. The reasoning on the home page is that understanding something and being able to use it are two different things, and the format is meant to remove the question of what to do after each lesson.

The Level 1 course shows what a beginner gets. It covers basic greetings, counting in Korean, the basic grammar for forming your first sentences, present and past tense, and how to say "who", "why" and "how". The course materials include lesson notes, sample dialogues, review quizzes and a review lesson.

The curriculum

The catalog can be browsed by level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) or by topic, and the home page presents a recommended roadmap from your first Korean sentence to conversations that feel natural. The full roadmap is available as a PDF. If you are unsure where to start, a 3-minute level test points you to the right course, and the FAQ openly encourages skipping ahead.

The topic view has eight tracks, each with example courses:

• Korean Basics covers Hangeul, where the site says you can learn to read the Korean writing system "in just a couple of hours", plus a Korean Pronunciation Guide, Core Grammar Level 1 and How Korean Sentences Work.
• Conversation Skills includes 1100 Short & Useful Korean Phrases for Beginners, My Daily Routine In Korean, My Virtual Korean Friends for on-screen speaking practice, and REAL Korean Conversations Explained, built on unscripted conversations.
• Listening & Reading runs from Easy Korean Reading For Beginners and the IYAGI beginner listening series in 100% natural Korean to a Korean Dictation Test at three difficulty levels and Aesop's Fables read in Korean.
• Vocabulary & Expressions covers 20 Essential Korean Phrases For Beginners, My Weekly Korean Vocabulary, The Korean Verbs Guide and an advanced course on essential four-character idioms with Tyler Rasch.
• TOPIK Preparation is covered below.
• Business Korean starts with Business Korean Basics and moves to Business Korean Essentials for meetings, emails and workplace conversations, alongside listening courses such as Korean Culture Talk with Cassie.
• Tricky Korean, which TTMIK labels exclusive, deals with confusing particle pairs, the 9 most useful helping verbs, Korean Numbers 101 and comparisons of similar words.
• Korean Culture/Life/Travel has Essential Korean Phrases For Travelers, Korean Street Texts taught through photos, a Beginner's Guide to Living in Korea and the Bibimchat listening collection.

The site is also promoting a new K-Job Ready program with a launch special, aimed at practical Korean for work.

TOPIK preparation

For learners taking the Test of Proficiency in Korean, the TOPIK Preparation track offers mock exams at several levels. TOPIK I Test: Listening & Reading is a full-length TOPIK I mock exam for beginners with questions based on real-life situations. TOPIK II Test: Listening & Writing and TOPIK II Test: Reading are intermediate courses, each a full mock test that the company says is built on insights from past exams. At the advanced end, News In Korean: Reading Comprehension builds the reading skills and advanced vocabulary that TOPIK candidates need. All plans include every lesson, so the TOPIK courses come with the regular subscription.

Three ways to study

The home page describes three paths, and says most learners start with the subscription and add structure when they want it.

The Course Subscription gives you all 1,700+ lessons on web and mobile, in a clear path from beginner to advanced, with guided lessons, quizzes and reviews. Bootcamp Programs add a structured study schedule, assignments and deadlines, and a group of motivated learners from around the world, for people who want what the site calls "a little pressure". The Community is where you ask questions, share progress, celebrate milestones and exchange study tips with people on the same path.

Price and trial

The FAQ gives the prices. Plans start at $7.12 a month, billed annually. The Standard Plan costs $10.17 a month, billed annually, and comes with a 7-day free trial with unlimited access to all TTMIK courses; if you cancel before it ends, you are not charged. Every subscription includes the 1,700+ lessons on web and mobile, and taxes may apply. You can cancel any time in a few clicks, and the subscription stays active until the end of the billing period. The site does not list bootcamp prices.

There is also a no-commitment option: you can try the full first lesson of Core Grammar 1 for free by entering your name and email, with no payment and no card.

What learners report

The learner stories on the home page are short and specific. Sarah, from Canada, eight months with TTMIK, says she started with zero Korean and within a few months was "reading Korean signs and understanding many parts in Korean TV shows." Miguel, after a year with TTMIK, says it helped him hold real conversations on a trip to Korea. Aisha, after two years, says she had studied Korean for many years without speaking much and now speaks more confidently.

Who it suits

TTMIK suits learners who want a clear order to follow, from complete beginners starting with Hangeul to advanced learners working on idioms, news reading and business Korean. The four-step lessons with built-in speaking practice fit people who understand Korean better than they can use it. TOPIK candidates get full mock tests inside the same subscription, and people planning to work or live in Korea get business courses, the new K-Job Ready program and a guide to living in Korea. Learners who need deadlines can add a bootcamp, and those who study better with others have the community.

It suits less well a learner who wants live one-to-one lessons with a teacher, since the core product is self-paced courses. Both listed prices are billed annually, though the 7-day trial and the free first lesson let you judge the method before paying.