K-Dramas for Learning Korean: 5 Shows and a Study Plan

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K-Dramas can be entertaining study material when you’re learning Korean.

They give you repeated exposure to spoken Korean, body language and cultural references inside a fictional or entertainment context. What you hear will vary by genre, character and setting, so treat a drama as one source rather than a complete picture of everyday Korean life.

But is it possible to use Korean Dramas to learn Korean? Can they be something more than your reward for a productive language study session?

The answer is yes, if you turn part of your viewing into active practice. I’ll show you how to work with a short scene from a favourite show, whether that’s Oh My Ghost, Descendants of the Sun or another series that holds your attention. Subtitles can remain part of the process at any level.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away in Korean for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

Can You Really Learn a Language by Watching TV?

Before we get into specifics, let’s tackle the age-old question. Can you really learn a new language by watching TV?

The short answer is yes, but watching alone is unlikely to develop every skill you need.

If you press play and sit back, you may enjoy the show and become more familiar with its sounds. Active study requires extra steps.

Think of a show as a source of examples. To learn from it, pause, replay, check what you heard and use selected language yourself.

That turns entertainment into focused listening and recall practice.

You do not need to analyse every minute. A short scene is enough for one session.

TV is one language-learning tool among many. It is easy to use passively, which can still provide enjoyment and exposure, but active work is more useful when your goal is to retain specific phrases.

The steps below give you a simple place to start.

Television can expose you to vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, gestures and interaction patterns. Remember that actors are performing scripts: check unfamiliar language against another reliable source before treating it as a model for your own situation.

If you enjoy the show, that interest may also help you return for another study session. Keep other activities, especially conversation and feedback, in your learning mix.

So how do you make sure that your TV time doesn’t become passive?

Learning a Language Through Television: The Active Approach

Movies and TV episodes are too long for close analysis in one sitting. Choose a short scene so you can pay attention to the language without turning the whole episode into homework.

Benny illustrated his steps to making use of TV as a language learning tool in another article, but I want to touch on them again here.

1. Focus

It’s easy to leave the TV on in the background, especially when it’s in Korean and you don’t understand everything that’s going on. It’s also easy to miss a lot of what’s happening on screen if you’re busy trying to catch all the subtitles as they appear.

For an active session, focus on both what is happening and what is being said.

Close study takes effort, so keep the scene and session short enough to maintain attention.

2. Segmentation

Watch a Korean movie or TV show in segments rather than analysing it all at once. Replay a short section as needed, check your understanding and write down only the vocabulary or phrases you expect to use.

3. Repetition

Replay the scene with a purpose. Depending on your level, you might first use English subtitles for context, then Korean subtitles to connect sounds and spelling, and finally try without subtitles. More advanced learners may prefer to begin without them. Check selected phrases rather than assuming an English subtitle is a word-for-word translation.

4. Engagement

Engage with the scene rather than only replaying it. Mimic a line, pause to answer a character or adapt a phrase to your own life. Before reusing Korean dialogue, check the speech level and relationship between the characters so you do not copy rude, intimate or highly formal language into the wrong situation.

5. Don’t Be Afraid of Subtitles

As the Language Encourager at Fluent in 3 Months when this article was published in 2018, I was often asked whether it was okay to use subtitles in a target language. Yes: subtitles can support comprehension and help you connect speech with writing. Turn them off when you specifically want to test unaided listening, not because using them is cheating.

Is It Worth the Work to Learn Korean from K-Dramas?

If you can’t sit back, relax and watch your favorite TV show and just absorb Korean, is it worth all the extra effort to use TV and movies?

It can be, especially when you enjoy the material. Possible benefits include:

• You hear Korean delivered at the pace chosen for the scene. That may be faster, less carefully articulated or more emotionally exaggerated than learner material.
• You can notice repeated words and phrases. Check whether they are common, genre-specific, dated or appropriate for your own relationships before reusing them.
• You meet language in a memorable visual context, which may make it easier to recall.
• An engaging story can give you a reason to return to the language.
• As your listening improves, you may catch more without relying on every subtitle.

How to Use K-Dramas to Learn Korean

Step 1: Learn to Read Hangul

Some of the later steps in this process require that you use the Korean subtitles for whatever you’re watching. These are written in Hangul and this means that you’ll need to be able to read Hangul in order to complete this step.

Hangul is systematic, but the time and practice needed to read it comfortably varies. Learning it gives you access to Korean subtitles and many more study materials.

If you need a starting point, use our guide to the Korean alphabet, then practise matching written syllables to clear audio.

Step 2: Choose Your K-Drama Show or Movie

You do not need to choose a show just because it is popular. Look for a genre that interests you and dialogue you can hear clearly. Period dramas, fantasy and crime series may contain specialised language, while contemporary shows can still include slang, stylised speech and relationship-specific levels of formality.

These five titles come from my original 2018 recommendation list. Streaming availability varies by country and changes over time:

• Oh My Ghost: a woman who works in a restaurant kitchen is possessed by a ghost, giving you repeated food and cooking vocabulary. One example is 맛있어요 (masisseoyo, “It’s delicious”).
• The Heirs: a drama about privileged high school students and their families.
• Running Man: a variety show in which celebrities complete games and missions. Its unscripted format differs from the dramas in this list.
• Black: a fantasy thriller involving a grim reaper and criminal investigations.
• Descendants of the Sun: a romance centred on a doctor and a soldier.

Step 3: Read Up on the K-Drama You’ve Chosen

Before diving in and watching your newfound Korean Drama online, be sure to read a summary of both the episode you’re about to watch and the show in general. That way, you’ll have a little context before you get started.

Step 4: Watch the First Episode in Whole (Or the Movie in Whole)

Watch the first episode or film once for the story before breaking a short section into segments. This gives you context for the scene you later study.

Step 5: Break It Up Into Segments and Watch Again (and Again)

Replay your chosen segment, changing the subtitle setting or task each time. Stop when you can explain the scene, recognise the target phrases and say one or two of them in context.

Step 6: Put It Into Your Own Words

Put the scene into your own words. I find that summarising an episode in Korean within a day helps me remember selected words and phrases from the session. Beginners can start with two or three sentences.

Bonus Tip: Get Fancy with Subtitles

I’m a jazz musician, and jazz musicians improvise. We make up what we play on the spot.

When a jazz soloist does an amazing job improvising, other musicians transcribe the music. They write it down so they can play it, too. That way, they can bring some of that magic into their own improvisation later on.

I like to think of using subtitles as being the same as using transcriptions in jazz. A lot of what we do with transcriptions can also be done with subtitles. For example jazz musicians:

• Listen all the way through to get an overall picture of what we’re working on before sitting down to work.
• Find someone else’s transcription and read along. In language learning, this is similar to following subtitles while listening. It differs from strict shadowing, where you repeat speech almost simultaneously with the recording.
• Find a chord chart and read along. This is about the same as when you read a summary of the movie or episode in English, then turn on the Korean subtitles. You have an outline of what’s going on and then you try to deduce the rest from the context that you’re given.
• Use a chord chart as a prompt. Rather than copy what someone else did, we use it to create our own responses. This means that when a dialogue happens in the show you’re watching, you can pretend you’re one of the characters and create your own responses to what the other person is saying. If, for example, one of the characters asks: “Let’s go for kimbap.” and the other replies, “That sounds delicious.” You can instead reply, “No, it’s hot, so I feel like having naengmyeon.”
• Transcribe the music ourselves. That means that we listen to the album and write down what we hear as best as we can, note for note. Or, with learning a language from a TV show, word for word. This is done without the subtitles.
• Pick out key phrases. If we don’t really want to learn every part of a song, we learn to isolate key passages or phrases we think will be useful and learn only those.

Where to Find K-Dramas

There are lots of places you can watch Korean shows online. Here are just a few:

• Netflix
• Viki
• Check the services available in your country, because catalogues and subtitle options vary by region.

Tools to Help You Take Learning with K-Dramas Further

Two services offer extra learning support around video. Features, languages and availability can change, so confirm the current options before subscribing.

FluentU

FluentU is a language-learning app and website built around videos, subtitles and vocabulary activities. Check its current Korean catalogue and trial terms to decide whether it fits your study routine.

Viki Learn Mode

On supported titles and devices, Viki Learn Mode can add learning controls such as interactive subtitles. Confirm that Learn Mode is available for your chosen title, language pair and device.

Whichever platform you use, begin with one short scene: understand the context, replay it with Korean subtitles, check one or two useful phrases, then say or write your own version.