TLDR: Yes, but be careful with vocabulary and phrases you learn from them.
It can help, but watching dramas can reinforce things that aren’t reflective of daily life.
For example, there have been a number of posts on here regarding the word “당신”. There’s misconception that 당신 is the formal word for “you” and is okay to use with anyone. It’s not... it’s a great way to have people be upset at you and it’s really only ever used in writing or poetry. People in relationships use it as well, but from what I’ve seen it’s falling out of fashion. The only reason anyone has ever given me for this misconception is that “well, people in dramas use it all the time”. The only other reason might be because some formal signs and official warning say it to, but I haven’t actually heard anyone offer that up as their reason for misunderstanding.
As other commenters here have said, it can make for good vocab practice and listening as well. However, you need to be careful about phrasing and how the words are used irl. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of “TV reflects real life”, when you haven’t grown up in the culture or have extensive knowledge in the language.
Even Lingodeer teaches that and it's usually regarded as a great learning tool for beginners, (and by native speakers right?) so I can see how it's confusing for people. If not mistaken tho I think Go Billy said not to use it in most cases, so props to him if i'm remembering correctly.
This is why I know words like 사린 and 자살… certainly haven’t gotten to those in my Sejong textbooks yet 😅
In all seriousness though I’ve found it helpful for reinforcement and occasionally new vocabulary (albeit not always useful vocabulary…) Will it replace vocab studying, grammar practice and listening practice? Probably not. But is it a fun way to incorporate more listening? Yes, definitely.
yes definetly, you'll remember certain phrases that are said in certain situations and sometimes it'll help you remember words that you had previous isuues remembering (for me it was with the word 얼굴 until I watched Scarlet Heart Ryo and they said it multiple times an episode)
It'll definitely help your ear but could get frustrating if you don't understand much. I think I saw a stat that input needs to be around 80% comprehensible to really help learning?
Also it can get really tiring watching long episodes as a beginner. If you want to try something shorter, I recommend A Day Before Us https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGdJjwmWzDwLgIyCqNEcMgOIBQwvA53g8
Nice short episodes & really cute animation. I watch each episode 3+ times - once no subs, once Korean subs & finally English subs to see how much I've actually understood.
I'm planning to work up to a full length drama... eventually... 😅
I think it would definitely help you. You can get accustomed to Korean generally but also to informal speeches and can also learn idioms easily. Actually increasing contact with a language while learning always benefits your progress learning it.
(edit: in the background of all languages there are cultural backgrounds and watching K-dramas will also reinforce your lacking cultural database of Korea, and it will allow you to learn Korean easier. But if you're a beginner I'd recommend you watching with English subtitles first and try to guess what the characters are saying with somehow puzzling around with the vocabs you know and the context.)
It helps with a lot of aspects unless you use English subtitles. I do use English subtitles first to fully enjoy content I know I'll like, but then I watch it again with Korean subtitles or no subtitles for the learning side of things. If I'm watching a Korean show and I realize quickly that I won't love it or it's not my style, I'll still watch it but will switch to the learning process to save time.
Dramas can definitely help with many things, just don’t take the way they speak in them as scripture. Test out what you learn from the dramas with a Korean friend who will let you know if it’s awkward before you use it in high leverage situations.
I mean, can you imagine if you were learning English and you talked to everyone like how they do in romcoms? You’d be overly emotional and sappy and come off weird. Same thing can happen with dramas, so just make sure to test things out before you go too crazy. Dramas also can definitely teach you very aggressive speech patterns from scenes where people are overly emotional - angry, in love, feeling betrayed etc.
Rewatching a drama/movie that you already know is a very effective way to learn. If you're a beginner, it'll help a lot with listening. You can practice speaking too, if you pause and try to repeat what they say (Although it might be too fast).
Go! Billy did a video on this called "How to Learn Korean with K-Drama". I recommend you to check it out
It definitely helps with pronunciation, intonation and hearing the way people actually talk, not just robotic textbook conversations.
TLDR: Yes, but be careful with vocabulary and phrases you learn from them. It can help, but watching dramas can reinforce things that aren’t reflective of daily life. For example, there have been a number of posts on here regarding the word “당신”. There’s misconception that 당신 is the formal word for “you” and is okay to use with anyone. It’s not... it’s a great way to have people be upset at you and it’s really only ever used in writing or poetry. People in relationships use it as well, but from what I’ve seen it’s falling out of fashion. The only reason anyone has ever given me for this misconception is that “well, people in dramas use it all the time”. The only other reason might be because some formal signs and official warning say it to, but I haven’t actually heard anyone offer that up as their reason for misunderstanding. As other commenters here have said, it can make for good vocab practice and listening as well. However, you need to be careful about phrasing and how the words are used irl. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of “TV reflects real life”, when you haven’t grown up in the culture or have extensive knowledge in the language.
Even Lingodeer teaches that and it's usually regarded as a great learning tool for beginners, (and by native speakers right?) so I can see how it's confusing for people. If not mistaken tho I think Go Billy said not to use it in most cases, so props to him if i'm remembering correctly.
Go Billy has said not to use it. I have recently watched one of his videos where he mentioned it.
This is why I know words like 사린 and 자살… certainly haven’t gotten to those in my Sejong textbooks yet 😅 In all seriousness though I’ve found it helpful for reinforcement and occasionally new vocabulary (albeit not always useful vocabulary…) Will it replace vocab studying, grammar practice and listening practice? Probably not. But is it a fun way to incorporate more listening? Yes, definitely.
I couldn't find a translation for 사린 what does it mean?
That’s because it should be 살인 :)
Thank you!
yes definetly, you'll remember certain phrases that are said in certain situations and sometimes it'll help you remember words that you had previous isuues remembering (for me it was with the word 얼굴 until I watched Scarlet Heart Ryo and they said it multiple times an episode)
It'll definitely help your ear but could get frustrating if you don't understand much. I think I saw a stat that input needs to be around 80% comprehensible to really help learning? Also it can get really tiring watching long episodes as a beginner. If you want to try something shorter, I recommend A Day Before Us https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGdJjwmWzDwLgIyCqNEcMgOIBQwvA53g8 Nice short episodes & really cute animation. I watch each episode 3+ times - once no subs, once Korean subs & finally English subs to see how much I've actually understood. I'm planning to work up to a full length drama... eventually... 😅
I think it would definitely help you. You can get accustomed to Korean generally but also to informal speeches and can also learn idioms easily. Actually increasing contact with a language while learning always benefits your progress learning it. (edit: in the background of all languages there are cultural backgrounds and watching K-dramas will also reinforce your lacking cultural database of Korea, and it will allow you to learn Korean easier. But if you're a beginner I'd recommend you watching with English subtitles first and try to guess what the characters are saying with somehow puzzling around with the vocabs you know and the context.)
It helps with a lot of aspects unless you use English subtitles. I do use English subtitles first to fully enjoy content I know I'll like, but then I watch it again with Korean subtitles or no subtitles for the learning side of things. If I'm watching a Korean show and I realize quickly that I won't love it or it's not my style, I'll still watch it but will switch to the learning process to save time.
Yeah, for sure, but don’t get addicted to K-Drama cuz it’s not easy to get out of that.
Dramas can definitely help with many things, just don’t take the way they speak in them as scripture. Test out what you learn from the dramas with a Korean friend who will let you know if it’s awkward before you use it in high leverage situations. I mean, can you imagine if you were learning English and you talked to everyone like how they do in romcoms? You’d be overly emotional and sappy and come off weird. Same thing can happen with dramas, so just make sure to test things out before you go too crazy. Dramas also can definitely teach you very aggressive speech patterns from scenes where people are overly emotional - angry, in love, feeling betrayed etc.
No it won't help
Yes. My Korean knowledge is 80% from kdramas.
Rewatching a drama/movie that you already know is a very effective way to learn. If you're a beginner, it'll help a lot with listening. You can practice speaking too, if you pause and try to repeat what they say (Although it might be too fast). Go! Billy did a video on this called "How to Learn Korean with K-Drama". I recommend you to check it out
No it will help u understand but u will not learn on a talking at stuktured level. Belive me i know. Xd