한국어 · 안녕하세요
Learn Korean online with a private tutor
Hangul is genuinely learnable in an afternoon; the honorific system underneath it is what takes years and needs a native ear.
- Native name
- 한국어
- Speakers
- 82M
- Hours to fluency
- ~2200
- Lesson length
- 25 / 50 / 80
How long does Korean actually take?
The US Foreign Service Institute has been timing this for decades, and the figure everyone quotes is only half of what they publish. FSI puts Korean at 88 weeks — 2200 classroom hours for an English speaker to reach professional working proficiency. But FSI also states that a typical week is 23 hours in class and 17 hours of self-study, so the real total is closer to 3696 hours of work. The pace below divides that full total rather than the classroom half, which is why these numbers are longer than the ones you have seen elsewhere:
One lesson a week
about 28.4 years
≈2.5 hours a week including homework
Two lessons a week
about 14.2 years
≈5 hours a week including homework
Intensive — daily
about 4.7 years
≈15 hours a week including homework
Worth saying plainly: that figure is for full professional proficiency, which is a much higher bar than most learners need. Holding a real conversation in Korean usually arrives at somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of the way in.
What the Korean levels mean
Teachers describe lessons using the Common European Framework. If you do not know your level, a teacher will place you in the first ten minutes of a trial.
- A1Beginner
Introduce yourself and handle very simple, predictable exchanges.
- A2Elementary
Cope with routine tasks — shopping, directions, simple description of your background.
- B1Intermediate
Handle most travel situations and explain opinions on familiar topics.
- B2Upper-intermediate
Hold a fluent, spontaneous conversation with a native speaker without strain on either side.
- C1Advanced
Use the language flexibly for social, academic and professional purposes.
- C2Proficient
Understand virtually everything heard or read, and express yourself with precision.
Kinds of Korean lesson
Teachers list what they specialise in, so you can match on purpose rather than on price alone.
Korean tutors for beginners
Teachers who work with absolute beginners every day and can run a first Korean lesson entirely in a language you share.
Conversational Korean tutors
Lessons that are mostly you talking. For learners who can read Korean but freeze when someone answers back.
Business Korean tutors
Meetings, email, negotiation and presentations — Korean for the situations your job actually puts you in.
Korean tutors for kids
Teachers experienced with children, who keep Korean lessons short, build them around games, and keep a parent in the loop.
Korean exam preparation tutors
Teachers who know the Korean exam formats, mark to the real rubric, and work backwards from your test date.
Intensive Korean courses
Several Korean lessons a week with homework between them, for learners with a deadline rather than a hobby.
Native Korean speaking tutors
Teachers who grew up speaking Korean, for accent work, idiom and the register textbooks never cover.
Korean grammar tutors
Focused work on the Korean structures that keep breaking, with exercises built from your own mistakes.
Korean exams teachers prepare for
TOPIK
Test of Proficiency in Korean
Questions about learning Korean
How long does it take to learn Korean?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Korean at roughly 2200 hours of study to reach professional working proficiency for an English speaker. At two lessons a week plus homework — call it five hours — that is about 8.5 years. Conversational comfort arrives much earlier, usually somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of the way in.
How much do Korean lessons cost?
Each Korean teacher decides which lesson lengths they offer and sets a price for each — you see both before booking. Many teachers also sell lesson packages at their own price, usually cheaper per lesson. If you are still choosing, you can top up your wallet instead and spend the balance with any teacher — nothing is tied to one person.
Should I learn Korean with a native speaker?
For pronunciation, idiom and register, yes — a native ear catches things a textbook cannot. For grammar explanations early on, a teacher who learned Korean as a second language themselves is often clearer, because they remember finding it hard. Many learners use both, and there is no rule against switching.
Can I learn Korean from absolute zero?
Yes. Filter for teachers who work with beginners and your first lessons will be run partly in a language you already share, shifting into Korean as you gain ground. You do not need to prepare anything beforehand.
Which Korean exams can I prepare for?
Teachers on KoloLingo prepare learners for TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean). Exam-prep teachers mark to the real rubric and plan backwards from your test date.
Free Korean guides
All Korean guides →- Writing systemA1
Hangul: the alphabet you really can learn in an afternoon
Hangul was designed to be learnable, and the consonant shapes describe your mouth. How the blocks work, the letters, and why romanisation holds you back.
- CostAny level
How much do Korean lessons cost?
What platforms publish for Korean tutors, why the native premium is the largest of any language we checked, and the part that truly needs a teacher.
- ExamTOPIK 1–6
TOPIK levels explained: you do not choose your level
The official 2026 cutoffs, why sitting TOPIK II can leave you with no grade at all, what it costs, and the two-year expiry most guides omit.