Foreign characters are often a hassle to learn. One of the ways to learn them better is writing by hand.
Korean alphabet, also known as Hangul, is the writing system of the Korean language. That’s why it’s so important to learn as it will allow you to read and write Korean.
The great thing about Korean is you can learn its alphabet in under a day – it only has 40 letters!
That’s why apps make a great learning tool for Hangul until you can memorize the alphabet and learn to form words. Not only are you discovering the characters, but the tests allow you to actively take part as you move your fingers and follow the strokes.
Here are some of the apps I’ve checked (and used) that will help in learning to write Korean, especially how to write them with proper stroke order. These apps are great because they will show whether you wrote the letters correctly.
All of them in the list are free, so there’s no need to worry about spending anything. You could even use some of them offline.
Let’s get you playing and learning to handwrite Korean, shall we?
App #1: Learn Korean! – Hangul
Link: Google Play | App Store
Because Korean alphabet takes little time to complete, you could get away with simple apps that fulfill their main function – to get you to learn Hangul.
Learn Korean! – Hangul is a simple app that gets the job done – to teach you Hangul and the correct way to write them.
It’s divided into three levels – vowels and consonants, compound characters, and final consonants. You’re sure to master the alphabet once you get through these levels.
You can also review with the app, allowing you to go back to what you’ve previously learned for recall. And you can play the app offline.
App #2: Write It! Korean
Link: Google Play | App Store
Write It! Korean is another good app for handwriting practice. It contains 20 lessons with an option to practice the characters before taking the test.
The downside of this app is that you need to upgrade in order to unlock the review option, as well as remove the ads that pop up after finishing a round.
You probably won’t need the review anyway, since you can test on every lesson. And you can go offline to keep the ads from playing.
App #3: Korean Alphabet Writing (by AppChant)
Link: Google Play
If you want a more visually stimulating app to learn Korean characters, Korean Alphabet Writing will give you just that.
The game is rich with music, sound & visual effects, and a beautiful interface. On top of that, the characters you’re handwriting are colored and styled differently, which makes it a fun experience to learn Hangul.
You can play the app offline. Plus you also have the opportunity to get a 1-day access to Premium version by watching an ad.
App #4: Korean Alphabet Writing Awabe
Link: Google Play
I’m amazed by the depth of the lessons in this app, so I’m sure that you’ll learn a lot of Hangul from it.
While you don’t need to create an account, it requires Internet connection to work. The purpose is for the app to get accurate results when checking your writing. But having Internet means you won’t be able to skip ads.
When I tried taking the writing test myself, I find it stricter than the other apps mentioned so far. You’ll take the test seriously, which is good for producing better results.
App #5: Duolingo
Duolingo is one of the most popular language learning apps. And when it comes to Korean, Duolingo has a pretty in-depth course, including a section on learning Hangul (the Korean alphabet).
So if you’re planning to go all-in on Korean, you might as well use Duolingo to learn Korean handwriting and the proper way to write characters.
However, Duolingo requires you to sign up for an account, then you have to open the Korean course. The game is free, but you’ll encounter a lot of ads which you can’t turn off, since the app requires Internet (you need a subscription to turn off ads and play offline).
Also, you can’t freely choose which characters to drill on. It’s a set learning path which you have to follow. But for me I think the order of lessons makes it a nice way to learn Hangul and form simple words in the process.
Write Korean by Hand, It Helps A Lot
Handwriting Korean helps a lot with written communication. Although it’s easier nowadays to type Korean with a keyboard (smartphone or computer), manually writing it provides its own benefits.
For one, it adds an extra layer of memory as you move your hands and fingers to produce characters, on top of seeing the characters and hearing how they sound. You get to build “muscle memory” which can aid you in remembering the letters.
Also, you would need to write by hand if you’re preparing for the TOPIK II and KLAT exams. Basically any situation that requires written communication in Korean would benefit from your ability to handwrite Korean words and sentences.
And by the way, wouldn’t you like to impress your friends? You can flex your ability to write Korean, which gives you some confidence boost to take on the language.
It’s up to you – to handwrite Korean or type Korean characters?
Either way, regardless of which method you prefer, you should start practicing it today. It will be super helpful once you get to the meaty part of the Korean language.
How’s your Korean handwriting so far? Have you been practicing it nowadays? Let’s talk about it in the comments section.