Korean Language Program Resources

Welcome

This guide is created to support learners in the Korean language program at the University of Toronto (U of T). 

1. Reference Sources

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

  • Web-based Dictionaries

  • 한국어-영어 학습사전 (국립국어원) - National Institute of Korean Language’s Korean-English Learner’s Dictionary includes over 50,000 words in Korean and allows search by “Theme and Situation” such as “describing location”, “ordering food”, “purchasing goods” and etc.
     
  • Korean Picture Dictionary – contains more than 2000 photos and illustrations assigned to English definitions and Korean translations
     
  • 표준국어대사전 (국립국어원)– Korean dictionary built by the National Institute of Korean Language. 
  • NAVER 사전 = NAVER dictionary
     
  • Daum 사전 = Daum dictionary
  • 한국속담사전 – Krpia resource 
    • Connect to KRpia (Log into University of Toronto Libraries Catalogue with your UTORid first to access this database)
    • In search bar, type in “한국속담사전”
    • View the dictionary

 

 

 

  • KRpia [Korean]
    A large online database covering eight subject areas including large reference works in Korean studies. Students learning Korean may find the following dictionaries in KRpia helpful: “바른말글사전”, “우리말 발음사전”, “남북한말비교사전”, “한국학대백과사전”, “한국속담사전”, and “한국현대문학대사전.”
    Copy and paste these titles in KRpia search box to retrieve and view dictionaries.
  • Korea A2Z [Korean]
    A collection of 125 academic contents in a variety of subjects related to Korean Studies. The databases are arranged into 7 categories and include several Korean dictionaries. Korean language students may find the following resources useful: "겨레말 용례사전" and"국어어원사전."
  • History Culture Series [Korean]
    A multi-media content database dedicated to Korean history and culture. This database includes many downloadable images.
  • Naver 지식 백과 = Naver Encyclopedia
    http://terms.naver.com/
  • Daum 백과 = Daum Encyclopedia
    http://100.daum.net/

Handbooks & Others

 

2. Books

Conversation, Phrase Books & Usage

Grammar, Phonology, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, and Orthography and Spelling

 

Korean Romanization Systems

 

Textbooks for Foreign Speakers

Search for Korean language textbooks by inserting the search phrase below in the LibrarySearch search bar:

Korean language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers -- English

Then limit the search filter to "books" to browse what textbooks are available at the library. Alternatively, look at the suggested textbooks below:

 

 

3. Periodicals

Journal Databases

Click here for a full list of our article databases.

Online Journals and Magazines

Figure 1: Koreana, a quarterly on Korean culture and arts

  • Koreana [online resource]
    Since publishing its first English edition in 1987, Koreana journal has been recognized as a valuable resource for readers interested in Korean arts and culture.
    Access here: http://www.koreana.or.kr/#k
  • Azalea [electronic resource]
    Published by the University of Hawaii Press, this academic journal aims to promote Korean literature among English-language readers and provides the academic community of Korean studies with well-translated texts for college classes.

Newspapers

All of our newspapers, plus suggested Korean language newspapers are found here: https://east.library.utoronto.ca/resource/korean-e-newspapers

 

4. Other Web Resources

Downloadable Apps

Naver Dictionary App:

Daum Dictionary App:

Associations & Organizations

National Institute of Korean Language [English]

The authority on Korean language development in the Republic of Korea. NIKL conducts research to develop language policies and provides useful Korean language resources. 

TalkToMeInKorean [English]
[https://www.youtube.com/user/talktomeinkorean/featured]
Provides YouTube video instructions for Korean language.

SEEMILE Korean Language [English]
[https://www.youtube.com/user/seemile/featured]
More Korean language instructions on YouTube.

Pusan National University's Urimal Paeumt'o [Korean]
[http://urimal.cs.pusan.ac.kr/urimal_new/]
Provides helpful information on Korean language and various links to dictionaries and Romanization guides.

The Korean Language Society = Han'gul Hakhoe [Korean]
[http://www.hangeul.or.kr/]
The society was founded on August 31st in 1908 by Si-gyong Chu, Chong-jin Kim and other renowned intellectuals of the day. Its achievements so far include publication of Great Dictionary, Great Dictionary of Korean Place Names, Great Dictionary of Our Language, Dictionary of Korean Studies, and The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Korean Place Names. Currently, the society focuses on providing online information on the accurate usage of the Korean language based on its Data Bank of Korean Studies.

Korean Writing [English]
[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm]
Introduces the origin of writing in Korea, notable features of Han'gul and the alphabet. Plus, many useful links on Korean language.

Han’gul Munhwa Yondae’s Urimal [Korean]
[http://www.urimal.org/]
Han’gul Munhwa Yondae is devoted to supporting Han’gul and increasing people’s awareness of Korean language.