TTMIK Stories - Learn Korean 4+

Despite having reservations about the price and the membership being separate from the other TTMIK content, I took the plunge because there really is little other accessible/graded reading available for a beginner/early intermediate learner, and despite studying Korean grammar on and off for a few years nothing every really stuck.

After one month using TTMIK stories and getting most of the way through levels 1-4 my reading comprehension and speed have both greatly improved and my retained vocabulary has definitely also greatly expanded. The in app native audio also really helps link reading/spelling to pronunciation of words for verbal recognition in your brain. It also helps that the stories while short and simple, are generally interesting to read on their own. The stories are a perfect mix of sad, funny, informational and interesting and help convey a bit of Korean culture as well!

Because of the price I don’t think I can ever justify a continuous subscription but I plan on using it until/if it becomes to advanced for my level, and if that happens coming back once I have studied more grammar again. Even once I have completed everything I can see myself subbing for a month periodically just to speed-read and review.

My literal only nitpick of the app itself is I wish the vocab review tool was better. I wish the quizzing order was somewhat random, as it always defaults to the order you added the words in and has little customization. Id prefer an ability to review in random order to better facilitate random recall. And by the nature of Korean verbs any words with 다 that have a english translation of “to X something” should have both answers have that not to make it a giveaway, and vice versa for nouns not having the wrong answer be a prompt of “to do X”. Overall this isn’t enough to reduce the experience and isn’t a main function, but I just focus on not trying to memorize the words and acquire them, but this function being better would make it easier to review the small subset of words that never seem to stick despite knowing I’ve seen them 10-20 times already.

Ill end the review by saying no matter what happens, if I’m ever able to speak to and understand my Korean in-laws in casual normal paced conversation, and listen to and understand Korean radio comedy shows with my wife it will be in large thanks to TTMIK stories and the original grammar courses. 정말 장말 감사합니다!

Thank you for your detailed feedback on our TTMIK Stories app. We are happy to hear that you've improved your Korean skills by practicing on this app.

We've improved the quiz feature and now you can randomize the order of the vocab quiz whenever you want to! Please check it out on the app :) We understand what you mean, and we will continue to improve the app to provide you with the best learning experience.

정말 정말 감사합니다! We hope you enjoy your learning journey!

I was a bit apprehensive about buying the app because of the cost, but I’ve found it to be worth it when it comes to improving my reading skills. It’s easy to use and after a few weeks I can already see my improvement!

We're glad that you find our app easy to use, and we're grateful for your support. It is so nice that you've found our app worth the price as it helps you improve your reading skills (also listening skills!) 감사합니다 :)