Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners

I Hate-Read This So You Don’t Have To

Pros

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Cons

• It is written by a non-native speaker with only a very basic grasp of the language and apparently no knowledge of Korean culture. This seems on brand for an internet polyglot.
• The suggested level of B1-B2 (TOPIK 3-4) isn’t at all accurate. The sentences are very simple and repetitive. For example: “My name is [name]. I am a [occupation]. I am [age] years old. I have [colour] hair. I am [height]cm tall.” and so on, for a whole paragraph, and then repeating for each member of the family. It’s definitely not an intermediate resource; learners at TOPIK 1 level could read it quite comfortably.
• These are not original Korean stories, but translations (presumably from English), with minor details, such as names and places, changed to localise it. This is very apparent when you come across a scene such as a Korean greeting someone they are meeting for the first time with a kiss on both cheeks, which makes it seem like the original story was targeted at learners of Romance languages.
• The stories are boring, and don’t hold your attention. This is exacerbated by the simplistic, repetitive grammar. The last graded reader I read contained a story where an elderly lady gave birth to a giant snake; just because a book is aimed at lower levels doesn’t mean it has to be dull.
• You have to buy the audio separately. I think every other graded reader (not just Korean) I’ve ever come across provides the accompanying audio for free, so this seems absurd, especially considering the quality of the book.

I could go on, but you get the idea. It was evident this wasn’t going to be a useful resource from the first couple of pages, but I forced myself to continue reading just for the sake of finishing it. (Side note: I hate the font.)

Although Korean doesn’t have a huge choice when it comes to graded readers, the ones that are available are generally high-quality and enjoyable. Obviously, this book isn’t one of them. I wouldn’t recommend this reader to anyone, as it’s merely a cash grab which won’t help you learn Korean at all.

Now I’m going to toss this book in the recycling and let’s never speak of it again.