토끼전 The Story of the Rabbit

I've found that Darakwon publish really high-quality learning materials for Korean language learners, such as Korean Grammar in Use, and judging by this first volume, this graded reader series seems to be another great resource.

The book has two main parts: the story itself and the appendix, which includes comprehension questions and answers, and an English translation. The story itself is a traditional Korean fairy tale about a rabbit who is tricked into visiting the dragon king's palace under the sea, as a rabbit liver is required to make medicine to cure the king.

The vocabluary and grammar are well-suited for beginners, and there is help in the form of select vocabluary definitions at the bottom of each page, as well as grammar explanations (including example sentences) in helpful little notes accompanying the text. Personally, I like this kind of format the best, rather than having notes at the end of the chapter or the back of the book.

The comprehension questions are organized by chapter, so you can choose to complete them after reading each chapter or after finishing the whole story. There are several different types of exercises, including questions which ask you to share your thoughts, which is a good opportunity to practice writing.

I have mixed feelings about the inclusion of an English translation of the text. On one hand, I can certainly understand why it would be useful to check your understanding of what you have read, especially for those who are self-studying. On the other, I can see it being detrimental if the reader jumps straight to the translation when they come across something they don't understand rather than thinking about it themselves.

Personally, I think the vocabulary and grammar help provided alongside the text should be enough to help the reader understand the story, so the translation just seems redundant. Some might find it useful at the early stages of reading, even if just to boost their confidence, but it's something I hope isn't included in higher levels.

The accompanying audio is very good: the voice actors are entertaining, and the story is read at a slow pace, which is suitable for this level as it enables beginners to more easily follow along. I would have liked audio of the story being read at a natural speed too, as TTMIK does with some of their books, as I don't think the slow reading lends itself well to rereading / relistening.

The only real issue I have is that I feel a third of the volume is wasted on the appendix. I don't use the supplemental material because I find comprehension questions too easy, I don't care about practicing writing as I'm only interested in input, and I feel the translation is unnecessary. Obviously this is due to my own preferences and language learning goals, rather than being a shortcoming of the reader itself.

In conclusion, this is a well-designed, high-quality, enjoyable graded reader that I would happily recommend to beginners.