Three Catchy Songs That Will Help You Memorize the Korean Alphabet

Eating candy until you throw up, sticking a pen into a music tape to rewind it manually, losing all your marbles to your worst enemy… There are some childhood things that would rather stay in the past, right? However, there are others that we, as adults, don’t do as often as we should, like playing in the rain, making cookies on a Sunday afternoon, and… learning the alphabet of a foreign language through catchy songs.

If you ever feel frustrated because you cannot watch Parasite or Okja without subtitles, it might be time for you to learn some Korean. We know. That’s a gigantic task. But as with any gigantic task, you’ve got to start somewhere. That is why, today, we are bringing you the best three songs to learn the Korean alphabet.

B1A4 –  The ABC Song

The fact that this is a list of songs to learn your ABCs, or rather, to learn your ㄱㄴㄷs,  does not mean that adult learners need to leave the page. In fact, just to show you how much we care about your sense of pride, we are hitting off the list not with a children’s tune, but with a K-pop song that even your teenage daughter should think is cool.

Performed by the rising boyband B1A4, this catchy single is perfect for beginner students as it focuses on ten letters which are repeated throughout the song so many times that everyone will remember them once the video is over. Besides, the clip comes with subtitles in several languages as well as a romanized version of the lyrics that you can use to sing along. Who knows? You might even end up learning the choreography.
Too much? Okay.

The Korean Alphabet Song

For those who prefer to learn through familiar songs, this version of the Korean Alphabet Song might be just what you’re looking for. Like the English version, it follows the sweet, lullaby-like tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” which as we all know is one of the most memorable series of musical notes ever put together. In fact, the only problem with this one is that you might have a hard time explaining to your coworkers why you’re constantly humming a children’s song when your youngest son is almost 18.

If you’re a beginner learner, or just a bit insecure and not sure you can soak in that much Korean at a time, give this one a try. Every few lines, you will hear the singer saying things such as “Enough with Korean letters” which, by the way, you might find absolutely relatable at that particular point in the song.

The Global Language Network’s Alphabet Song

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The third and final song is much more than your typical ABC video full of colorful cartoons and multilingual subtitles. In fact, it resembles a workout tutorial more than a language-learning clip. Predictably, this Global Language network video features a teacher who presents a Korean alphabet song to a class of foreign students. But the novelty here is that every time she introduces a new letter, she accompanies the sound with a different arm movement which resembles what each symbol looks like.

The most challenging part is that although the song is presented slowly at first, it increasingly speeds up making it more difficult to produce both the sounds and the movements that come with every letter. As a result, this is the perfect ABC song for busy learners who often have to decide whether they will use their little free time to gain some knowledge or to lose some weight.

In a few months, when your colleagues ask you how on Earth you manage to find the time to keep fit AND learn new languages, you can just say that you watch ABC songs on Facebook.

Have you mastered the ㄱㄴㄷ already? Then it’s time to take a Korean course with a native teacher. At Language Trainers, we make sure that every student gets a personalized course based on their interests and current skills. All you have to do is reach out to us on our website. We’ll contact you right away so you can start working on your fluency as soon as possible.