Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RufusW]

http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

It's the American Government's Foreign Service language courses. There's Korean as well as many other languages.

Although rather old, there's audio and extensive coursebooks. So some of you may find it useful...

[fustiancorduroy]

One thing I like about the language books made by the US Government is that they are hardcore, like big time. I looked at the Korean file Unit 18. The material being covered there is roughly the same difficulty as the material covered in my low-level intermediate Korean class. The thing is, the students in this program are supposed to reach this level of proficiency after, I presume, only 18 weeks of study, whereas I have been living in Korea and studying the language for nearly four years.

One thing I don't like about the language books made by the US Government is the horrible transliteration system. Maybe the first few chapters should have romanization, but the later ones should only be in hangeul. Maybe the higher level books are hangeul only? And as you pointed out, the books are a bit old, to say the least. The Korean course is 42 years old.

In any case, this material should be useful. Thanks for the link!

[Chaucer]

This is a great resource, and free! I bought the Korean set in the US before I came to Korea, back in the 1990s, and hit the ground running even after finishing only two chapters. Very useful stuff. And it moves fast, as mentioned above. I found the roman characters helpful--still read them on road signs and such, even though I of course can read hangeul.
Great recommendation!