Korean Lessons in Washington, D.C

If you visit the Washington DC Metropolitan area, you’ll find one of the biggest Korean communities in the United States. When the Embassy of South Korea first opened in the city in 1949, there were about 500 Korean residents living in the area, whereas nowadays there are more than 60,000. As a result, there are many institutions, stores, and local restaurants that celebrate this wonderful culture and it’s not unusual to find people speaking Korean around the city. As a matter of fact, according to a report by the Urban Institute, Korean is among the six most commonly used languages in the Washington DC area after English.

As you can imagine, if you choose to learn such a widespread language, you’ll enjoy many advantages in the city like getting access to better job opportunities, developing deeper relationships within the foreign-born community, and expanding what you know about the fascinating Korean culture. So, if this wonderful language has caught your attention, the smartest thing you can do is start a language course that helps you become a fluent speaker as soon as possible.

Learn Korean for Work and Travel

Learning Korean will make you more employable in the city no matter what it is you do. To start with, it will help you access unique positions that require you to be bilingual, such as Bilingual Korean-English Desktop Support for Woongjin Inc, Korean-speaking Broadcaster for Radio Free Asia, and Project Manager for Kic Washington. In addition to this, because there are so many businesses owned by Korean immigrants in the city, speaking their language will help you build all kinds of professional relationships, from working for them to finding potential business partners that help you expand in the city. What’s more, if you work in tourism, you’ll be able to attract more of the tourists that visit from South Korea and find great jobs in top hotels like Four Seasons, Hyatt, and Conrad.

On top of this, learning Korean will make your trips to South Korea much more interesting, as you’ll have a deeper understanding of the local culture and will be able to connect with the big sector of the local population that doesn’t speak English. Being able to communicate in their language will also open up the chance to work in the country and take advantage of the tempting job offers that are available there for native English speakers.

Learn Korean for Social

A great way to immerse yourself in Korean culture in the city is to attend the annual KORUS Festival, organized by the Korean American Association of Washington Metropolitan area, where you’ll be able to enjoy show-stopping live performances by local and international artists, talent shows, lots of Korean food and children activities. This festival takes place every September in different venues across the city so if you want to attend, check out this year’s program on their website. On the other hand, if you’re looking for other ways to get to know Korean culture that are available all year round, you should consider visiting the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art at 10th Street and Constitution Ave, which has a great Korean Gallery where you can explore Korean history and art as well as a great selection of Korean films you can watch online or at their auditorium that will make you fall in love with the culture.

Learn Korean for Culture

Do you want to meet people who are as invested in learning Korean as you are? In that case, you should attend the Korean Happy Hour events organized by Speak Up, a great local language group that has more than 1,700 members. Their Korean events take place on Wednesdays at Johnny Pistolas, a local bar located at 2333 18th Street, and it’s open for speakers of all levels, no matter if you’re just starting or if you’re an advanced learner, come and enjoy lively conversations in Korean and meet language partners from all over the world.

Another great group you should check out is the Asian Languages Exchange Group, which also holds weekly meetings also at Johnny Pistolas where you can practice Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and many other languages. They have assigned tables for all languages so upon arrival you simply have to introduce yourself and they’ll place you at the Korean table where you’ll find other learners and native speakers who will help you improve your Korean in exchange for your English skills.

Where to learn Korean in and around Washington, D.C?

If you’ve finally decided to start learning Korean, there are many places around Washington where you can do so. The Library of Congress, located at 101 Independence Ave Street, is a great place you can visit to find useful books to develop your language skills like Korean Pronunciation Guide: How to Sound Like a Korean by Kim Jimin and Korean Grammar in Use by Ahn Jean-myun. Additionally, there are also great books in English that will help you expand your knowledge of Korean culture like Korea, the Hermit Nation by William Griffis, which explores Korean history and traditions, and Seoul man by Frank Ahrens, where the author describes his experience as the highest-ranking non-Korean executive at Hyundai and sheds light on the fascinating Korean business culture. If you are not interested in these kinds of resources and prefer to learn Korean with the help of a qualified teacher, you can check out the many Korean courses available at the American University, which are great for those who want to study in an academic setting and get a certification. However, if your goal is to become a fluent speaker as soon as possible and enjoy the process as much as you can, the best place to study in the city is Listen & Learn. If you send us a quick inquiry, we’ll have one of our native teachers create a completely personalized Korean course just for you that you can enjoy in the comfort of your home, your office, or online!