You can learn Korean for kids here in short, happy sessions, whether your family is Korean, part Korean, or simply loves Korean songs and stories. Every game speaks each word aloud in Korean and English, shows a big picture, and gives grown-ups the romanization (Korean written in Latin letters) so you can say the words together. Korean is a great first foreign language for young children because its alphabet, Hangul, is one of the most logical writing systems in the world.
What your child can learn here
The Korean hub has seven games, each on its own page:
- Korean alphabet for kids: the 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels of Hangul, from ㄱ for 기차 (gicha, train) to ㅣ for 이빨 (ippal, tooth).
- Numbers in Korean 1 to 100: native Korean counting, 하나, 둘, 셋, all the way up to 백 (baek, 100).
- Animals in Korean: 60 animals from 강아지 (gangaji, puppy) to 해마 (haema, seahorse).
- Fruits in Korean and vegetables in Korean: 30 of each.
- Colours in Korean: 12 colours from 빨간색 (red) to 하늘색 (sky blue).
- Body parts in Korean: 30 words from 머리 (meori, head) to 발가락 (balgarak, toes).
Each game ends with a marble in Golu's Goli Jar. The language button in the header lets you choose Korean first, English first or one language only. There is no app to install and no sign-up.
Why Hangul is easy for children
Hangul (한글) was created in 1443 by King Sejong the Great and his scholars so that ordinary people could learn to read quickly. It has 24 basic letters, and the consonant shapes even show how your mouth makes the sound: ㄴ (n) is the tongue touching behind the teeth, ㅁ (m) is the closed lips. Letters stack into syllable blocks, so ㄱ + ㅏ make 가 (ga). Many Korean children read simple words by five or six. Korea celebrates the alphabet every year on Hangul Day, 9 October.
How to learn Korean for kids at home
- Listen first (2-3 years). Tap pictures together and say the word once. Korean baby words are playful: a puppy is 멍멍이 and a car is 빵빵.
- Find it (3-4 years). Golu asks "강아지 어디 있어?" (Where's the puppy?) and your child taps the picture.
- Say it in routines (4-5 years). 잘 먹겠습니다 before eating, 잘 자 (sleep well) at bedtime, 사랑해 (I love you) any time.
- First Hangul (5-6 years). Find the letters of your child's name, then build syllables like 가, 나, 다 on the Korean alphabet chart.
Five to ten minutes a day, playing together, is plenty. Children under two learn best from your voice, songs and real objects rather than a screen.
Korean culture for kids: festivals and days to celebrate
| When | Day | Words to try |
|---|---|---|
| January or February | Seollal 설날, Lunar New Year | 세배 (the New Year bow), 떡국 (rice cake soup), 새해 복 많이 받으세요 |
| 5 May | Children's Day 어린이날 | a family outing, 선물 (present) |
| 8 May | Parents' Day 어버이날 | paper carnations, 감사합니다 (thank you) |
| September or October | Chuseok 추석, harvest festival | 송편 (half-moon rice cakes), 보름달 (full moon) |
| 9 October | Hangul Day 한글날 | write your name in Hangul |
At Seollal, children in 한복 (hanbok, traditional clothes) bow to elders and receive New Year money. Making 송편 at Chuseok is a lovely hands-on activity: count the rice cakes as you shape them, then try numbers in Korean.
Two ways to count in Korean
Korean has two sets of numbers. Native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋) are used for counting things and saying age; Sino-Korean numbers (일, 이, 삼) are used for dates, money, phone numbers and maths. The number game here teaches the native counting that young children use every day, and the numbers page explains both.
Tips for heritage and diaspora Korean families
Korean families live all over the world, from the US, Canada and Australia to the UK, Germany, India and the Gulf. Many children understand Korean at home but reply in English. That is normal. Some ideas that help:
- Korean weekend school (한글학교) runs in many cities; play the same topic here during the week.
- Grandparents on video calls can ask "어디 있어?" while your child taps.
- Honorifics through routine. Saying 안녕하세요 to elders and 안녕 to friends teaches politeness levels naturally.
- Food words such as 김치, 밥, 김 are an easy daily start.
If your child mixes Korean and English in one sentence, reply warmly in Korean. Mixing is a normal stage for bilingual kids.
Korean flash cards and worksheets you can print
There is no PDF download, but each vocabulary page has a word list with pictures, the Korean word, romanization and a sound button. Print it from your browser for Korean flash cards, a matching game or a wall chart. The Hangul chart prints cleanly too.
부모님께 드리는 말
아이가 한국어를 배우는 가장 좋은 방법은 즐겁게, 자주 듣는 것입니다. 하루에 5분에서 10분, 아이와 함께 그림을 누르고 소리를 들어 보세요. 처음에는 말을 하지 않아도 괜찮습니다. 듣고 이해하는 것이 먼저예요.
밥 먹기 전에는 "잘 먹겠습니다", 잠자기 전에는 "잘 자", 그리고 언제든 "사랑해". 매일의 생활 속에서 한국어를 쓰면 말이 자연스럽게 늘어납니다. 설날과 추석에는 떡국과 송편을 함께 만들며 숫자와 색깔도 이야기해 보세요. 아이가 한 마디라도 하면 많이 칭찬해 주세요.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: korean words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.