Typing in Korean: The Physical Challenge
Let’s face it, in this day and age it is much more useful to be a speedy typist rather than quick with the quill. Becoming fast and accurate at the keyboard is a skill that people often struggle with even in their native language let alone one with a completely different set of characters.
That being said, there are many places around the web for you to improve your typing in Korean. Here are some of the best places to learn how to type in Korean to ensure that you are quick to respond to all those KakaoTalk messages and angry comments on Korean blogs.
Install Korean
The very first step if you want to practice typing Korean is to make sure that you have the Korean keyboard installed on your computer. While the actual details of the installation differ slightly between versions, the basic install is applied thus:
Windows: Control Panel > Change keyboards or other input methods > Keyboards and languages (tab) > Change keyboards > Add > Korean (Korea) > Microsoft IME
Mac: System Preferences > Keyboard > + > Korean > 2-Set Korean
Once you have the keyboard installed you should be able to switch between input languages on the taskbar.
Now that the Korean input keyboard is fully functional, we can dive right in.
Korean Keyboard Covers
Another great tip is to purchase a South Korean Language Keyboard Cover Silicone Skin for MacBook
for your laptop so you can see where all of the Korean letters are. These can be easily bought online and can really improve your memorization of where everything is.
Korean Typing Practice & Game Sites
10 Fast Fingers
With almost 50 language to choose from, 10 Fast Fingers is a great, straightforward service that presents you with a bunch of random words and gives you 1 minute to type as many as you can. The words it chooses are fairly common, so you won’t be practicing a bunch of obscure terms or anything.
After the minute is up, you will be shown your WPM, how many words you got right, how many you got wrong, and so on. If you make an account, you can also keep track of your score against other users and even participate in “challenges” against them.
Tadak
This site is entirely in Korean, but the site is bright and colorful and the buttons are easy to click through so finding your way to the practice typing Korean areas isn’t too difficult.
Hancom Typing
Even though you have to download this program, it is a well-organized piece of Korean learning software that provides many different areas of study.
TypeRacer
Already a huge success in English, TypeRacer is a great resource for making typing practice fun. If you fancy something more challenging than the slow plodding pace of the traditional practice regimen, this is for you. TypeRacer pits you against other aspiring typists in a race to the finish.
Whoever can type out the selected Korean typing passage first wins the round. When you complete the race, the site makes a tally of the scores and even displays some fun statistics like your WPM, accuracy, and time. You can even make an account to keep track of your scores.
Now armed with how to type in Korean, there is no excuse! It will take time to get used too, especially trying to transfer these skills over to a mobile touch device. Knowing how to type on a laptop keyboard will still help with typing on a mobile device. Have fun typing!
If you find this article helpful, leave a comment below! You can also check out our article on “How to install Korean keyboard on your phone” as well.