Fundamental Vocabulary to Learn Korean

Do you love watching K-dramas or singing K-pop in the shower? If so, you’ve come to the right place! This deck teaches you all the core vocabulary and grammar you need to kickstart your Korean learning. It holds your hand from learning your first word in Korean all the way to understanding complex sentences. You will develop an instinctual understanding of Korean so you can enjoy your favorite Korean media.

What's included

100 days of vocabulary practice
Custom-made example sentences
Authentic native audio
Downloadable Anki flashcard deck
Access on desktop, mobile, or web

USD $19.99

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The most critical vocabulary to learn Korean

Refold is focused on teaching you to understand real Korean. The biggest obstacle to understanding a language is vocabulary. We created this deck so you can learn the most important words as fast as possible.

When you finish this deck, you’ll have the knowledge and confidence you need to understand about 85% of Korean dramas and YouTube videos. Before you know it, you’ll be watching K-dramas and LOVING them.

Optimized for your learning

About 99% of the sentences in this deck introduce only one thing: either a new word or a useful grammar point. You will never feel overwhelmed by there being too many new things on one card. Best of all, when you are done with this deck you’ll know exactly what kind of sentences to look for when making your own cards in Anki.

Grammar AND Vocab?

In addition to the amazing features that learners love in our other decks, we added grammar tips to our KO1K deck! This allows you to learn grammar in context alongside new vocabulary.

Korean grammar can be challenging, but the grammar knowledge you get from the KO1K will make understanding TV shows or books a lot easier.

The hardest part of learning a language is basic comprehension. Once you can understand enough to have fun, you'll never want to stop.

Deck Bundles

Are you a lover of MANY languages? Get a sweet discount on Refold decks by buying them in a neat little bundle.

All Refold Decks English

All 11 English decks from Refold

Features of the deck

Native Audio

Learn what Korean actually sounds like with high-quality audio recorded by a native Korean speaker.

Descriptive Images

Reinforce what you learn with concrete, high-resolution visuals

Example Sentences

Learn words in context with custom-made example sentences based on real, spoken Korean.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to study additional grammar if I use this deck?
You do not need to study additional grammar if you use this deck. This deck will teach you the basic grammar you need to get started enjoying Korean TV shows and movies. You can pick up the rest by just listening to and reading a lot of Korean media content.
Couldn't I build my own deck?
Yep! It just takes time, energy, and effort. The Korean deck took our team of data scientists, high-level Korean learners, and Korean natives about 150 hours to create. We’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to.
Why shouldn't I use Duolingo?
If it’s your first time studying a language, then you probably should.

Duolingo is a language-learning video game. It’s a great way to try out a language to see if you like it and to build a daily habit of engaging with the language.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t get you very far, and definitely won’t help you understand Korean.
Aren't there free decks available?
Yep! But they have a few problems:
1. They aren’t focused on helping you understand TV shows and casual conversation.
2. They haven’t filtered out the “easy words”.
3. They don’t have native audio.
4. The example sentences (if they even have any) are crowdsourced and usually low quality.
If you want to use a free deck, here’s the best we’ve found: https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1551455917
Will this make me fluent?
NO! This just builds the initial foundation for understanding Korean. Fluency comes after thousands of hours spent with the language.
What content should I consume with the deck?
Check out our Korean quickstart guide for content recommendations.
I finished the deck, now what?
Congrats 🥳! Head on over to our guide on sentence mining to learn how to make cards directly from your immersion.
How were the words chosen?
We selected the most common words from real Korean TV shows and some popular English TV shows.

Native Korean TV shows used:
- Mine (마인) Season 1′
- Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) (결혼작사 이혼작곡) Seasons 1-3′
- Hello, Me! (안녕? 나야!) Season 1′
- Boys Over Flowers (꽃보다 남자) Season 1′
- Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (갯마을 차차차) Season 1′
- Crash Landing on You (사랑의 불시착) Season 1′
- Run On (런 온) Season 1′
- Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (도도솔솔라라솔) Season 1′
- Mad for Each Other (이 구역의 미친 X) Season 1′
- My Holo Love (나 홀로 그대) Season 1′
- The King’s Affection (연모) Season 1″
- Romance Is a Bonus Book (로맨스는 별책부록) Season 1′
- Lovestruck in the City (도시남녀의 사랑법) Season 1′
- Love Alarm (좋아하면 울리는) Seasons 1-2′
- The King: Eternal Monarch (더 킹: 영원의 군주) Season 1′
- Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (신입사관 구해령) Season 1′
- So Not Worth It (내일 지구가 망해버렸으면 좋겠어) Season 1′
- My First First Love (첫사랑은 처음이라서) Seasons 1-2′
- My secret romance (애타는 로맨스) Season 1′
- Navillera (나빌레라) Season 1′
- Nevertheless, (알고있지만,) Season 1′
- Our Beloved Summer (그 해 우리는) Season 1′
- One Spring Night (봄밤) Season 1′
- Single’s Inferno (솔로지옥) Season 1′
- Business Proposal (사내맞선) Season 1′
- It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (사이코지만 괜찮아) Season 1″
- That Winter, The Wind Blows (그 겨울, 바람이 분다) Season 1′
- You Are My Spring (너는 나의 봄) Season 1′
- A Love So Beautiful (아름다웠던 우리에게) Season 1′
- Move to Heaven (무브 투 헤븐: 나는 유품정리사입니다) Season 1′
- Extracurricular (인간수업) Season 1′
- Start-Up (스타트업) Season 1′
- Bulgasal: Immortal Souls (불가살) Season 1′
- Tomorrow (내일) Season 1′
- The Uncanny Counter (경이로운 소문) Season 1′
- Goedam (도시괴담) Season 1′
- Stranger (비밀의 숲) Seasons 1-2′
- Deserter Pursuit (디피) Season 1′
- The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea (레인코트 킬러: 유영철을 추격하다) Season 1′
- Inspector Koo (구경이) Season 1′
- Juvenile Justice (소년 심판) Season 1′
- The Silent Sea (고요의 바다) Season 1′
- Hanwoo Rhapsody (한우 랩소디) Season 1′
- All of Us Are Dead (지금 우리 학교는) Season 1′
- Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody (한국 삼겹살 랩소디) Season 1′
- Korean Cold Noodle Rhapsody (한국 냉면 랩소디) Season 1′
- Record of Youth (청춘기록) Season 1′
- My Name (마이 네임) Season 1′
- Hellbound (지옥) Season 1′
- Kingdom (킹덤) Seasons 1-2′
- Rugal (루갈) Season 1′
- Sisyphus: The Myth (시지프스: the myth) Season 1′
- Squid Game (오징어 게임) Season 1′
- Sweet Home (스위트홈) Season 1′
- Hospital Playlist (슬기로운 의사생활) Seasons 1-2′
- Vagabond (배가본드) Season 1′
- Private Lives (사생활) Season 1′
- Vincenzo (빈센조) Season 1′
Non-Korean TV shows with Korean subs used:
- Community Seasons 1-6′
- Glee Seasons 1-6′
- Seinfeld Seasons 1-9′
- The IT Crowd Seasons 1-4′
- Unbreakable Kimmy Shmidt Seasons 1-4′
Are the sentences 1T?
Yes, about 99% of the sentences in this deck are 1T. This means that for 99% of the example sentences, you will already know every word in the sentence, except for the new word you’re learning. This makes learning new words much faster and easier!
What’s new in version 2?
- Better word selection for learners who want to dive right into watching real Korean TV shows.
- Hand-crafted example sentences.
- All of the audio clips are now in Standard Korean (표준어), the dialect spoken in Seoul.
- Images to help cement new words in your brain.
- A beautiful and streamlined design.
Can I upgrade from version 1 to version 2?
Since this deck is a COMPLETE rebuild, it is not possible to upgrade from version 1 to version 2. Every single part of the version 2 deck is different from version 1.

If you’d like, you can start over with the version 2 deck and just suspend the words you already know from the version 1 deck.

Fundamental Vocabulary to Learn Korean

What's included

The most critical vocabulary to learn Korean

Optimized for your learning

Grammar AND Vocab?

Deck Bundles

All Refold Decks English

Features of the deck

Native Audio

Descriptive Images

Example Sentences

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to study additional grammar if I use this deck?

Couldn't I build my own deck?

Why shouldn't I use Duolingo?

Aren't there free decks available?

Will this make me fluent?

What content should I consume with the deck?

I finished the deck, now what?

How were the words chosen?

Are the sentences 1T?

What’s new in version 2?

Can I upgrade from version 1 to version 2?