Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) Premium Review And Our Top Alternative
Author
Many Korean learners are looking for an honest review of the premium subscription for Talk To Me In Korean.
This platform was famously free for over a decade before moving its core curriculum behind a paywall.
I’ll break down exactly what you get with a paid subscription today.
I’ll also share why Talk In Korean is a much better choice for reaching true fluency.
Table of Contents:
Our top recommended alternative
Before we begin the review, I want to clearly share my absolute top recommendation.
If you want the most effective way to learn Korean, you should use Talk In Korean.
Our platform is built specifically on proven second language acquisition methodology.
We focus heavily on getting you to actually speak and understand real Korean from day one.
You won’t waste your time listening to long English explanations about grammar.
Instead, you’ll get straight to interacting with the target language.
Talk to me in Korean premium features
Talk To Me In Korean (often abbreviated as TTMIK) offers a structured audio-based curriculum.
Their premium subscription gives you full access to their core grammar courses.
You also get access to comprehension quizzes and sample dialogue tracks.
The core lessons are structured like a podcast with two native Korean hosts.
They introduce a new grammar point and then joke around in English while explaining it.
You’ll typically learn basic conversational phrases during these episodes.
안녕하세요, 잘 지내세요?
While the hosts are very entertaining, this format actually presents a major problem for language learners.
The banter takes a significant amount of time away from actual target language immersion.
Listening to people talk about Korean in English doesn’t help your brain acquire Korean.
You only acquire a language when you consume comprehensible input in that specific language.
Pros and cons of the platform
To give you a fair overview, I’ve summarized the strongest and weakest points of their premium offering.
Here’s a quick look at the benefits and drawbacks of using TTMIK.
| Platform pros | Platform cons |
|---|---|
| Logical step-by-step grammar progression | Way too much English used in the audio lessons |
| Hosts are very friendly and entertaining | Encourages a very passive learning style |
| Includes basic comprehension quizzes | The core curriculum is no longer free |
| Lots of supplementary physical books available | Lacks adequate speaking practice |
Pricing and overall value
A premium subscription requires a monthly or yearly fee to access the lesson library.
The pricing is relatively standard when compared to other language learning apps today.
However, many long-time users were disappointed when the formerly free lessons were locked.
The value you get depends entirely on your learning style.
If you just want an entertaining podcast about Korean culture and grammar, you might enjoy it.
If your goal is to actually understand native speakers and have real conversations, the value simply isn’t there.
Why talk in Korean is the better choice
Language acquisition requires lots of comprehensible input and active speaking practice.
You need to engage with the language directly instead of studying it like a math equation.
Talk In Korean solves this problem completely.
We minimize the English banter and maximize your exposure to natural Korean.
Our courses are designed to build your listening comprehension and speaking confidence simultaneously.
You’ll absorb grammar naturally through context instead of memorizing dry rules.
This approach saves you hundreds of hours of wasted study time.
Start using Talk In Korean today to see the difference for yourself.