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Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST KOREAN LANGUAGE TEACHER I'VE FOUND
Review: As a Korean-American with no Korean language background but with Korean speaking relatives in the US and Korea, I've been trying to learn Korean via tapes, books, dictionary, videos (Disney is available in Korean), CD's, and family, etc. This is the best program I've found so far. It's something that is not tedious or boring to use. In fact, it is easy to lose track of time with its game-like learning process reminiscent of flash cards, only more fun if you're into puzzling challenges. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to learn Korean.
Rating: 
Summary: A good method for learning a new language
Review: I found this method made this language very accessible to a native English speaker. It shows pictures, shows the word, and plays the sound of the word so that they can all become connected together in the mind - a method that brings the learner much closer to fluency. I was glad that the method didn't rely upon connecting the Korean word with the English one - a method that requires the learner to first recall the "English" word in order to access the memory for the Korean one. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I was also glad that the interactive version allowed the listener to listen to the properly pronounced word instead of showing a "phonetic" spelling. The Korean language has many consonants for which there is no English equivalent, like a letter between k and g, a letter between l and r, and a letter between p and b, and those can be extremely difficult and even more confusing to describe than simply listening to the properly pronounced word and trying to mimic it. The native Engligh speaker who tries to substitute an English "equivalent" for one of the actual sounds will be learning to pronounce the word incorrectly! And a language learned improperly in the first place is much more difficult to correct than simply learning it correctly the first time. My biggest gripe about this method is that it doesn't take advantage of the inherent logic in the Korean alphabet - which is phonetic itself! If there was only a single chapter on the characters and their pronunciations, then this program would be complete. As it stands, I would recommend that the student of Korean first study the alphabet before beginnning this program. The lack of focus on the Korean characters and their pronunciations is the reason that I give this program only 3 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A good method for learning a new language
Review: I found this method made this language very accessible to a native English speaker. It shows pictures, shows the word, and plays the sound of the word so that they can all become connected together in the mind - a method that brings the learner much closer to fluency. I was glad that the method didn't rely upon connecting the Korean word with the English one - a method that requires the learner to first recall the "English" word in order to access the memory for the Korean one. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I was also glad that the interactive version allowed the listener to listen to the properly pronounced word instead of showing a "phonetic" spelling. The Korean language has many consonants for which there is no English equivalent, like a letter between k and g, a letter between l and r, and a letter between p and b, and those can be extremely difficult and even more confusing to describe than simply listening to the properly pronounced word and trying to mimic it. The native Engligh speaker who tries to substitute an English "equivalent" for one of the actual sounds will be learning to pronounce the word incorrectly! And a language learned improperly in the first place is much more difficult to correct than simply learning it correctly the first time. My biggest gripe about this method is that it doesn't take advantage of the inherent logic in the Korean alphabet - which is phonetic itself! If there was only a single chapter on the characters and their pronunciations, then this program would be complete. As it stands, I would recommend that the student of Korean first study the alphabet before beginnning this program. The lack of focus on the Korean characters and their pronunciations is the reason that I give this program only 3 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Way to Learn the Language
Review: I highly recomend this one. The program teaches you to read and write in a format that is both educational and even entertaining if you treat it like a game. My only complaint is that some of the spoken words sound very similar and it would be nice to have the phonetic spelling of the words there to look at just to help you recognize exactly what is going on. It's a minor gripe, but mine. If I could I'd only take a half point off for that. If your going to Korea and need to learn the language this is a must.
Rating:
Summary: A good START!
Review: I made a mistake when buying this product thinking it was going to teach me korean. Instead it's just an introduction to the world of "rosetta stone" with just two units in Korean and a single lesson (11 lessons seem to make a unit) in each of a ton of different languages that I don't care about. The learning mechanism seems very good. In different activity modes you either see pictures and have to pick out the correct text or vise versa. Some activities only include sound forcing you to improve listening skills, some only include text focusing on reading skills. With repetition you learn very fast and can record your progress. The best thing (which is not included in the explorer) would be to have the complete lesson set of the language you want to learn and the language you already know. That way you could learn both by visual inspection and by translation. But with the explorer you can only learn from translation on the very first (and only) lesson which is included in english.
Rating:
Summary: A good START!
Review: I made a mistake when buying this product thinking it was going to teach me korean. Instead it's just an introduction to the world of "rosetta stone" with just two units in Korean and a single lesson (11 lessons seem to make a unit) in each of a ton of different languages that I don't care about. The learning mechanism seems very good. In different activity modes you either see pictures and have to pick out the correct text or vise versa. Some activities only include sound forcing you to improve listening skills, some only include text focusing on reading skills. With repetition you learn very fast and can record your progress. The best thing (which is not included in the explorer) would be to have the complete lesson set of the language you want to learn and the language you already know. That way you could learn both by visual inspection and by translation. But with the explorer you can only learn from translation on the very first (and only) lesson which is included in english.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for complete beginners or intermediates
Review: I was not very impressed with this program at all. I am a Korean linguist and I was hoping this would help to expand my knowledge, however, it is way too simple for someone with any prior formal language training. On the other hand, I noticed that it does not even teach the alphabet, a vital key to learning any language. The only reason it got two stars was because if someone could obtain training on the Korena alphabet, then this could be an excellent tool for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Not for beginners or intermediates
Review: I was not very impressed with this program at all. I am a Korean linguist and I was hoping this would help to expand my knowledge, however, it is way too simple for someone with any prior formal language training. On the other hand, I noticed that it does not even teach the alphabet, a vital key to learning any language. The only reason it got two stars was because if someone could obtain training on the Korena alphabet, then this could be an excellent tool for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Basics are missing
Review: The format of this program is that the learner selects right answer from four photos depicting the written sentences or what they hear. It places heavy focus on reading. Therefore it is not appropriate for beginners who don't have prior training in Korean.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT C.D.! I REALLY LEARNED SOMETHING NEW!
Review: The Rosetta Stone c.d. has been just what I've been looking for! I am a first year Korean language student who is a non-native, and this program has been a tremendous help. First it is fun, second it is simple and uncomplicated to use and last the pictures are coordinated with words and phrases that you not only see but hear as well. Immediate positive reinforcement is offered in the forms of applause or cheers when you answer correctly, and giggles when you don't. The c.d. is great for first year students, or for those who speak but want to "brush up" on their pronunciation or spelling skills. It offers you a choice of several ways to learn. You can see and hear the words and picture together, see just the words and match it to the picture, see just the picture and match it to the words, and even lets you compare the tone and inflection of your voice with that of the native speakers. The c.d. offers several different modes also in which you can choose how you want to learn and how much you want to "participate". Each picture and phrse builds upon the next and reinforces ideas and concepts through repetion that somehow does not seem boring or redundant. There are ten different levels and you may jump around as you chooose focusing on the key areas you want or coordinating them with what you are concurrently learning. Not recommended for people with absolutely no background in korean in that it does not teach the intricacies of grammar or the beginning alphabet and pronunciation rules. Fantastic for everyone else however in that it reinforces the basics and builds vocabulary and sentence structure as well as good pronunciation.
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