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Rating: 
Summary: Not a self-study text
Review: A good textbook makes the complex things seem simple -- but this textbook seems to make even the simple things more complex than they need to be. The grammar explanations use too many technical terms and do not include enough examples. If you have a teacher, this text might be a good choice. If not, forget it. For a clear and concise explanation of elementary Korean grammar, I recommend the Lonely Planet Korean Phrasebook. For more determined students, I think the grammar explanations in the Yonsei University series are much clearer.
Rating:
Summary: Good book but not correct in some places...
Review: I bought this book for my friend to learn with. Its good to learn with someone who knows Korean. It would be very hard to study by yourself. Some prounciation is incorrect. When they explain the letters in the beginning some are incorrect. Its a very good book unlike others because in the rest it shows you words and phrases in korean.
Rating:
Summary: Above Average Study Material
Review: I have made it half-way through the first book and have the second book in this series. I also have many Korean language texts and in the last 2 or 3 years we are starting to get some texts with which you stand a chance of actually learning the language. This series shows promise, especially with the depth, if you study the entire series it would seem you should be familiar with a lot of Korean. However, I prefer the series Elementary Korean and Continuing Korean by Ross King and Jae-Hoon Yeon. Their descriptions of language elements seem much more clear. Also, the Integrated Korean series seems to lack some organization. Words which are related and are introduced in the same chapter may not appear in the same section of the Vocabulary list, leaving you to search the list. Finally, this series does not come with audio CD's - the audio is available on the net but it is not nearly as convenient as a CD. It is also not the best quality (IMO). This particular book is a good text in itself, but slight disorganization and the not-so-good audio drop this from 4+ stars to 3 stars in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Great SERIES
Review: I've already gone through this first book and the 2nd edition of the Integrated Korean series. I didn't study by myself but with a small class and found this book to be well set up with dialog, vocab, cultural notes, grammar, and accompanying tasks to do. Also has a separate workbook for each text that you can order.The first book is more in English (roman) characters as it caters to beginners just learning but the 2nd book and onward have MUCH more hangul in it, including all the dialog which helps. BTW, all the dialog is translated at the end page of each chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Great SERIES
Review: I've already gone through this first book and the 2nd edition of the Integrated Korean series. I didn't study by myself but with a small class and found this book to be well set up with dialog, vocab, cultural notes, grammar, and accompanying tasks to do. Also has a separate workbook for each text that you can order. The first book is more in English (roman) characters as it caters to beginners just learning but the 2nd book and onward have MUCH more hangul in it, including all the dialog which helps. BTW, all the dialog is translated at the end page of each chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Best Korean Text on the Market
Review: If you are reading this you are probably aware that good Korean texts are hard to find. Of the Korean learning materials out there I have sampled including the Korean Through English series, College Korean, FSI Tape set & book, and books published by Korean unversities not available in the US, the Integrated Korean series is by far the best. The Integrated Korean series stays away from using the arcane linguistic terminology of College Korean, avoids the oversimplification of KTE, and presents much more natural Korean usage than the textbooks published by Korean universities(including SNU, Yonsei, and Korea U). The grammatical explanations are great, the vocabulary is useful, and the cultural notes are also interesting and pertinent. Audio files for the dialogues are also available online for free on the U of Hawaii publishing webpage.
Rating:
Summary: Among the elite of Korean textbooks...
Review: If you are reading this, you probably know that it is HARD to find a decent book by which to learn Korean. You have found it. This series, and "Elementary Korean" with the CD, are supreme. Both of these series are suitable for college use, which makes them exceptional to learn from on your own. I cannot praise either of these enough. Buy them if you wish to learn Korean. It's as simple as that.
Rating:
Summary: one more thing though.....
Review: In my previous review I told you abt the things that were great. The only thing BAD is that according to my professors, not all of the section where they tell you how to pronounce the words (as opposed to how its spelled) is correct. But only a few examples out of each group of 15 words or so. Very minor.
Rating:
Summary: one more thing though.....
Review: In my previous review I told you abt the things that were great. The only thing BAD is that according to my professors, not all of the section where they tell you how to pronounce the words (as opposed to how its spelled) is correct. But only a few examples out of each group of 15 words or so. Very minor.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the audio?
Review: Korean language learners have to face the fact that Korean language learning materials are generally few and poor. This is without a doubt the best I have seen so far and is near or the same as the quality of texts out there for some of the more commonly taught languages. Some of the grammar explanations leave a little to be desired in terms of differentiating them from other grammar patterns, but some of that may just come with practice and exposure to the language. There are apparently a couple issues here and there with dated or odd vocabulary (or so native koreans tell me). Bottom Line: I haven't found any Korean texts that compare to the KLEAR series. Definitely the way to go, especially with the upcoming Advanced volume.
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