Korean reading texts by level
15 texts from 1 to 4, 1 161 words in all, with 45 comprehension questions. Each text shows how much of it is explained in this site’s vocabulary — calculated, not claimed.
Learning words one at a time and practising grammar one point at a time is work on separate parts. A text is the first thing that needs both at once — and the only exercise where nobody tells you which rule is being tested.
What makes a graded text is a number: how much of it you already know at your level. If it is too low, reading turns into looking things up. Here that number is calculated for every text against this site’s vocabulary and shown with the text — together with the level that follows from it, next to the level on the label.
Every text is written for this site. Click a word to look it up without leaving the page.
1 (4)
1 · 48 words · 1 min
민수의 아침
An ordinary weekday morning, from getting up to the first lesson.
1 · 59 words · 1 min
시장에서
Buying fruit at a market, with a price that comes down a little.
1 · 45 words · 1 min
비 오는 날
An umbrella left at home, and a friend who has two.
1 · 47 words · 1 min
새 친구
A new student from abroad, a first conversation and a lunch together.
2 (4)
2 · 65 words · 1 min
지하철에 두고 내린 가방
A bag left on the underground, and the office that keeps such things.
2 · 65 words · 1 min
할머니의 생신
A family gathering for a grandmother’s eightieth birthday.
2 · 61 words · 1 min
처음 만든 김치찌개
A first attempt at cooking, a phone call home and a second try.
2 · 66 words · 1 min
제주도 여행
Three days on an island, a plan that changes with the weather.
3 (4)
3 · 96 words · 1 min
새 동네
Moving into a new neighbourhood and finding one’s way around it.
3 · 83 words · 1 min
동아리
Joining a university club, and the first concert after months of practice.
3 · 94 words · 1 min
옆집 소음
Noise from next door, a note on the door and an unexpected answer.
3 · 79 words · 1 min
첫 출근
The first day at a new job, from the dress code to the first mistake.
4 (3)
4 · 116 words · 1 min
혼자 먹는 밥
Eating alone in a culture that used to eat together.
4 · 111 words · 1 min
전통 시장의 변화
An old market, the big stores outside town and an attempt to adapt.
4 · 126 words · 1 min
집에서 일한다는 것
Working from home: what one office worker gained, and what she missed.
What is measured here — and what is not
Coverage tells you about this site’s vocabulary, not about the text. If a text stands at 96 %, four words in a hundred are not explained anywhere here; they are then in the glossary next to the text.
The measured level can be below the stated one, and that is intentional. A set of minutes made up of perfectly ordinary words can be a very hard text — what makes it hard is the sentences they sit in. That is why the average sentence length is shown alongside.
Whether a text is good is measured by nobody here. That is for the reader to decide.