Busan Korean is the Gyeongsang dialect as spoken in Korea's second-largest city. Its questions end in or , and its speech rises and falls in a different pattern from Seoul speech. Nearly every Korean app teaches the Seoul standard, so this page checks which apps teach Busan speech and what the others are still good for. For books, videos, and tutors, see our guide to Busan Korean resources.
Our Korean app comparison covers apps for standard Korean, and our Busan Korean comprehensible input guide covers what to read and watch.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Busan Korean. You learn from Busan Korean you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Busan Korean lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
To learn Busan Korean in Bubblegum, pick Korean, then Busan under More Varieties. Try asking what adds to a sentence.
- Lessons use real Busan grammar, like and questions.
- Six Busan grammar cards explain , , , , , and .
- Look up a word to see its Busan forms in the dictionary.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki as flashcards.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Learn every letter in the free Korean Hangul course, with a picture to help you remember each one.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Busan speech
- Teaches Hangul
Mobile
These two teach the Gyeongsang dialect as a whole. Busan is its biggest city, so most of what you learn applies there. Both are for advanced learners.
Talk To Me In Korean Courses
The lessons come with a 7-day free trial before you subscribe. Two teachers act out dialogues in Korean, so you need to follow Korean explanations.
- A 10-lesson Gyeong-sang Province Dialect course, taught by native speakers.
- The ten audio lessons run 1 hour 48 minutes in all.
- Teaches Busan speech (partly)
- Teaches Hangul
MobileWeb
KoreanClass101
The series teaches Gyeongsangdo nouns, verbs, and phrases, with English notes. Its page shows a free trial button.
- 25 audio lessons about Gyeongsangdo dialect and culture, with 156 vocabulary items.
- A three-part culture series plays each line in dialect, slowly, and then in standard Korean.
- Teaches Busan speech (partly)
- Teaches Hangul
MobileWeb
These are good for your first reading and listening, but none of them teaches Busan speech, and their audio is Seoul standard.
TTMIK Stories
Read here until you can follow Korean sentences, then move to a dialect course or to Bubblegum for Busan endings.
- Graded Korean stories with audio and sentence translations.
- Grammar notes explain the sentences.
- Flashcards
- Standard Korean, not Busan speech
- Doesn't teach Hangul
Mobile
Dive Korean
Dive Korean is a standard Korean reading and listening tool. Use it for the base that Busan speech builds on.
- Graded lessons with audio for learners at different levels.
- Standard Korean, not Busan speech
- Doesn't teach Hangul
Web
Duolingo's Korean course does not mention dialects on its course page, so treat it as a way into standard Korean. See Is Busan Korean on Duolingo?. LingQ lets you import Korean you find yourself, and its Korean page lists no Busan material.
italki
On italki, search Korean tutors' profiles for 부산 or Busan to find teachers from the city.
- Find tutors who grew up in Busan and can switch between Busan and Seoul Korean.
- Practice the dialect in conversation and get feedback.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk is one way to find a language partner from Busan.
- Meet Korean speakers for language exchange.
- Paid members can look for partners by city.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (1)
- 쓰잘데기 있는 사전A Busan dictionary app for iPhone and iPad with 100 words. Each word has its meaning, example sentences, and an explanation, and Busan speakers recorded how it sounds. The first 10 words are free. The app is in English, and its page is in Korean.
| App | Teaches Busan Korean | What It Gives You |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Yes | Lessons, stories, and news in Busan speech at your level |
| Talk To Me In Korean | PartlyGyeongsang course, advanced | 10 audio lessons taught in Korean |
| KoreanClass101 | PartlyGyeongsangdo series, upper intermediate | 25 audio lessons with English notes |
| 쓰잘데기 있는 사전 | PartlyA word book | 100 Busan words with recordings |
| TTMIK Stories | No, standard Korean | Graded stories |
| Dive Korean | No, standard Korean | Graded reading and listening |
| LingQ | No Busan material listed | Your own Korean texts |
| italki | PartlyWith a tutor from Busan | Speaking with feedback |
| HelloTalk | PartlyWith a partner from Busan | Messages and voice notes |
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. |
| Talk To Me In Korean Courses | Free trial | TTMIK Courses needs a subscription. The Standard Plan starts with a short free trial that opens all the courses. |
| KoreanClass101 | Free version | A free KoreanClass101 account gives you a survival phrases course and the first 3 lessons of every pathway, with new lessons each week. Paid plans open every lesson, and Premium starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| TTMIK Stories | Free trial | TTMIK Stories starts with a 7-day free trial, and you can cancel any time during the trial. |
| Dive Korean | Free version | Dive Korean has a free tier, where you can browse the video and reading library and open the free content without signing up. Premium opens all the video, reading, and listening content. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
| HelloTalk | Free version | Chatting with language partners is free. HelloTalk VIP removes ads and adds unlimited translations and more new partners each day. |
| 쓰잘데기 있는 사전 | Some lessons free | The first 10 of its 100 words are free. |
The number of languages you can use an app in isn't the same as the languages its lessons explain things in, so check one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| HelloTalk | 16 | App Store |
| TTMIK Courses | — | Page |
| KoreanClass101 | — | Page |
| TTMIK Stories | — | Page |
| Dive Korean | — | Page |
| 쓰잘데기 있는 사전 | — | App Store |
Which Busan Korean app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Busan Korean, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. If you can't read Korean yet, begin with Bubblegum's Hangul course. The two dialect courses above assume you already follow Korean.
Should I learn standard Korean first?
Yes, for most learners. Busan Korean shares most of its words and grammar with standard Korean, and people from Busan understand standard Korean too. Learn Busan endings once you can hold a simple conversation.
Why do so few apps teach Busan Korean?
Korean apps are built around the Seoul standard, which is what textbooks, exams, and broadcasts use. The Gyeongsang dialect has about 13 million speakers, so the lessons that exist come from language schools and dialect series. See the Busan Korean guide for a plan that combines them.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Gyeongsang dialect (tones and question endings)
- Statistics Korea via City Population, Busan (2025 register-based census)
- Statistics Korea via City Population, South Korea provinces (2025)
- Talk To Me In Korean: Gyeong-sang Province Dialect Lessons (10 audio lessons, Levels 8 to 10)
- KoreanClass101: Gyeongsangdo Dialect and Culture (25 audio lessons, Upper Intermediate)
- Innovative Language: mobile app study tools
- 쓰잘데기 있는 사전 on the App Store (page in Korean, app in English, 100 words, first 10 free)
- TTMIK Stories
- Dive Korean
- LingQ: Learn Korean online
- Duolingo: Korean course for English speakers
- italki: Korean teachers
- italki: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- HelloTalk: City search is a VIP feature
- HelloTalk: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- TTMIK Courses: plans and free trial
- KoreanClass101: pricing
- italki: home page (lesson prices)
- HelloTalk: learn Korean
- HelloTalk: VIP and subscriptions
- Bubblegum
