Busan is Korea's second-largest city, with about 3.2 million people, and its dialect is the one you hear in dramas like Reply 1997. Busan Korean keeps a pitch accent that standard Korean has lost, and it asks questions differently: 뭐하노 asks what you are doing, while 밥 뭇나 asks a yes-or-no question. No app on the App Store or Google Play is made only for Busan Korean, so this guide gathers every app, course, book, and video we could find.
Most learners start with standard Korean and add Busan Korean once they can hold a conversation. For standard Korean apps, see our Korean app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Busan Korean is its own course in Bubblegum. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes lessons for you in Busan Korean, from a chat at a Haeundae café to a day at the baseball game. Busan endings like 데이 and 아이가 appear between close friends, the way people really use them, and polite speech stays polite.
- Lessons use real Busan grammar, like 나 and 노 questions, not standard Korean with an accent.
- Six Busan grammar cards explain 나, 노, 가, 고, 아이가, and 데이.
- Look up a word to see its Busan forms in the dictionary.
- AI voices read each lesson in natural Busan Korean.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Busan Korean is new in Bubblegum, so the free library has only a few Busan lessons so far.
- AI voices read each lesson, not recorded speakers from Busan.
- The free plan gives you one new custom lesson each day.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Hangul
Mobile
Take a Gyeongsang Dialect Course
These courses teach the Gyeongsang dialect as a whole. Busan is its biggest city, so most of what you learn applies there.
Talk To Me In Korean Courses
Talk To Me In Korean's dialect course has two teachers act out dialogues, with lessons titled like 식사 하셨능교? and 이거 얼만데예?. It is the course learners mention most often on Reddit. Watch the free YouTube lessons first if you want to try it.
- A 10-lesson Gyeong-sang Province Dialect course, taught by native speakers.
- The same lessons are free on YouTube as Korean Dialect Lessons with Seokjin.
- Teaches Hangul
MobileWeb
KoreanClass101
KoreanClass101 covers Gyeongsangdo greetings, the 예 and 소 endings, family words, and lines from the film Friend. It suits learners who like short audio lessons with English explanations.
- 25 short audio lessons about Gyeongsangdo dialect and culture.
- A three-part culture series plays each line in dialect, slowly, and then in standard Korean.
- Teaches Hangul
MobileWeb
Learn Busan Grammar and Sounds in English
Stefano Young wrote the most complete English guides to Busan Korean that we found. The Busan Dialect Guide covers Busan's sounds, grammar, rhythm, and tone, with listening exercises and a practice dialogue, and Cool Korean gives 25 short lessons with each example in both Busan and Seoul Korean. His website is offline now, but you can still read the guide in an archived copy, look for the Cool Korean e-book, and watch his free BusanDialectLessons videos on YouTube, which explain endings like 나 and 노 one at a time.
Watch Short Lessons on YouTube
These free videos are the easiest way to hear Busan Korean explained in English.
- GO! Billy Korean gives a long introduction to Busan dialect, and a second video asks people from Busan what others get wrong about it.
- DKDKTV's Busan Dialect 101 teaches starter expressions, and it is the most-watched English lesson on the dialect.
- Minji Teaches Korean explains six Busan expressions, including 맞나, 머라카노, and 만다꼬.
- Korean with Ina compares Busan Korean with Seoul Korean side by side.
Practice With People From Busan
italki
Learners on Reddit agree that people are the best way to pick up Busan Korean. 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. If you live in Busan, the Busan–Pusan Language Exchange meets in person every week.
- Meet Korean speakers for language exchange.
- Paid members can look for partners by city.
Mobile
For Advanced Learners, in Korean
Once you can follow Korean explanations, these go deeper. 쓰잘데기 있는 사전 (2025) explains 101 Busan words with their meanings, origins, and examples, from a Busan radio segment. The channel 하말넘많 has a popular video where people from Gyeongsang point out fake accents on TV, which is a great way to train your ear for Busan intonation, and B급대학생 compares Busan and Daegu speech. For reference, the Digital Busan Culture Encyclopedia explains Busan's sounds and grammar, and the National Institute of Korean Language's 우리말샘 marks Gyeongsang words in its dictionary.
Other Apps We Looked At (10)
- Busan City's YouTube channel (부산튜브)Short series on Busan dialect, like 우리말 나들이 and the Busan Dialect Road Show. Its earlier One-Point Lesson videos are no longer public.
- Talk To Me In Korean Dialect ChallengeA fun listening challenge in Gyeongsang dialect.
- Korean PatchVideos that use Busan dialect to practice listening, grammar, and vocabulary.
- Korean with SolNatural Gyeongsang listening practice with words like 디다 and 파이다.
- Stefano Young's Busan clip databaseA list of real Busan speakers on YouTube, with vocabulary notes, in an archived copy.
- 애린왕자The Little Prince translated into Gyeongsang dialect. It uses Pohang speech from northern Gyeongsang rather than Busan.
- 경남방언사전A two-volume dictionary of about 20,000 South Gyeongsang words, including Busan words, for reference.
- InterAI dialect translatorA free Korean-language tool that turns standard Korean into six regional dialects, including Gyeongsang, and back.
- Busan Ilbo dialect quizA 15-question quiz that guesses which part of Busan, Ulsan, or Gyeongnam your speech comes from.
- 90 Day Korean and CreatripArticles that introduce Busan endings and phrases, with examples from K-pop and dramas.
Frequently Asked Questions
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. Start with the free Hangul course if you cannot read Korean yet.
Do K-dramas help me learn Busan Korean?
They help you hear it, especially Reply 1997, Friend, and Ode to My Father. People from the region on Reddit point out that many actors are not from Gyeongsang, so check what you hear with a course or a tutor.
How many people speak Gyeongsang dialect?
About 13 million people speak it, more than any Korean variety except standard Korean. The five Gyeongsang areas, including Busan, Daegu, and Ulsan, are home to about a quarter of South Korea's people.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. You can read the free lesson library and ask Poppy for one new custom lesson each day on iPhone and Android. Become a Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons and to support our team. The Hangul course and Korean guides on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- 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)
- 쓰잘데기 있는 사전: 101가지 부산 사투리 (브릿지경제, 2025)
- Colin Marshall, Talk Like a Busanian (Los Angeles Review of Books, 2018)
- Bubblegum
- Talk To Me In Korean Courses
- KoreanClass101
- italki
- HelloTalk
Checked on October 2, 2026 against each app's own pages.
