Talk To Me In Korean has taught Korean since 2009, and it has more than 1,700 lessons in the order its teachers recommend. Bubblegum is a reading and listening app. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Korean lessons at your level about what you enjoy, and your saved words come back in new lessons.
How Talk To Me In Korean and Bubblegum Compare
Talk To Me In Korean walks you down one path built by its teachers, and in Bubblegum, Poppy builds a journey around your interests and level.
| Talk To Me In Korean | Bubblegum | |
|---|---|---|
| How you learn | Each lesson has a warm-up, the lesson, speaking practice, and a review quiz | Poppy writes lessons, stories, and news at your level, and you read and listen |
| How words come back | A short review quiz at the end of each lesson | Regenerative Review™: saved words come back in new lessons |
| Teachers | Lessons by its teachers, and occasional live classes | Poppy is your AI tutor |
| Phone apps | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| On the web | All lessons on the courses site | Free guides and a Hangul course |
| Menu languages | 7 on its iPhone listing | 74 |
Who Each App Is Best For
Talk To Me In Korean Courses
Its courses follow one path, from your first Korean sentence to natural conversations. Its separate app, TTMIK Stories, has more than 1,000 graded stories across 10 levels, read by voice actors. It works well for learners who want a teacher-made plan and like to know what comes next.
- More than 1,700 structured lessons, built one at a time over 16 years.
- A 3-minute level test shows you where to start.
- Each lesson has you say new Korean out loud right away.
- A TOPIK 1 course helps you get ready for the test.
- Teaches Hangul
MobileWeb
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Korean. You learn from Korean you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you'd like to read in Korean, like a K-pop concert or a night out in Seoul. She writes a lesson at your level, and you can tap the words you don't know and ask her about any line. You can also practice speaking Korean with her in live voice chat.
Poppy builds a flexible journey around your interests and level, so you never have to search for Korean to read. If you'd rather follow a set path from your first sentence onward, Talk To Me In Korean is the better choice.
- Poppy writes Korean lessons for your level about the things you're into.
- Tap a word to see its meaning, and see the Hanja behind Sino-Korean words.
- Ask Poppy about any sentence, and she explains the grammar in it.
- Saved words come back inside new lessons through Regenerative Review™.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't import a webtoon, an article, or a show.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Hangul
Mobile
Choose Talk To Me In Korean if:
- You want a step-by-step plan made by its teachers.
- You'd like speaking practice built into every lesson.
- You're getting ready for the TOPIK test.
Choose Bubblegum if:
- You want each lesson to be about something you choose.
- You'd like Poppy to explain any line when it puzzles you.
- You want Busan Korean, which Bubblegum teaches as its own course.
Using Both Together
A Talk To Me In Korean lesson teaches you a grammar point, and a Bubblegum lesson lets you read and hear Korean like it in a longer conversation. Mix the two across your week, at your own pace.
Common Questions
Which Korean app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Korean, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Talk To Me In Korean if you'd like a teacher-made course that takes you step by step.
Can I learn Hangul with Bubblegum?
Yes. Bubblegum has a free Hangul course on the web, and each letter comes with a picture to help you remember it.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Talk To Me In Korean: Courses, lesson steps and level test
- Talk To Me In Korean: Help center
- TTMIK Courses: iPhone App Store listing
- TTMIK Stories: Graded Korean stories with voice actors
- TTMIK Stories: iPhone App Store listing, 1,000+ stories across 10 levels
- Bubblegum: Learn Korean
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
