Korean language students must give priority to the spoken langauge. For the great majority of students learning Korean, the study of Chinese characters cannot keep pace with progress in the spoken language. Therefore, it is a great temptation to ignore them. But neglecting the study of Chinese characters will seriously limit one's progress in language study, because more than seventy percent of Korean words are derived from Chinese characters. In order to really master the Korean language, spoken as well as written, the study of Chinese characters is absolutely necessary. This is the standard textbook used by most universities in the United States. It is directly related to Speaking Korean Books I and II. Therefore, it is highly recommended to begin this book after studying the introductory course in Speaking Korean Book I. Most of the sentences in Speaking Korean are repeated in this book for easier learning.
