Practicing typing Korean has been the easiest part of learning Korean language for me so far, and the one where I could see the improvement the fastest. Hangul, the Korean alphabet, has only 24 letters so it’s pretty straightforward to input it with any keyboard.
The difficult part is learning to not type the way I did – searching for every letter for minutes and then proudly punching it in with my index finger. It took me forever to type a decent sentence. I sped up a bit after I had been practicing vocabulary online for a while, but it still took way too long.
Putting keyboard stickers on the keys to see where each Korean letter helped a bit, but not much.
Memorizing the Korean keyboard layout and learning how to type without looking was what I needed to do. But I put it off for a long time. I just wanted to be able to understand Korean language as soon as possible and I didn’t think knowing how to type fast would be of much use, especially considering how much effort it seemed to take.
I was wrong.
After two weeks of forcing myself to touch type (typing without the use of sight to identify the keyboard keys) and to use all ten fingers to type Hangul I can say my speed increased tremendously. Which also improved the speed with which I learn vocabulary since now I just concentrate on the words themselves.
The funny thing is, I still don’t know how to touch type English, nor my own language.
So, how did I learn how to touch type Korean?
By using a nice little program that Kimchi Man got for me ages ago. It’s called Hancom Typing Training and it’s completely free. You can download it here:
Hancom Typing Training (한컴 타자연습)
The only problem is that the program is completely in Korean so if you’re just a beginner you will be lost in it. I did my best to translate it to English so you can find your way around. Fair warning, though, I don’t speak Korean! (Yet ;) ) So my translation is a rough guess. But hopefully it will be enough to help you find your way around and learn how to type Korean without looking at the keys. So basically this is your cheat-sheet to Hancom Typing Training English version ;)
First you need to register a user name, choose your avatar and set the targeted speed and accuracy. Don’t worry about these last two too much because as far as I could tell the only consequence of not reaching your target was a pop-up message you can easily dismiss.
At the start screen just select your username and click the large red button to start typing.
The next selection screen will give you the option to choose which part of the keyboard you wish to practice next. The bottom bar shows you the current settings which you can adjust by clicking on the gears on the right. Subeolsik is the most commonly used keyboard layout in Korea and the only national standard so it’s best to stick to it unless you have some special reason not to. 
Once you start the exercise, it is quite self-explanatory. The position your hands need to be in, the finger you should use to press the key, and which key to press are all obvious from the sketch. Try to keep your hands exactly as shown even though in the beginning it might feel like your brain is going to melt and you have no control over your hands.
When you finish each step a window will pop up with your stats. The faster and more accurate you get, the better, of course.
When you reach enough points you will level up. As far as I could tell, I leveled up to maximum level long time before I could actually type well so I don’t think it means much. Or maybe I’m just a really slow learner.
The Word practice part of the program requires you to type our a whole Korean word, instead of just individual letters. Here, by choosing the phase you choose which part of the keyboard you will concentrate your practice on, but of course you will need to use other letters as well to form proper Korean words.
Short sentence practice is actually no different than the rest. Naturally, press Space between words, and Enter at the end of the sentence.
Once you learn how to type a bit, you have two games to choose from, Cake Throwing and Marine Rescue SOS. In both of them you progress by typing Korean words. That way you can practice while having fun. :)
Trust me, once you’re typing Korean quickly, without even glancing at the keyboard, you will feel so cool it will be worth the effort. I hope I’ve made it clear enough so that you can now practice on your own and become a Korean master typist in no time. If something is not clear or you have trouble with the program feel free to ask in the comments.
More in this series:
- Make a plan for learning Korean
- Typing Hangul part 1 – Korean keyboard stickers
- Typing Hangul Part 3 – MoAKey the Android touchscreen Korean keyboard
Loving Korean | Boyfriend in Korea 
무슨 우연! I just started learning Korean two weeks ago and I thought typing in Hangul would always be hard. But then I sort of found my own method, and the hand position I use now looks a lot like the one in this program. I was transcribing Korean subs from a drama and after a while it got easier and easier. I’m going to check this out, though, because I can still improve a whole lot. 감사합니다!
Transcribing something you find fun is a great idea. I used the program until I was certain I got the hang of it, but now I mostly practice typing Korean while learning vocabulary. Two birds with one stone :)
Good luck with studying Korean!
I installed this, but I can’t seem to get it to work in Korean. The installation process was all in Korean, but when I open the program itself, it’s all English. Instead of Hangul typing practice, it’s English practice. Any ideas to what I might be doing wrong? I switched my computer to Korean locale before installing.
Maybe try going to ‘settings’ in the lower right corner? English is 영어, just change it to Korean.
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Hi! Just wondering, did you have to change any settings on your computer in order to install this program? Because when I try to install it, a window pops up that says “Hancom Training Typing is available on Korean Operating system.” and then the installation closes .. I’m not quite sure if I should be changing anything. Thanks in advance!
I definitely don’t have Korean operating system, and Hancom installed without any issues for me. But I did have Korean keyboard, proofing tools and Microsoft IME installed at the time.
Wost case scenario, you’re going to have to edit your registry to trick the program into thinking your OS is in Korean. I’m not sure but I think code for Korean is 0412.
Sorry to bug you again – so I changed the code in my registry and I managed to install the program (thank you), but I can’t seem to find it anywhere .. After you installed it, did it just appear on your desktop/program files? In my control panel, it’s listed there with all my programs, but besides that, I can’t find anything that would let me open the actual program … hm.
It’s no problem, please ask anything you need. I’ll do my best to help.
Hmm, I don’t really remember it was long ago, but isn’t it the same exe you used to install it? Maybe you can search for it? The exe file for me is called “HncTT”.
Hey! I had the same problem. I eventually found it in Program Files (x86) / HNC / HncTT.
What part of the registry would I change for this? I am still having no luck installing.
http://starrguide.com/install-korean-hangul-language-pack-in_3860/
I forgot to restart my laptop for the changes I made previously, but I believe this did the trick. Thank you.
I actually tried this method. I have windows 10. I have the Korean language pack installed and I tried tricking the system into thinking I have a Korean operating system. I went into the registry and installed the Korean 0412 and also tried making it the default. I restarted my computer and tried over and over again and still the same message pops up: “available on Korean operating system”. My whole computer is in Korean right now. I don’t understand why it won’t work. This blog was started in 2014. It’s 2018 now. I have been trying for four years. I even broke my monitor in frustration. If there is anyone who currently download the program and knows how to manipulate the program, can you please share. I even contacted the company and even they couldn’t help me.
Hello! Me have this problem too.
hello, i have your problem, and you seem like you solved it, can you tell me how? please.
I cant use it because I using IOS :( not Window :(( what should I do :(
I don’t have any device that’s running IOS to test it out, but if this version only works on Windows (which I’m pretty sure is the case), there’s nothing you can do about that.
But you can still practice typing on your own by copying Korean sentences.
You could install a Virtual Machine (for example, VirtualBox) and run Windows from there.
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I’m having trouble downloading the keyboard game, it’s telling that the game is only for korean based computers?
Downloading or installing? The game should download regardless of the language.
If you can’t install it, try reading the comment thread above that Nat started. Let me know if you still can’t get it to work after that.
This was very helpful!
It doesn’t work on my Windows PC. It says it’s “for Korean Operating System” :(
I found out how to trick the installer program into thinking my PC is Korean! http://keytokorean.com/blog/tech/learn-korean-hangul-touch-typing-installing-the-free-program/
There’s also the solution in the comment thread Nat started above
Google Search this: Learn Korean Hangul Touch Typing (Part 1): Installing the FREE Program
Thanks for sharing!
I was so excited when I found the this page. I’ve installed successfully.
However when I type the Hangul letters, the Hangul letters display on the destop screen. They can’t really display in the Hancom program.
Any idea?
Did you maybe press left ALT key instead of the right one?
Very helpful. Thank you..
Where else can I download this program? It keeps saying that the website is down. I have been looking all over for this program and I don’t know how to obtain it. I am even willing to buy it at this point. Please help! I am at a loss and I really hope that it works on Windows 10 because my other computer that had Windows XP broke down.
i want to download it give me link please
I already changes my languange code in regidit but it whenever I open it, the pop up notification will say ” stopped working” what should I do?
I wish I could use this app but I just got my computer and I’m not gonna do all that OS switching just yet. It’s unfortunate as the app looked really good.
I did a few google searches and came across a blog posting that suggested Tadak which a Korean website that allows kids (I assume) to learn to touch type directly from the website. It’s really awesome and it can teach some vocab too as there are various games there to help kids learn to type. Still have to work my way around it but for those who are searching this may be the other free 2018 option for Korean touch typing. ^_^
Tadak
http://tadaktadak.co.kr/taja/jari.html?type=0
Once you get the hang of typing on the keyboard you can practicing speed at either
10FastFingers
https://10fastfingers.com/typing-test/korean#
or
Typeracer
http://play.typeracer.com/
Just be sure to change the language setting to Korean. And for all you polyglots out there, each has quite a few languages to choose from.
Big thanks to the writer of this blog for this post, it was helpful just to get me to think of other options for learning to type in Korean. ^_^