Koreanischkurs

In 2020, when tourism shut down, I was out of work. But my wife wasn’t, at least not completely. Hyunok Jang, a Korean teacher with decades of experience, had just moved her community college classes online. Her students weren’t used to Zoom. So she started recording short videos to help them follow along at home. It began as a support effort. No plans, no strategy. Just a way to help people not fall behind.

But when she uploaded her first eight videos, a full walkthrough of the Korean alphabet (Hangul), something clicked. The videos were calm, focused, structured. Nothing fancy. Just a teacher who actually knew how to teach.

A few months later, with barely 100 subscribers, we realized this might be something. Not a side project. A foundation.

By the end of that year, on Christmas Day, we hit 1,000 subscribers. That was the signal. We decided to go all in.

And so Koreanischkurs was born.

The Goal Wasn’t to Be Influencers. It Was to Build Something Solid.

From the beginning, we wanted this to be real. Not a content hustle. Not a funnel.

Our goal was simple: To make Korean truly learnable in German.

That meant:

• A complete beginners course, from alphabet to fluency
• A method based on Hyunok’s 20 years of experience
• No skipped steps, no complicated grammar too early, and no distractions
• Structure, repetition, progression, just like you’d build a house: brick by brick, from the ground up

This approach became our signature. And people responded.

We wrote our first book in 2021, based on the YouTube beginner series. Then another. And another. By the third book, we had completed the full 100-lesson video series on YouTube. Over time, we created close to 300 videos, covering everything from simple phrases to advanced grammar, cultural nuance, and even some food and learning theory.

Built on Real Teaching, Not Just Content

Before YouTube, Hyunok had spent many years teaching Korean in classrooms. That’s where her method was born, through live interaction, feedback, and adaptation.

When I first met her in 2014, I was a student in one of those classes. Each 70-minute lesson felt like a workout. You couldn’t coast. She’d challenge you, push you, make you repeat until it stuck. What I learned in her classes I still remembered years later.

That’s what we built into the videos. And the books. And the online courses.

Our Roles: Teacher and Builder

We run Koreanischkurs as a two-person team. Hyunok teaches. I build.

That means I handle everything behind the scenes, website, editing, eLearning setup, tech systems, so she can focus on what she does best: helping people actually learn Korean.

It also means that even though I’m in some of the videos, I’m mostly invisible. And that’s intentional. This project is built around her clarity, structure, and energy.

But it’s a shared vision, and it works because of the mix.

The Platform Today: What We Offer

1. The YouTube Channel
The Koreanischkurs YouTube Channel is where it all started, and it’s still going strong. The full Koreanisch für Anfänger (Korean for Beginners) playlist is our flagship course: 100 videos from zero to basic fluency.

In addition to the course, the channel includes:

• Bite-sized vocab and phrase lessons
• Theory videos (how to study, why repetition matters, etc.)
• Intermediate and advanced grammar
• Cultural insights and even a few cooking clips

2. The Books
We’ve published three volumes of “Koreanisch für Anfänger”, one for each level of the video course. They refine and complete the material, offering deeper explanations, exercises, and structured progression for people who want to learn offline.

A fourth book, dedicated to Hangul (the Korean alphabet), is in progress.

3. The Online Courses
We launched a few online courses through Zoom, complete with a booking system and everything. They are basically Hyunoks courses, the ones she conducted for the Salzburg university, the community college and other places by hosted directly by us.

Most of our students who joined these courses have stayed. Semester after semester. So much so that we rarely open new beginner slots anymore. Our advanced learners just keep going.

4. The eLearning Platform (in development)
We’re currently building a full Korean eLearning experience, with interactive quizzes, a better student flow, and full progression tracking. It’s designed to feel like the YouTube series, but with feedback, structure, and motivation built in.

5. The Online Shop (coming sooner or later)
Eventually, we want to expand into curated Korean goods. Books, stationery, snacks, and language tools that actually help learners feel more connected.

Who It’s For

Our audience is diverse, but connected by a shared intent: They really want to learn.

• K-pop fans and language nerds, mostly younger
• Travelers and food lovers, looking for context
• German-speaking learners from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
• Anyone tired of gimmicks, looking for structure and depth

We’re not the flashiest channel. We don’t promise fluency in 30 days. But our community shows up, and sticks around. And we show up for them. We’ve answered thousands of YouTube comments, always with care and detail. That matters. That builds trust.

What Makes Koreanischkurs Different

• No skipping steps. Every lesson builds on the last.
• No borrowed content. Everything is taught from scratch, based on Hyunok’s original method.
• No false promises. We don’t sell speed. We sell structure.
• Real teacher energy. Not influencer noise.
• Personal connection. You’ll get to know us, not just the content.

What’s Next

• The Hangul Book: A standalone guide to the Korean alphabet, crafted for complete beginners
• The full eLearning rollout: A structured, interactive home for long-term learners
• More intermediate/advanced content: More videos, more grammar, more real-world application
• The English translation project: We’re translating the full concept into English, under the new channel hyunokjang.com, but we’ll keep it lean. No eLearning, just clear teaching, lightly adapted
• Possibly more books: Focused on specific topics or advanced grammar, based on what our students ask for

Why It’s on This Site

Koreanischkurs doesn’t just exist online, it exists in our house, our routines, our lives. It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever built as a team.

That’s why it’s part of my portfolio.

Because while I may not be the one teaching, I’ve built every part of the system that lets this project grow, scale, and serve people well. From website to workflow, shop to backend.

And more than that, I believe in it.

I’ve seen what happens when someone finds the right teacher at the right time. And I think this project proves that even in a small niche, with clarity, repetition, and good systems, it’s possible to offer value.

To actually teach. To actually help. And to actually finish something.