안녕하세요!! 토미입니다!
This time, I have invited Yukarira, one of our “Fast Korean” course students!
I (Tammy) will briefly introduce Yukarira.
She is Japanese and she is in her 60s.
To summarize her achievements: Yukarira proudly passed TOPIK Level 6 in just 4 months.
When we first met on December 22nd, she took a TOPIK mock test.
At that time, her scores were Listening 74, Reading 72, for a total of 146 points.
However, on the actual TOPIK test on April 13th, she scored Listening 92, Writing 77, Reading 78, for a total of 247 points, successfully achieving TOPIK Level 6!
Congratulations! 🎉
In short — her listening score jumped 18 points, from 74 to 92!!!
Her reading score went up 6 points, from 72 to 78!
As for writing, she started with no prior experience and scored 77 on a test with an average of 37!!
Now let’s hear in detail how Yukarira achieved these results!
그럼 시작할게요!
※From this point on, it will be Yukarira’s remarks.
Self-introduction
안녕하세요.
저는 유카리라라고 하고요.
사이타마현에 살고 있는 60대 주부예요.
예전에는 영상 번역가로서 영어 TV 프로그램을 일본어로 옮기는 일을 했었어요.
그 일을 그만둔 후에 시간이 생겨서 한국 드라마를 보다가 완전히 빠졌어요.
그래서 한국어 공부를 시작했어요.
이번에 토미선생님 덕분에 토픽 6급에 합격할 수 있어서 감사할 따름이에요.
선생님, 정말 감사합니다.
The reason why I started taking the Fast Korean course
What made you decide to learn Korean?
I became a fan of an actor I saw in a Korean drama recommended by a friend.
I started learning Korean because I wanted to understand YouTube videos and other clips featuring him that had no subtitles.
Before taking my Fast Korean course, what was your Korean level?
What struggles did you have?
How were you studying at the time?
Originally, I started learning Korean about seven years ago for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
For the first year, I studied on my own using a radio program.
After that, I continued taking weekly private lessons with a Japanese teacher, while also joining online Korean study groups and group lessons.
I enjoyed learning Korean that way.
As for my past struggles…
I regularly took exams such as the Hangul Proficiency Test and TOPIK, but I always got stuck at Level 5 and felt that the wall to Level 6 was very high.
I often watched videos of senior students from Tammy’s Fast Korean course in Japan, and I thought it was amazing how they all achieved results in such a short time.
Also, during my early self-study days, I memorized pronunciation using katakana, the Japanese writing system, which caused me difficulties later on.
I especially struggled with tense consonants and final consonants like ㅇ batchim.
Why did you decide to take the course?
Actually, at first I thought that the coaching system might not be a good fit for me.
The reason is that I enjoy trying different study methods on my own.
So I thought that if I kept studying with my own methods, I would eventually be able to pass TOPIK Level 6.
However, when I watched the videos of Fast Korean graduates, I saw that they were all achieving results in such a short period of time.
I wanted to know their secret, and that’s why I decided to take the Fast Korean course.
I had been watching Tammy’s videos ever since the beginner grammar lectures, so I trusted that if I studied with Tammy, I could rely on this program. That’s why I applied.
After enrolling, how many months did it take to see results, and what kind of results did you achieve?
Around the time when I mastered intermediate-level vocabulary, I felt that I could start reading Korean short stories without having to look up words in the dictionary so often.
During the final intensive study period before the TOPIK exam, there were times when I felt discouraged and thought, “I might not be able to finish everything.”
But in the Fast Korean course, the tasks I needed to complete were always clearly laid out in front of me, so I was able to focus on simply getting through them and push myself all the way to the end.
What made the difference in your progress,
and what aspects of my coaching service did you find most helpful?
What left the deepest impression on me was definitely the TOPIK preparation.
In particular, for Writing Question 54, you thoroughly checked my work starting from the Japanese draft stage to see whether the logical flow was solid.
I was honestly surprised at how detailed and careful the feedback was.
I had taken TOPIK writing courses at other schools before, but they mainly focused on corrections.
I had never received such consistent and comprehensive guidance before, so I truly felt it was worthwhile to become a Fast Korean student.
For reading and listening as well, Tammy’s explanations of her own solving process in the videos were extremely clear.
It was also very helpful that I could take past TOPIK exams online as many times as I wanted to , get them graded immediately, and view the explanations right away.
It was tough that I couldn’t move on until I reached the passing score, and that I had to solve seven past exams in total, but thinking about how other Fast Korean students were also working hard gave me the motivation to push through.
Outside of TOPIK preparation, I also found vocabulary study with WordHolic to be extremely effective.
Personally, I’ve always believed that the best way to learn vocabulary is to use flashcard-style tools that allow quick responses and repeated practice. But for Korean, I found it troublesome to make those materials myself.
In Fast Korean, however, Tammy not only created example pronunciation videos for intermediate and advanced vocabulary but also prepared the WordHolic cards.
I was really impressed by this.
Thanks to this, I was able to study vocabulary very effectively.
Was there any specific advice from Tammy that resonated with you?
During the Fast Korean course, I had a week-long trip planned, and you told me it was perfectly fine to just focus on enjoying the trip during that time.
Also, when I couldn’t always follow the study schedule as planned, you reassured me saying, “As adults, sudden changes in schedule are inevitable.”
That really made me happy.
At the same time, you also encouraged me with strong messages such as, “People who become good at languages are not those with talent, but those who don’t quit,” and “Success doesn’t come to those who make an effort; rather, you must keep making an effort until success comes” (a quote from soccer player Messi).
Those words were very motivating for me.
If you hadn’t taken the Fast Korean Coaching course, what do you think you would be doing now?
I think I would still have been continuing my studies while enjoying the process, but when it came to TOPIK preparation and vocabulary learning, I probably would have been moving forward with uncertainty and hesitation.
Your future plans for learning Korean and your ultimate goal
By obtaining TOPIK Level 6, I am exempt from the Korean language section of the National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter exam in Japan.
Therefore, my goal is to obtain the National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter Qualification in Korean.
Message to the viewers
Once you can speak Korean, you can enjoy videos without subtitles, laugh along at fan meetings before the interpreter translates, and talk to locals while traveling in Korea—making the experience much more fun.
I started learning Korean from zero in my 50s, and I’ve been able to come this far, so I feel that age doesn’t matter.
As Tammy says, learning effective study methods through short-term intensive practice is extremely effective.
I hope to master Korean quickly and enjoy Korean content together with everyone!
