Alex Patel
Adult Korean Learner
Self-studied Korean from 'Crash Landing on You' onward.
About
Alex is a Sydney-based software engineer who fell into Korean during a 2019 binge of Crash Landing on You. He self-studied through Talk To Me In Korean and worked through two years of italki tutors before reaching upper-intermediate. He writes about the messy real-world process of learning a non-Western language as an adult, with a full embrace of mistakes and plateaus. Alex describes his Korean as 'B2 with confidence, B1 under pressure' — and his contributions are a corrective for textbook-only advice that ignores how learning actually feels at month 18.
Credentials
- Self-taught Korean since 2019 (TTMIK + italki)
- Upper-intermediate Korean (TOPIK Level 4 target)
- Sydney-based, learning context: full-time engineer, evening study
Languages
Speaks
- English (native)
- Korean (B2)
- Hindi (heritage, conversational)
Currently learning
- Korean (toward TOPIK 5)
Posts by Alex Patel
No published posts yet. Drafts in the queue.