August 16, 2022

Kayti Burt

Meet the BTS fans learning Korean on Duolingo

For these Duolingo learners, a love for BTS inspired them to start learning Korean!

Motivation—why we start learning a new language and why we keep going—is one of the most important elements in any language-learning journey. For some, it is for a job or someone they love. For others, language-learning is motivated by the stories and art that connect us across language borders. In other words: pop culture!

One of the biggest pop culture forces in the world is BTS. BTS, or 방탄소년단 ( bangtansonyeondan), is a seven-member music group who have garnered a diverse, global fanbase of tens of millions since their debut in 2013. Not only does BTS bring in billions of revenue annually to the Korean economy, they are also inspiring fans across the world to learn the Korean language.

Korean is Duolingo’s 7th most popular language

Korean is spoken by over 77 million people around the world, making it the 13th most-spoken language globally. It is the official language for South Korea and North Korea, and both China and the United States have sizable Korean-speaking populations. And that number is growing! In 2021, Korean was Duolingo’s 7th most popular language to study globally—and the number of users learning the language has only increased in 2022. From June 2021 to June 2022, Duolingo saw a 29% increase in monthly active users in their Korean from English course.

Korean can be particularly difficult for English speakers to learn. The language has its own alphabet, called Hangeul, and a subject-object-verb sentence structure rather than the subject-verb-object order we use in English. The U.S. State Department classifies Korean as a “Category IV Language,” which is their highest level, estimating that it will take a native English speaker 88 weeks or 2200 classroom hours to reach “professional working proficiency.” In other words, native English speakers and others need steady motivation heading into their Korean language learning journey. For many, that’s where BTS comes in…

Meet the BTS fans learning Korean with Duolingo

These learners are all united by their love for BTS, which translated into a love for Korean learning! For those new to BTS standom, each of these learners noted their BTS bias, or their favorite member of the group!

Meet Michele Ross

Age: 32
Location: West Hollywood, CA, USA
Bias: Suga, with Jin as a bias-wrecker

Like many BTS fans, Michele Ross found the group during the pandemic, when she was stuck in her West Hollywood apartment. A month later, she had downloaded the Duolingo app and was learning Korean. “When I’m passionate about something, I’m 110%,” says Michele, who knew a few Korean words before she got into BTS but nothing compared to the 270-day-and-counting Duolingo streak she has going now. “I always liked the way that Hangeul looked. It just made me smile for some reason when I saw it. But, aside from that, I had never considered learning Korean

Meet Alliah Jhanna Padagdag

Age: 21
Location: San Jose Del Monte, Philippines
Bias: Namjoon

As a young teen in the Philippines, Lia listened to BTS casually in the group’s early years—but it wasn’t until “FAKE LOVE” came out in 2018 that she truly got hooked. Lia’s Korean-language learning journey followed a similar trajectory: She started learning the language in fits and starts because of her love for K-dramas, but school and extracurricular activities quickly got in the way. “And then I also started to learn Korean because of BTS,”

Meet Jas Edwards

Age: 24
Location: Newbury Park, CA, USA
Bias: Jimin

Jas found BTS through work, but her love for the group would be cemented when they became a way to stay connected with her twin while they lived on opposite sides of the country (Jas moved to California). “We’d been together our whole lives, and BTS connected us across that distance in a way that is beyond words to me,” says Jas.

Want to try learning Korean for yourself? Join these BTS fans and enroll in our Korean course today!