🇰🇷 Korean
Korean graded readers by TOPIK level
Korean graded reading is still thin compared with Japanese or Chinese. There are some learner books from Korean publishers and a few collections in English, but many learners jump from textbooks straight to webtoons and dramas. A sustained graded story fills that middle stage.
ReadNative's Korean book is The Tale of Hong Gildong, the Joseon-era classic, retold from absolute beginner (around TOPIK 1) to about B1 (TOPIK 3) over 40 chapters, in Hangul with romanization on tap. It is free, and you can read the first chapters free in your browser, tapping any word for its English meaning or any sentence for a translation.
Korean graded readers on ReadNative
What to read at each level
TOPIK 1 (A1)
Simple polite-style sentences and core particles. The opening of Hong Gildong — Minister Hong's house, the forbidden word, books at night — is written for this.
TOPIK 2 (A2)
Past tense, connective endings like -고 and -아서/어서, and more vocabulary. Continue through the middle chapters, where Gildong leaves home.
TOPIK 3 (B1)
Narrative style (-다 endings), longer sentences and more Sino-Korean vocabulary. The Hwalbindang chapters and the ending reach this level.
TOPIK 4 (B2)
Webtoons, children's novels and news written for learners, and then your own EPUBs with tap-to-translate.
Not sure where you are? Take the Korean vocabulary test or check a text with the difficulty checker.
Questions
How do TOPIK levels map to CEFR?
Approximately: TOPIK 1 ≈ A1, 2 ≈ A2, 3 ≈ B1, 4 ≈ B2, though TOPIK is a separate scale.
What is a graded reader?
A book written or retold with controlled vocabulary and grammar for a specific level, so a learner can read a whole story in Korean with little dictionary use. The aim is lots of comfortable reading, not decoding.
How do I know if a book is the right level?
If you understand the story and need to look up only a few words per page, it is right. If every sentence needs help, drop down a level; if you never tap anything, move up. In Korean the step from graded books to native texts is steep, so do not rush it.