Two languages are very similar both in grammatically and verbally. Most of the vocabularies based on Chinese words are really similar to each other! So, you can learn both languages easily.
Grammar
Japanese and Korean are both extremely time consuming and challenging languages to learn. They share almost identical syntax structure (SOV instead of English SVO) and grammatical rules (Particles, Postpostions, etc).
Writing System
In Japanese, you have to learn hiragana, katakana and kanji. You have to start with learning how to read and write these basic alphabets, and then kanji when you reach a high level as well. You will need to learn at least about 2,000 kanji (Chinese) characters in order to be master in basic Japanese. Korean alphabet (hangul) is relatively easy to read and write. Basically, there are 21 vowels and 19 consonants so you just need to learn how to form a sound by combining these vowels and consonants together.
Pronunciation
On pronunciation, I would argue Japanese is much easier than Korean. There are only five simple vowels in Japanese, and a handful of rather straightforward consonants needed to pronounce every single word in the entire language. In Korean on the other hand, there are a much wider variety of vowels and consonants, and even compound vowels where vowels combine to make even more confusing vowels.
Employment Opportunities
Japan has more opportunities to work than in Korea as Japan is the world's third largest economy. Japan has the fast-growing household brand presence with companies like Sony, Toshiba, Canon, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Nintendo, Toyota, Honda, Fujifilm, Pentel, Panasonic, etc.
Though both languages are classified by the US Defense Language Institute as level 4, the highest level of difficulty, don’t hesitate! Start learning from now! Do you have a passion for the Japanese or Korean culture? It depends on the factors motivating you the most.
Virtual hugs for even taking the time out of your day to read my blogs! Hope they are helpful and motivate you to learn new languages!
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