Comparison

Yaeum vs TOPIK Note

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Yaeum

Learn Korean through K-pop, K-dramas, and custom texts. Offers sentence analysis, vocabulary lists, and interactive quizzes to personalize your learning journey. Master Hangul with step-by-step lessons and native pronunciation.

Highlights
  • Learn with K-pop & K-dramas
  • Sentence-by-sentence analysis
  • Instant vocabulary lists
  • Learn from any Korean text
  • Smart vocabulary quizzes
  • Progress tracking
  • Hangul Academy lessons
Features
Read full description

Learn Korean with the songs, dramas, and alphabet you love — fast, fun, and totally personalized. With Yaeum, you go beyond simple translation and explore lyrics and scripts through in-depth sentence analysis, clear explanations, and custom word lists built just for you. Features • Learn with K-pop & K-dramas – Search a song or drama and get ready-made lessons. • Sentence-by-sentence analysis – Go beyond translation with detailed grammar explanations and clear breakdowns of meaning and nuance. • Instant vocabulary lists – Automatically generated from the lyrics or texts you choose. • Learn from any Korean text – Paste or scan articles, messages, or notes to create your own lessons. • Smart vocabulary quizzes – Customize quizzes and practice on the go to boost long-term recall. • Deep word insights – Grammar notes, example sentences, and definitions for every word. • Progress tracking – Track your learning over time and stay motivated. • Introducing Lessons – Start with short, beginner-friendly Korean lessons inspired by K-culture and everyday conversations. • Yaeum Hangul Quiz – Play a daily Jamo-based word challenge with easy words, hard words, and K-pop artist names. Hangul Academy • Learn Hangul from scratch – Master the Korean alphabet step by step. • Video-guided stroke order – Learn how to write every consonant and vowel correctly. • Native audio pronunciation – Hear real examples and practice accurate sounds. • Build syllable blocks – Understand how Korean letters combine into readable syllables. • Interactive quizzes – Test reading, writing, and recognition as you progress. Why Yaeum? • Personalized learning from real Korean content — vocabulary, sentence analysis, and grammar explanations built from songs, dramas, and texts you love. • Learn anytime, anywhere — mobile-friendly quizzes, video lessons, and bite-sized study sessions. • Made for how you learn — perfect for K-pop and K-drama fans, complete beginners starting with Hangul, and learners who want to grow real Korean vocabulary. Free & Premium Yaeum is free with ads. Upgrade to remove ads and unlock the full experience. Subscription Pricing and Terms Yaeum offers an auto-renewing monthly subscription at $2.99/month and an auto-renewing yearly subscription at $24.99/year to provide you with unlimited access to the app while you maintain an active subscription. Payment will be charged to the credit card connected to your iTunes account upon confirming the initial purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and disable auto-renewal in your account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Legal License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.yaeum.com/privacypolicy/?lang=en

About

TOPIK Note

Master Korean vocabulary and grammar for the TOPIK exam with smart, spaced repetition. Learn words and grammar points through various quiz formats and practice with real past exam questions. Hear native pronunciation for every word and sentence.

Highlights
  • 9,000+ TOPIK-level words
  • SM-2 spaced repetition system
  • Four learning modes per word
  • Native speaker audio pronunciation
  • 210 TOPIK grammar points
  • 1,700+ real TOPIK exam questions
  • Progress tracking dashboard
Features
Read full description

You already know you want to pass TOPIK. The real question is how — without burning study time on words that won't move your score, or losing a week to reviews you didn't need. TOPIK Note sorts 9,000+ Korean words by exact TOPIK level and schedules your reviews for you, so every minute goes to the words that count. Study what matters, when it matters. The app remembers what you know and what you don't. SM-2 spaced repetition (8-stage intervals) tracks every answer and adjusts your schedule automatically. Hard words come back sooner. Words you've nailed space out further — so you're never drilling something you already own. FOUR WAYS TO LEARN EACH WORD • See the Korean word, pick the meaning • See the meaning, pick the Korean word • Fill in the missing word in a sentence • Read a Korean sentence and choose what it means Same word, four angles. By the time it sticks, you can use it in context — not just spot it on a flashcard. With 36,000+ quizzes, you won't run out. HEAR EVERY WORD Tap the speaker on any word or example sentence to hear how it's pronounced. Reading Korean is half the work — knowing how it sounds is the other half. MADE BY KOREANS, REVIEWED BY KOREANS Every definition and example is written and checked by native Koreans — no clumsy machine translations to unlearn later. EVERY TOPIK LEVEL, ONE APP • Beginner (Level 1–2) — foundational words • Intermediate (Level 3–4) — everyday and compound words • Advanced (Level 5–6) — academic and nuanced vocabulary Pick your level. Switch anytime. The app adapts to your pace. GRAMMAR BUILT ON WORDS YOU ALREADY KNOW 210 TOPIK grammar points — from beginner particles to advanced connectives (79 beginner, 94 intermediate, 37 advanced). Every example sentence is built from vocabulary you've already studied, so a grammar point arrives as a sentence you can actually say, not a rule to memorize. • Fill-in-the-blank, conjugation, and meaning quizzes for every point • Spot a grammar pattern inside any word's example sentence and tap straight through to its explanation • Reviews are scheduled the same way as vocabulary — the grammar you keep missing comes back sooner PRACTICE REAL TOPIK EXAMS Vocabulary gets you ready. Past exams tell you if you're ready. • 1,700+ real TOPIK I & II questions pulled from 21 past exam papers — 878 reading and 850 listening • Listening questions play the original exam audio. Answer first, then read the full transcript to see exactly what you missed • Submit your answer, then read an explanation that walks you through the correct choice — available in English, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) • "My answered questions" keeps everything you've tried, sorted by wrong and right, so you can drill your weak spots • Exam stats: overall accuracy, separate TOPIK I and II progress, a 30-day trend, and a breakdown by question type TRACK YOUR PROGRESS A stats dashboard that earns its space: • Daily study streak • Accuracy across each quiz type and TOPIK level • Wrong Notes — every word you miss, collected automatically so you can target your weak spots No vanity metrics. Just signals for where to focus next. STUDY ON YOUR TERMS Bookmark words you want to revisit. Set a daily reminder — even five minutes a day compounds over weeks. YOUR LANGUAGE, YOUR INTERFACE App interface in English, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). Word definitions in all of those plus Korean. The Korean stays Korean — only the explanations change. You've decided to learn Korean. TOPIK Note makes sure your time goes to the right words, in the right order. Terms of Use (EULA): https://topik-note.com/en/terms-of-service.html Privacy Policy: https://topik-note.com/en/privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

Yaeum4 screens
TOPIK Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TOPIK Note at 4.8 against Yaeum's 2.0. TOPIK Note also leads on ratings volume (53 vs 1). Yaeum's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Yaeum sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and TOPIK Note sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TOPIK Note holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TOPIK Note has 53 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Yaeum ships an update every 6 days, TOPIK Note every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Yaeum versus TOPIK Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYaeumTOPIK Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (1 ratings)4.8 (53 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings153 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size128 MB156 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDominik Wei-FiegJihoon LEE

Customer experience

Yaeum

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

TOPIK Note

All ratings53 ratings
Positive98.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral9.4%
Negative28.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Yaeum

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$24.991 Year
6 purchases

TOPIK Note

Subscriptions2
  • Premium (Monthly)$10.991 Month
  • Premium (Annual)$64.991 Year
One-time4
  • Premium Lifetime - 60% OFF$31.99
  • Premium Lifetime - 50% OFF$39.99
  • Premium Lifetime - 30% OFF$55.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium (Lifetime)$79.99

Questions

Is Yaeum free?
Yaeum is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TOPIK Note free?
TOPIK Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Yaeum or TOPIK Note?
TOPIK Note is rated higher. Yaeum averages 2.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while TOPIK Note averages 4.8 from 53 ratings.
Do Yaeum or TOPIK Note have ads?
TOPIK Note shows ads; Yaeum does not.
Which is updated more often, Yaeum or TOPIK Note?
Yaeum ships an update every 6 days, and TOPIK Note every 4 days. Most recently, Yaeum was updated on October 30, 2026 and TOPIK Note on November 5, 2026.

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