I have started to learn Korean. It's a while since I've attempted a new language, and I'm amazed at the way Internet-based language-learning has moved on. It's slick; it's funky; and the presentations sound like a radio show, with the obligatory energy-filled "him and her" bantering their way through a set of phrases.

I'm guessing this approach has been found to be particularly suitable for teaching Korean, because this is a language that is very attractive to the young and hip (or wannabe young and hip). Korean soap operas, movies, food, fashion, and music are incredibly popular throughout Southeast Asia and further afield, so sites have obviously grown up to serve the needs of those who want to push on a bit further with their Korea-mania, and actually learn hangugeo (the Korean language).

Three sites that are particularly worth looking at are 90daykorean.com, KoreanClass101.com, and Talktomeinkorean.com.

As well as assisting you with the basics, they'll help you do things like study Korean with K-pop, master the 15 most common breakup lines, or mug up vocabulary for the latest blockbuster. For example, Avengers: Age of Ultron has (unfortunately, in my opinion) been prominent in recent weeks, so you need to pick up the requisite vocabulary for "protect the world" and "gain power", as well as learn to get your tongue around words like syupeo hieoro, Inkeuredeobeul Heolkeu, and -- of course -- eobenjyeoseu.

Are you struggling a bit with those Romanizations (for superhero, Incredible Hulk, and Avengers respectively)? Yep, well, this is the reason you really need to learn Hangul, the Korean writing system. This is actually not so difficult. Unlike Chinese or Japanese, Korean is written using letters, which fit into neat little (invisible) square boxes, each of which makes a syllable. One of my small pleasures is using a downloaded Korean keyboard, and watching it automatically sort the letters into syllables, and resize them depending on how many, and which, other letters they have to share their box with.

By way of reinforcing the language, we've started doing Korean restaurants and videos. More success with the former than the latter, unfortunately. To date we've watched Tabloid Truth (the one with all the finger-breaking) and The Berlin File (I have no idea what this was about as I found the plot twists totally incomprehensible).

But lunch at Sopoong was a very pleasant thing. Still getting my head around Korean food, but the dakgalbi, kimchi fried rice, side dishes, and "Korean rice tea", which tasted faintly gingery, were all very good.