Frequently asked questions

Everything people usually ask before they start reading.

Is SeoJae Story free?

Yes. Every one of the 465+ stories is free to read right now, with the full reader, translations, audio, vocabulary and comprehension checks. A Premium subscription is planned for later to unlock the full library beyond a few free stories, but nothing is behind a paywall yet.

Do I need an account to read?

No. You can open any story and use every feature without signing up. Your saved words, study plan and streak are kept on your device, and signing in keeps them in sync across devices.

Which languages can I learn?

English and Korean. Each story is written in one language with a sentence-by-sentence translation into the other, and in the reader you can switch which language the story body is shown in — so a Korean speaker can learn English, and an English speaker can learn Korean, from the same story.

Can I use SeoJae Story if I don't speak Korean?

Yes. Every story is written in simple English at a CEFR level from A1 to B2, with audio narration and a comprehension check, so any learner of English can read it. The translations and tap-any-word meanings are in Korean, so if you don't read Korean, just read the story in English and leave the Korean switched off. Start with easy English books by level.

What is a graded reader, and what do A1–B2 mean?

A graded reader is a story written so that its vocabulary and grammar stay within a set level. The levels A1, A2, B1 and B2 come from the CEFR scale used by most language courses and exams. See CEFR levels explained for what each level feels like and how to find yours.

How does tap-any-word translation work?

Tap a word in the story and a short gloss appears. The dictionary behind it is hand-built and stored in the app, so a tap is instant and works with no internet connection. Nothing you tap is sent to a server.

Are the translations machine-generated?

No. The sentence translations and the word glosses are written and edited in-house for the sense each graded story uses. No modern, copyrighted translation is used anywhere in the app.

Is the read-aloud a real voice?

Where a story has been prepared, the Listen button and the flashcards play small pre-generated clips recorded once with a neural text-to-speech voice, then bundled with the app. For anything without a clip — your own study phrases, a brand-new story — it falls back to your browser's built-in voice. Audio is never generated at runtime from a paid service.

Can I read the full, original book?

Each story is a simplified graded retelling, not the full text. Long novels like Dracula, Frankenstein and Pride and Prejudice are split into chapter-by-chapter parts you read in order from the book's page, and many parts also let you switch to the unabridged original of that chapter, split into short readings. More chapters are added over time, guided by what readers ask for.

Where does the content come from? Is it copyrighted?

Every story is an original simplified retelling of public-domain source material — fables, fairy tales, and classic literature old enough to be free of copyright. Each lesson ends with a note naming its source. The retellings themselves are written for SeoJae Story.

Can I use it offline or install it as an app?

Yes. Stories you open are kept on your device automatically, and the Download button saves a story with its audio, so you can read and listen on a plane or in the subway. Downloads are free for now and will become part of Premium later. The Android app is available on Google Play, and on any other phone the website can be added to your home screen.

How do I keep track of new vocabulary?

Tap a word and add it to your study plan. Saved words become spaced-repetition flashcards with audio, and the app shows you which ones are due. You can also highlight whole sentences to keep.

What is “My book club”?

A private club you own, with room for up to ten members. When you share a chapter into the club, your members can read that one chapter free while your subscription is active — a simple way to read the same story together.

How many stories are there, and how often is more added?

There are 465+ stories today, including 278 works of classic literature, spread across A1–B2. New stories and chapters are added regularly, guided by what readers ask for.