VocavoyWriting: Korean wins early
Hangul has 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels that stack into syllable blocks. Most learners read it, slowly, within a week.
Japanese uses three scripts: hiragana and katakana (46 basic characters each) and kanji, borrowed Chinese characters that take years. You can start with romaji and kana and add kanji gradually.
Pronunciation: Japanese wins
Japanese has five pure vowels and simple syllables; the main trap is vowel length (おばさん aunt vs. おばあさん grandmother). Korean has more vowels and a three-way consonant contrast (달 moon, 딸 daughter, 탈 mask) that English speakers find hard to hear.
Grammar: about even
Both put the verb at the end, use particles to mark subject and object, and have politeness levels. Knowing one makes the other noticeably easier later.
How to choose
- Pick the language of the shows, music, games or trips you actually care about: motivation matters more than difficulty
- Want to read signs fast? Korean
- Want to speak clearly sooner? Japanese
Vocavoy teaches both, with an alphabet trainer (hiragana, katakana and kanji; Hangul and syllable blocks), romanisation for every word, and Accent Coach drills for exactly these traps.