My first language is Korean. It's impossible not to get a few concept of Japanese language watching anime for extended period of time. They are very similar to each other, with most of the concept more straightforward in Japanese.

I think what makes Japanese hard(especially for the westerners) is reading/writing. Most Korean people learn Hanja or, in Japanese, Kanji(they are not 100% same but almost interchangable) to some degree. This was a huge advantage for me learning Japanese since I can read/write most of the common words before I even speak the language.

[–] nonfuinoncuro@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The cognates are what make it so easy. It's like adding -o to English words to get Spanish; you can just add -u to Korean to get Japanese pronunciation like 약속 --> やくそく

Cultural concepts translate directly, e.g., 선배/후배 --> 先輩/後輩, honorifics in general, 月火水

Also you might enjoy this: https://youtu.be/HiUGWXe6Yzk?si=8g35dQxxbXOGW27c