Dalmaji
달맞이
Korean for travel — and the reading that goes with it
Land in Korea already able to read the signs
340 travel phrases with Hangul, romanization and clear audio; a Hangul School that teaches you to read signs and menus rather than memorise a chart; a 60-dish Menu Decoder; a won converter; and 72 Korea travel tips. Offline, on your iPhone, in Spanish and English.
Dalmaji is with Apple's review team right now. The link above goes to its App Store listing, which opens the moment the app is published.
Made by Quantum Quacks · sister app to Kotomaji and Handarin
What is Dalmaji?
Dalmaji (달맞이 — Korean for going out to see the moon) is a Korean travel phrasebook and Hangul reading app for iPhone, developed by Quantum Quacks. It contains 340 travel phrases in 13 categories — each with Hangul, the official Revised Romanization, a phonetic easy reading written for Spanish speakers, clear Korean audio and a note on politeness — a Hangul School of 10 units that teaches you to read Korean signs and menus at speed, a Menu Decoder with 60 photographed dishes, a Kiosk Decoder with 40 screens, a won converter across 23 currencies, and a 72-tip Korea travel guide. Everything is bundled in the app and works offline; the only thing that uses the network is refreshing exchange rates. Dalmaji has no account, no ads and no tracking. It is the third app in the same family as Kotomaji (for Japan) and Handarin (for China), and it is coming soon to the App Store for iPhone (iOS 17 or later), free to download with an optional one-time Pro unlock.
- Category
- Travel · Education
- Platform
- iPhone · iOS 17+
- Price
- Free · Pro one-time
- Developer
- Quantum Quacks
Main Features
Four tabs: Phrases, Learn, Won and Guide
340 Travel Phrases
Thirteen categories built around the real moments of a trip to Korea, from ordering at a barbecue table to asking a pharmacist for help. Every phrase in the polite register — never casual speech.
Hangul School
Ten units that teach you to read Korean out loud rather than memorise a chart: a reading-speed timer, 29 minimal pairs, the full 40-letter alphabet and a “Read the street” exam with 12 real signs.
Menu Decoder
Sixty Korean dishes with a photo, a plain description, a spice level and pork, seafood and veggie flags — grouped by the place you are standing in: barbecue, jjigae, street food, chimaek and café.
Kiosk Decoder
Forty of the screens and labels that ambush you in Korea — the self-order kiosk, the ticket machine, the convenience-store shelf — decoded before you have to guess and tap.
Won Converter
Twenty-three currencies with rates refreshed whenever you have a connection and kept for offline use, quick amounts laid out as the actual banknotes, and 22 reference prices so you know what things really cost.
72-Tip Korea Guide
Twelve sections covering what nobody tells you before you fly: SIMs and the apps that actually work there, money, transport, etiquette, nightlife, K-beauty, day trips and emergencies.
340 Phrases, 13 Categories
Organised around the real moments of a trip to Korea
Every Phrase, Four Ways In
Read it, sound it out, hear it, or just hand the phone over — whichever gets you through the moment.
- ✓ Hangul — the Korean as it is actually written
- ✓ Revised Romanization — the official system, the one on the road signs
- ✓ Easy reading — a phonetic version written for Spanish speakers
- ✓ Clear Korean audio, plus a note on when the phrase fits and when it doesn't
- ✓ “Show it” mode — the phrase, big, for the person in front of you
Hangul School
Most apps teach you the letters. Dalmaji teaches you to read — signs, menus and shopfronts, at the speed a street actually moves.
10 units
From six vowels and a circle to reading whole words without stopping.
Reading speed
A timer that measures your milliseconds per syllable, run after run.
29 minimal pairs
Letters that look alike (오/우, 개/게) and sounds that are too alike: plain, tense, aspirated.
40 letters
The complete alphabet, with the shape of every letter explained.
6-lesson crash course
Reading Korean in about 30 minutes — for the night before the flight.
“Read the street”
An exam built from 12 real Korean signs: the actual test of whether it worked.
Syllable table (반절표)
The full grid, filling in with colour as your progress covers it.
115 Konglish words
The English loanwords you already know — plus the false friends that trip people up.
Order Without Guessing
The Menu Decoder covers 60 dishes with a photo, a plain description, a spice level and pork, seafood and veggie flags — grouped by the place you are standing in. The Kiosk Decoder handles the other half of the problem: 40 screens and labels from self-order kiosks, ticket machines and convenience stores.
Know What Things Cost
A won converter that behaves like a travel tool rather than a calculator.
- ✓ 23 currencies, with rates refreshed whenever you are online
- ✓ The last rates are kept on the device, so it still works with no signal
- ✓ Quick amounts laid out as the real banknotes you'll be holding
- ✓ 22 reference prices from Korea, so a number means something
72 Korea Travel Tips
Twelve sections, a 12-point trip checklist, your trip date, and 30 stamps (도장) to collect along the way
The Essentials Are Always Free
And Pro is one payment, once — never a subscription
Free
- ✓ Every essential and emergency phrase, in full
- ✓ About 7 free phrases in each of the other categories
- ✓ The whole Hangul School: 10 units, 29 minimal pairs, the exams
- ✓ All 115 Konglish words
- ✓ The Kiosk Decoder, all 40 screens
- ✓ 25 of the 60 Menu Decoder dishes
- ✓ 6 of the 12 guide sections, and all 30 stamps
- ✓ The won converter, unlimited
- ✓ “Show it” mode, for the person in front of you
- ✓ Fully offline. No account, no ads, no tracking
Dalmaji Pro
- ✨ Every one of the 340 phrases, across all 13 categories
- ✨ All 60 Menu Decoder dishes, not just the first 25
- ✨ All 12 guide sections and all 72 travel tips
- ✨ Everything that is already free stays free
- ✨ One payment, once — never a subscription
- ✨ Free updates for life
Pro is an in-app purchase: install Dalmaji free, then unlock it from inside the app. The welcome price runs for 48 hours from the first time you open the Pro screen; after that it is $9.99. Your local price is set by the App Store.
Perfect For
Why Dalmaji?
Built for one trip to Korea, not for an endless study streak
vs a translator app
💡 Keep both: a translator for the unexpected, Dalmaji for everything you can see coming.
vs a language-learning app
Screenshots
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dalmaji?
Dalmaji (달맞이, “going out to see the moon”) is a Korean travel phrasebook and Hangul reading app for iPhone, made by Quantum Quacks. It includes 340 travel phrases in 13 categories with Hangul, official Revised Romanization and clear Korean audio; a Hangul School that teaches you to read Korean signs and menus; a Menu Decoder with 60 photographed dishes; a Kiosk Decoder; a won converter; and a 72-tip Korea travel guide. It works offline and ships in Spanish and English.
Does Dalmaji work offline?
Yes. Every phrase, audio file, lesson, dish, tip and stamp is bundled inside the app, so all of it works in airplane mode. The only feature that touches the internet is the won converter, which refreshes exchange rates when you have a connection and keeps the last ones it downloaded for use offline.
Is Dalmaji available yet?
Not quite. Dalmaji is finished and on its way through Apple's App Review, and is due on the App Store for iPhone (iOS 17 or later) before the end of September 2026. The button on this page points at its App Store listing, which opens the moment the app is published.
Is Dalmaji free?
Dalmaji is free to download, and the free tier is generous: the essentials and every emergency phrase in full — you will never hit a paywall at the moment you actually need help — about 7 phrases in each of the other categories, the entire Hangul School, all 115 Konglish words, the Kiosk Decoder, 25 of the 60 Menu Decoder dishes, 6 of the 12 guide sections, all 30 stamps and the won converter. Dalmaji Pro is an optional one-time unlock, never a subscription: it adds the remaining phrases, dishes and guide sections for $9.99, with a welcome offer of $4.99 during the first 48 hours after you first open the Pro screen. Your local price is set by the App Store.
Do I need to know any Korean to use Dalmaji?
No. Every phrase shows the Hangul, the official Revised Romanization and an extra phonetic “easy reading” written for Spanish speakers, plus clear Korean audio you can replay as often as you like. And if you would rather not speak at all, “Show it” mode puts the phrase on screen, large, so the other person can simply read it.
What does the Hangul School teach?
It teaches you to read, not to memorise a chart. Ten units take you from six vowels to reading whole words, with a reading-speed timer that measures your milliseconds per syllable, 29 minimal pairs (letters that look too alike, such as 오/우 and 개/게, and sounds that are too alike: plain, tense and aspirated), the complete 40-letter alphabet, a 6-lesson crash course that gets you reading in about 30 minutes, a “Read the street” exam built from 12 real signs, and the syllable table (반절표), which fills in with colour as you progress.
Is the Korean polite enough to use with strangers?
Yes. All 340 phrases are written in the polite register (해요체) — the one you actually want with shopkeepers, taxi drivers and hotel staff. There is no casual speech anywhere in the app, and the phrases that need it carry a short note on politeness and etiquette.
Which devices and languages does Dalmaji support?
Dalmaji runs on iPhone with iOS 17.0 or later. The interface and all of the content — phrases, lessons, dishes, tips — are available in Spanish and English. There is no Android version.
Who makes Dalmaji?
Dalmaji is made by Quantum Quacks, an indie studio founded by Luis Sebastian Huerta. It is the third app in the same family: Kotomaji covers Japan and Handarin covers China.
달맞이 — go out and see the moon
Dalmaji arrives on the App Store shortly. Free to download, works offline, and ready before your flight lands in Seoul.
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