You probably already knew that you can download language packs to use Google
Translate offline, but here are two other popular options for translating Korean
offline.
Naver's translator app Papago got offline support at the end of last year. It's very easy to use and all in your native language.
Just go to the sidebar settings to find it, and it will let you choose which language packs you want to save. For reference, the English to Korean pack is just 10MB and the Korean to English is 10MB too. You'll likely want both.
GenieTalk isn't as popular it seems, but is another homegrown Korean option for translating Korean to/from various other languages. Made by Hancom (the company that brought you Hangul Office etc), its translation service is available in a few varieties.
Actually Hancom has done a great job this past year of presenting their product offerings in English.
There is an app for Android or iOS but currently it requires an internet connection.
It's a bit misleading on the product website, since it displays this, but the app itself still has no option for offline translation (I tried it myself just now, and in airplane mode, it fails to translate anything, nor does it have any options for downloading offline data).
But there are/were also two actual offline options.
The GenieTalk Offline is/was a dongle that plugs into your smartphone and contained translation data for offline use.
Papago offline
|
| Naver Papago offline |
Naver's translator app Papago got offline support at the end of last year. It's very easy to use and all in your native language.
Just go to the sidebar settings to find it, and it will let you choose which language packs you want to save. For reference, the English to Korean pack is just 10MB and the Korean to English is 10MB too. You'll likely want both.
|
| Downloading Papago offline language packs |
Update 2023 - Genie Talk
Most of the following information is now outdated. Genie Talk as a product
seems to have been near fully discontinued by Hancom.
The GenieTalk Go line of products has been discontinued and all of the apps have been taken down. Despite that announcement, their website still suggests they are for sale.
 |
| Screenshot of GenieTalk Go product page. Image: Hancom |
Additionally, the Genie Talk app is still featured in promo pages, but all links to the app are dead. Presumably, these never gained traction in a world with Google Translate and Naver Papago.
 |
| Genie Talk app. Image: Hancom |
I'll
leave this post up for posterity but be aware that pretty much none of this is
now available.
Original post continues below.
GenieTalk offline
GenieTalk isn't as popular it seems, but is another homegrown Korean option for translating Korean to/from various other languages. Made by Hancom (the company that brought you Hangul Office etc), its translation service is available in a few varieties.
Actually Hancom has done a great job this past year of presenting their product offerings in English.
There is an app for Android or iOS but currently it requires an internet connection.
|
| GenieTalk promo |
It's a bit misleading on the product website, since it displays this, but the app itself still has no option for offline translation (I tried it myself just now, and in airplane mode, it fails to translate anything, nor does it have any options for downloading offline data).
|
| GenieTalk off-line? Not quite. |
But there are/were also two actual offline options.
GenieTalk Offline
|
| GenieTalk offline |
The GenieTalk Offline is/was a dongle that plugs into your smartphone and contained translation data for offline use.
You would guess that the benefit here is that there's nothing to download
ahead of time, and you can insert it into any Android phone to access the
translation data. You would be wrong.
The dongle actually required you to first connect it to the phone
while online in order to verify the product code. Only then
could you use it offline (there was a 15 day grace period for
emergencies).
The item was listed as 47,000 won on the official Hancom store, but has since been removed. Some sellers still advertise it but all I've seen were "out of stock" and the product seems to have been discontinued. For example E-mart has the listing still up at 38,900 won.
This item came out around 2017 and translated between English-Chinese-Japanese and Korean, but as far as I can tell has been discontinued in favor of the next option.
The GenieTalk Go 2 is a fully offline device that supports image translations and audio convos. It was demoed along with some other home translation devices at CES 2020 this year. It's an upgrade from the previous model although I noticed by chance that the old model was actually listed for sale on Amazon of all places (out of stock of course):
Unlike the previous versions, this device is still produced and sold. Here it is at the Hancom store for 654,500 won. At that link you can find all the product description/details.
It's also at Danawa for similar prices from various online retailers:
Weirdly, for being a flash offline device, it actually only supports those same 4 languages for offline use (English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese), while noting that it can do up to 65 languages in "online" mode. You can pop in a data SIM card for that, and then it will also double as a Wi-Fi hotspot for you.
Anyway, those are just some options for you. Not sure what the point is when Papago and Google generally have you pretty covered for free but hey options are always good.
If you're curious about the quality of Genie Talk translation, they have a simple online translator you can try out here:
https://hnctrans.hancom.com/translate/trans_text.html
By the way, GenieTalk's audio translation/transcription must be pretty good now, since Amazon is using it for Korean users of the Echo.
This chart demonstrates:
|
| Setting up GenieTalk Offline USB dongle. Image: E-mart |
The help pages document this:
[설치] 지니톡 오프라인의 설치 방법을 알려주세요.
1) 인터넷이 가능한 환경에서 지니톡을 실행하시고, 지니톡 오프라인을 휴대폰의 충전/연결 단자에 방향에 맞춰서 꽂아줍니다.
2) 자동으로 표시되는 등록 화면에서 지니톡의 제품코드를 입력해 주세요. 지니톡 오프라인 1개당 총 3대까지 설치/등록해서 사용하실 수 있습니다.
(인터넷이 되지 않는 환경에서는 지니톡 오프라인을 바로 꽂아주시면 지니톡이 실행됩니다.)
http://www.interfree.com/if/contactus/faq.do
The item was listed as 47,000 won on the official Hancom store, but has since been removed. Some sellers still advertise it but all I've seen were "out of stock" and the product seems to have been discontinued. For example E-mart has the listing still up at 38,900 won.
This item came out around 2017 and translated between English-Chinese-Japanese and Korean, but as far as I can tell has been discontinued in favor of the next option.
GenieTalk Go 2
The GenieTalk Go 2 is a fully offline device that supports image translations and audio convos. It was demoed along with some other home translation devices at CES 2020 this year. It's an upgrade from the previous model although I noticed by chance that the old model was actually listed for sale on Amazon of all places (out of stock of course):
|
| GenieTalk Go original model on Amazon |
Unlike the previous versions, this device is still produced and sold. Here it is at the Hancom store for 654,500 won. At that link you can find all the product description/details.
|
| GenieTalk Go 2 at Hancom Store |
It's also at Danawa for similar prices from various online retailers:
|
| GenieTalk Go 2 at Danawa |
Weirdly, for being a flash offline device, it actually only supports those same 4 languages for offline use (English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese), while noting that it can do up to 65 languages in "online" mode. You can pop in a data SIM card for that, and then it will also double as a Wi-Fi hotspot for you.
Anyway, those are just some options for you. Not sure what the point is when Papago and Google generally have you pretty covered for free but hey options are always good.
Try out Genie Talk translation
If you're curious about the quality of Genie Talk translation, they have a simple online translator you can try out here:
https://hnctrans.hancom.com/translate/trans_text.html
|
| GenieTalk Text translator |
By the way, GenieTalk's audio translation/transcription must be pretty good now, since Amazon is using it for Korean users of the Echo.
Comments