HelloTalk as a Digital Communication Space for Korean Language Learning among Indonesian Users: A Qualitative Study

Digital media have become important communication spaces in which people learn foreign languages beyond formal classrooms. However, research on HelloTalk has largely concentrated on English learners and on pedagogical outcomes such as speaking skills and learner autonomy, and limited attention has been given to how Indonesian users experience HelloTalk as a communication space for learning Korean. This study examines how Indonesian users experience HelloTalk as a digital communication space for Korean language learning, using New Media Theory and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) as its analytical framework. A qualitative approach with a post-positivist paradigm was applied. Five Indonesian HelloTalk users who actively learn Korean were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation, and analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing, with source and technique triangulation. The findings show that informants experience HelloTalk as an interconnected, accessible, interactive, and open-ended space that enables them to communicate with native speakers, receive peer correction, share content, and learn flexibly across time and place. Within the CMC dimensions, informants emphasized wide access to information, fast message exchange, varied learning input, and motivation, while the perceived usefulness of the application depended on the intensity and purpose of use. Informants also reported constraints related to VIP features, time differences, and device limitations. The study argues that HelloTalk functions as a participatory digital communication space in which Korean language learning takes place through interpersonal interaction, peer correction, and user-generated content. The study does not measure language proficiency.