I took Mandarin classes while working on a project in Shanghai in 2005, but made stunningly little progress and finally gave up. Then again, that might say mor

I took Mandarin classes while working on a project in Shanghai in 2005, but made stunningly little progress and finally gave up. Then again, that might say more about me than it does about Mandarin. You definitely need a teacher, and consider focusing on the spoken language if most of your communication will be verbal. Korean is useful because very few Westerners speak it. (There's a reason it's called the Hermit Kingdom). Very cool high-tech country with a too-low profile IMHO.