Professional fluency in Mandarin, can read both traditional and simplified characters. Worked as a translator for Taiwan's govt. I have conversational fluency

Professional fluency in Mandarin, can read both traditional and simplified characters. Worked as a translator for Taiwan's govt. I have conversational fluency in Japanese, as I live in Japan and have a Japanese wife. I'd like to learn Korean or Thai, as we travel to those places often (at least before the pandemic). I've learned the Korean alphabet, memorizing it on the airplane over there, the first time I went, actually. I can read Korean aloud, such as when ordering at a restaurant, but I sure as hell don't know what any of the sounds I am making mean. It's fun to go to a restaurant, order something, and be surprised at what comes to your table.