The present study explores emotional intelligence and learning attitudes towards English language learning, focusing specifically on Korean EFL high school students. One-hundred and seventy-seven learners were assigned to low-, medium-, or high-proficiency groups. A background questionnaire, the Emotion Intelligence Scale questionnaire, and the Attitude towards Foreign Language Learning questionnaire were employed in the study. The results indicate that there was no significant difference among the three groups in terms of degrees of emotional intelligence. On the other hand, there were significant differences among groups in the learning attitudes, showing that medium- and high-proficiency learners had more positive learning attitudes than low-proficiency learners; the factors that were examined included cognition, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, exhibition, tolerance of ambiguity, and learning efforts. Additionally, this study uncovers a significant correlation between the components of emotional intelligence and attitudes towards English language learning. Based on the results, the current study proves the importance of these two variables in language acquisition and also suggests pedagogical implications for L2 classroom.