Origin of writing in Korea

Chinese writing has been known in Korea for over 2,000 years. It was used widely during the
Chinese occupation of northern Korea from 108 BC to 313 AD. By the 5th century AD, the
Koreans were starting to write in Classical Chinese - the earliest known example of this dates
from 414 AD. They later devised three different systems for writing Korean with Chinese
characters: Hyangchal (/), Gukyeol (/) and Idu (/). These systems
were similar to those developed in Japan and were probably used as models by the Japanese.
The Idu system used a combination of Chinese characters together with special symbols to
indicate Korean verb endings and other grammatical markers, and was used to in official and
private documents for many centuries. The Hyangchal system used Chinese characters to
represent all the sounds of Korean and was used mainly to write poetry.
The Koreans borrowed a huge number of Chinese words, gave Korean readings and/or meanings
to some of the Chinese characters and also invented about 150 new characters, most of which are
rare or used mainly for personal or place names.
The Korean alphabet was invented in 1444 and promulgated it in 1446 during the reign of King
Sejong (r.1418-1450), the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty. The alphabet was originally called
Hunmin jeongeum, or "The correct sounds for the instruction of the people", but has also been
known as Eonmeun (vulgar script) and Gukmeun (national writing). The modern name for the
alphabet, Hangeul, was coined by a Korean linguist called Ju Si-gyeong (1876-1914). In North
Korea the alphabet is known as (josoen guel).
The shapes of the consonants are based on the shape the mouth made when the corresponding
sound is made, and the traditional direction of writing (vertically from right to left) most likely
came from Chinese, as did the practice of writing syllables in blocks.
Even after the invention of the Korean alphabet, most Koreans who could write continued to
write either in Classical Chinese or in Korean using the Gukyeol or Idu systems. The Korean
alphabet was associated with people of low status, i.e. women, children and the uneducated.
During the 19th and 20th centuries a mixed writing system combining Chinese characters
(Hanja) and Hangeul became increasingly popular. Since 1945 however, the importance of
Chinese characters in Korean writing has diminished significantly.
Since 1949 hanja have not been used at all in any North Korean publications, with the exception
of a few textbooks and specialized books. In the late 1960s the teaching of hanja was
reintroduced in North Korean schools however and school children are expected to learn 2,000
characters by the end of high school.
In South Korea school children are expected to learn 1,800 hanja by the end of high school. The
proportion of hanja used in Korean texts varies greatly from writer to writer and there is
considerable public debate about the role of hanja in Korean writing.
Most modern Korean literature and informal writing is written entirely in hangeul, however
academic papers and official documents tend to be written in a mixture of hangeul and hanja.
Notable features of Hangeul
Type of writing system: alphabet
Direction of writing: Until the 1980s Korean was usually written from right to left in
vertical columns. Since then writing from left to right in horizontal lines has become
popular, and today the majority of texts are written horizontally.
Number of letter: 24 (jamo): 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The letters are combined
together into syllable blocks.

The shapes of the the consontants g/k, n, s, m and ng are graphical representations of the
speech organs used to pronounce them. Other consonsants were created by adding extra
lines to the basic shapes.
The shapes of the the vowels are based on three elements: man (a vertical line), earth (a
horizontal line) and heaven (a dot). In modern Hangeul the heavenly dot has mutated into
a short line.
Spaces are placed between words, which can be made up of one or more syllables.
The sounds of some consonants change depending on whether they appear at the
beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a syllable.
A number of Korean scholars have proposed an alternative method of writing Hangeul
involving writing each letter in a line like in English, rather than grouping them into
syllable blocks, but their efforts have been met with little interest or enthusiasm.
In South Korea hanja are used to some extent in some Korean texts.
Used to write
Korean ( / ), a language spoken by about 63 million people in South Korea, North
Korea, China, Japan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia. The relationship between Korean and
other languages is not known for sure, though some linguists believe it to be a member of the
Altaic family of languages. Grammatically Korean is very similar to Japanese and about 70% of
its vocabulary comes from Chinese.
The Hangeul alphabet ()

The double consonants marked with * are pronounced fortis. There is no symbol in IPA to
indiciate this.

Note on the transliteration of Korean
There are a number different ways to write Korean in the Latin alphabet. The methods shown
above are:
1. (first row) the official South Korean transliteration system, which was introduced in July
2000. You can find further details at www.mct.go.kr.
2. (second row) the McCune-Reischauer system, which was devised in 1937 by two
American graduate students, George McCune and Edwin Reischauer, and is widely used
in Western publications. For more details of this system see: http://mccune-reischauer.org
Download
Download a Korean alphabet chart in Word or PDF format (letters arranged in South Korean
order but without the double consonants).
Sample text in Korean (hangeul only)

Sample text in Korean (hangeul and hanja)

Transliteration
Modeun Ingan-eun Tae-eonal ttaebuteo Jayuroumyeo Geu Jon-eomgwa Gwonrie Iss-eo
Dongdeunghada. Ingan-eun Cheonbujeog-euro Iseong-gwa Yangsim-eul Bu-yeobad-ass-eumyeo
Seoro Hyungje-ae-ui Jeongsin-euro Haengdongha-yeo-yahanda.
Hear a recording of this text

Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)