Sejong Korean

Introduction

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 Hangeul

Who created Hangeul?

Hangeul was developed by King Sejong the Great.
King Sejong was known as one of the greatest kings
of the Joseon Dynasty and is recognized for his
achievements. During this period, the country was
able to develop itself as a nation throughout the
development of the Korean language, agriculture,
science and technology, medicine, music and law. It was
King Sejong who led this progress.
However, King Sejong does not receive acclamation
solely due to his brilliant achievements and skills.
He was also a wise king who loved his people. King Sejong was often gracious to his people, and made
effort to improve the status and conditions of his people.

How was Hangeul created?

Before Hangeul was made, the elite borrowed Chinese characters as
there were no characters in our language. However, the common people
had difficulty learning the Chinese characters and were often treated
unfairly. Saddened by this, King Sejong felt compassion for his people
characters and decided to create easy for anyone to learn. This initiated
a cultural expansion for the nation as everyone could learn a unique
writing system designes specially for the Korean language.

I n 19 97, U N E S CO a c k n o w l e d g e d a n d l i s t e d t h e
Hunminjeongeum Haerye (lit. “Explanations and Examples
of the Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People”) as a
world heritage. We celebrate October 9 th as Hangeul day to
commemorate its significance.

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 What are the principles of creating Hangeul?
The principle of creating Hangeul is the principle of the hieroglyphic, stroke, and the initial-middle-
final consonant. Consonants were made based on the shape of the vocal organs, while vowels were made
from the shape of the sky(•), land (ㅡ), and human body(ㅣ). After creating the basic consonants and vowels,
other letters were created by adding a stroke, and by forming the initial, middle, and final consonants into
a letter. The final consonants do not use new letters but make use of letters used in the initial consonants
for simplicity.

Vowels
Hangeul consists of vowels and consonants, and vowels resemble the shape of the
sky(•), land (ㅡ), and human body(ㅣ). By forming the basic vowel shapes (•, ㅡ, l) with an
additional point, we can create ‘ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅏ’ refers to the sun rising from the East Sea
while ‘ㅓ’ refers to the sun going down to the West. Also, ‘ㅗ’ refers to the sun rising above
ground, and ‘ㅜ’ refers to the sun setting below the ground.

+ = ㅏ + = ㅓ

+ = ㅗ + = ㅜ

Basic vowels

ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅔ ㅚ ㅟ

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 Consonants
The consonants are based on the shape of the vocal organs. The throat, tongue, gums and teeth were
used to form the shape, and this was to help remember the pronunciation. The principles were based on
the first five consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, ㅇ). The first sound ‘ㄱ’ refers to the shape of the root of the tongue
blocking the throat. ‘ㄴ’ refers to the tongue stuck to the upper gums. ‘ㅁ’ refers to the shape of the lips, ‘ㅅ’
refers to the shape of a tooth, and ‘ㅇ’ refers to the shape of the throat.

By adding a stroke to these basic consonants, we can form letters with stronger pronunciation.
Moreover, by adding the same letter, we can also create ‘ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ.’

Basic consonants

ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ
ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ

The following are the names of the consonants. The pronunciation reflects the sound of the consonants
when placed at the beginning or at the end.

ㄱ giyeok ㄴ nieun ㄷ digeut ㄹ rieul ㅁ mieum ㅂ bieup ㅅ siot

ㅇ ieung ㅈ jieut ㅊ chieut ㅋ kieuk ㅌ tieut ㅍ pieup ㅎ hieut

ssang- ssang- ssang- ssang- ssang-

ㄲ giyeok
ㄸ digeut
ㅃ
bieup
ㅆ siot
ㅉ jieut

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 How are letters created?
Letters within Hangeul consists of the following form: ‘vowel’, ‘consonant + vowel’, ‘consonant + vowel
+ consonant’. The consonant that comes after the vowel in the form ‘consonant+ vowel + consonant’ is
called ‘Batchim’, which refer to consonant bases.

How to form letters examples

vowel 아

consonant + vowel ㄱ+ㅏ→가

consonant + vowel + consonant ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ→한

When combining letters in Hangeul, the letters ‘ㅎ, ㅏ, ㄴ’ are not listed; rather, they are combined into
the word ‘한’. Depending on the vowel, the position and the shape of the consonant changes. When the
vowel is the vertical form as in ‘ㅣ’, the vowel is added on the right side of the consonant. The consonant
base (받침) is placed under the ‘consonant + vowel’. On the other hand, when the vowel is the horizontal
form as in ‘ㅡ’, the vowel is placed under the consonant and the base consonant is placed under the
‘consonant + vowel’.

consonant
consonant vowel 가, 너 소, 무
vowel

consonant vowel consonant

달, 약 vowel 꽃, 춤
consonant consonant

Even though the same ‘ㄱ’ is used, the form may change depending on the vowel that is combined
together.

Let’s practice together

Combine the consonant and vowel together to form a letter.

ㄱ ㅏ

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 Korean Language and Hangeul

How many people use Hangeul??

Korean is the national
language of Korea.
About 7.8 million people in the
Russian
world use Hangeul, ranking it as
Chinese the 13th most popular language
Spanish German in the world.
Mongolian n
Korean
English Japanese
Japanese
Portuguese Bengalí
Arabic
Hindi
Javanese

Spanish

Hangeul is primarily used in South and North Korea along with Japan, Russia, China and 7.2 million
overseas Koreans. Also, the number of Internet users of Hangeul ranks 10th in the world. Due to the
interest in K-pop and K-drama, there has been an increase in the number of people learning Hangeul.

Since it is easy to learn Hangeul characters, all Koreans can easily read and write Hangeul. This is also
the driving force that led the rapid economic growth within South Korea. Since the creation of Korean
alphabet, it has been actively applied in workbooks, practical texts, and literary works, going beyond
simple means of communication and used in various artistic fields. It has also been recognized as an
appropriate language within the digital age.

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 Let’s learn the alphabet

1 Vowels

There are a total of 21 vowels including ten basic vowels and 11 double vowels. Vowels are written from
top to bottom, left to right.

1 Short vowels 01

Tip Let’s
t’s find ou
nd
fin t!
out!

The ‘o’ in front of the

vowel refers to the gap
in pronunciation. ‘o’ is
used in order to locate
the position of the
consonants which are
added later.

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 2 Double vowels
02

03

아이 오 우유 왜

Let’s practice together

Look at your partner’s facial expressions and sound out the correct vowels.

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 Let’s practice writing
Letter Order of
Practice
shape writing
① ②

아 아 아 아
③

① ③

어 어 ②
어 어
①

오 ③
오 ②
오 오
①

우 ②우 ③ 우 우
①

으 으
②
으 으
① ②

이 이 이 이
① ②④

애 애 ③
애 애
① ③④

에 에 ②
에 에
① ④

외 ③외
②
외 외
① ④

위 ②
위
③ 위 위

Listen carefully and choose the correct pronunciation. 04

1) ① 아 ②오 ③우

2) ① 이 ②애 ③위

3) ① 어 ②으 ③에

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 Let’s practice writing
Letter Order of
Practice
shape writing
① ②

야 야 ③
④
야 야
① ④

여 여 ②
③
여 여
①

요 ④
요 ② ③
요 요
①

유 ②
유 ③ ④ 유 유
① ②⑤

얘 얘 ③
④
얘 얘
① ④⑤

예 예 ②
③
예 예
① ④

와 ③와
② ⑤
와 와
① ④⑥

왜 ③왜
② ⑤
왜 왜
① ⑤

워 ②
워
③
④
워 워
① ⑤⑥

웨 ②
웨
③
④
웨 웨
① ③

의 의
② 의 의
Read the words and practice writing.

아 이 아 이
우 유 우 유
왜 왜
위 위
10

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 2 Consonants

The 14 basic consonants in Hangeul are ‘ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ’ and by adding the

same consonant, they can be formed as ‘ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ’.

1 Consonants (1) 05

ㄱ ㄴ

ㄷ ㄹ

ㅁ ㅂ

ㅅ ㅇ
‘ㄱ’ is similar to [g] or [k] but the pronunciation can differ

ㅈ
depending on the location of the consonant.

The first ‘ㄱ’ is pronounced as [k], and the following ‘ㄱ’ is

pronounced as [g].

11

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 Let’s practice writing
Letter Example Practice
shape

가
나
다
라
마
바
사 Tip Let’s find out!
We cannot make
a sound solely
아 with consonants.
l
Add the ‘아’ vowe
sound and re ad.

자
06

구두 나무 모자 머리

바다 버스 시계 야구

12

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 Let’s practice together

With a friend, practice making shapes of the consonants using your fingers.

Let’s practice writing

ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅔ ㅚ ㅟ
ㄱ 가 거 고 구 그 기 개 게 괴 귀
ㄴ 나
ㄷ 다
ㄹ 라
ㅁ 마
ㅂ 바
ㅅ 사
ㅇ 아
ㅈ 자

13

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 2 Consonants (2) 07

Tip Let’s find out!

ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ The following are

that let out a
pronounced
putting yo ur
.
lot
Pr
ha
ac
consonants
of

nd
air when
tice by
or tissue in
th and check
front of your mou
es out while
how much air com
co nsonants.
pronouncing the

Tip Let’s find out!

onants do not
The following cons
let out any air when
Compared to the
consonants, the
Practice pronounc
ot r
pi
pronounced.
he
tch is also high.
ing by adding
ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ
.
force to your throat

08

기차 티셔츠 피아노 해

토끼 쓰레기 머리띠 뿌리

Let’s practice together

Practice consonant (2) using a tissue, and guess which consonant it is with a friend.

ㅊ
*Notice how the tissue moves.

14

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 Read the words and practice writing.

구 두 구 두
나 무 나 무
버 스 버 스
아 기 아 기
지 도 지 도
기 차 기 차
포 도 포 도
커 피 커 피
토 끼 토 끼
뿌 리 뿌 리

Listen carefully and choose the correct pronunciation. 09

1) ① 다리 ② 마리

2) ① 도끼 ② 토끼

3) ① 과자 ② 사과

4) ① 바르다 ② 빠르다

15

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 3 Batchim(Consonant bases)
‘Batchim’ is the consonant placed under the ‘c + v’ in the ‘consonant + vowel + consonant’
configuration. Most of the consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ, ㄲ, ㅆ) can be used as a
consonant base, but the pronunciation is restricted to 7 sounds of ‘ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ’.

Consonant Vowel Consonant

Vowel
Consonant
Consonant
10

Consonant base pronunciation Example

ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ [ㄱ] 책[책], 부엌[부억], 밖[박]

ㄴ [ㄴ] 산[산]

곧[곧], 옷[옫], 있다[읻다]

ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㅎ [ㄷ]
낮[낟], 꽃[꼳], 밭[받], 히읗[히읃]

ㄹ [ㄹ] 길[길]

ㅁ [ㅁ] 삼[삼]

ㅂ, ㅍ [ㅂ] 밥[밥], 숲[숩]

ㅇ [ㅇ] 강[강]

11

수박 볼펜 눈 동생

컴퓨터 집 옷 할머니

16

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 Let’s practice together 15

Read together with a friend and notice the difference in the letters with and
without a consonant base.

오 온 바 방 그 글

Make a new letter with a consonant base.

Letter(c+v) Consonant Word Practice

야 + ㄱ 약
소 + ㄴ 손
마 + ㅅ 맛
나 + ㅈ 낮
꼬 + ㅊ 꽃
바 + ㄹ 발
추 + ㅁ 춤
다 + ㅂ 답
수 + ㅍ 숲
혀 + ㅇ 형
17

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 Let’s practice together

With a friend, find the words that are written correctly.

1) 2)

3)

Find the following words.

① 나라 ② 직업 ③ 회사 ④ 전화

⑤ 운동 ⑥ 계절 ⑦ 가족 ⑧ 공원

⑨ 취미 ⑩ 영화 ⑪ 날씨 ⑫ 과일

나 책 직 업 해 아 전 화

운 라 형 날 씨 가 족 취

동 계 절 영 철 회 적 미

공 원 리 딸 화 사 과 일

Different styles of handwriting in Korean

18

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 Let’s practice together
The following is a map of the Seoul Metro Line. Practice reading the stations. 12

ⲓ ㊏〧ヂ㈞㍢ゞ
ⲓ〒Ⳏ

⹂⸐⾩

ヂ㈞㇙ ⾊⹂
㔨⸐㉡ⳃ
ⳃ

㉙㐥㈧
㉙ 㐥㈧

19

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 Let’s practice together

Write your name using the consonants and vowels you have learned so far.

Anna 안나

3 Spacing and linking sounds

1 Put a space between words. 13

저는 V 운동을 V 좋아해요.

2 When a vowel comes after the base consonant of the word, the base consonant moves over 14
to the second syllable and pronounced accordingly.

20

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 15
Let’s read together

태권도
태극기

무궁화

서울
한글

김치

한옥

한강 한복
21

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 Let’s practice greetings 16

안녕하세요?
안녕하세요? Hello.
Hello.
안녕?
Hi.
안녕하세요?
Hello.

만나서 반가워요.
네, 반가워요.
It’s nice to meet you.
It’s nice to meet you, too.

안녕히 가세요.
Good-bye.
(said by the person
who is remaining to the
안녕히 계세요. person who is leaving.)

Good-bye.
(said by the person
leaving to the person
who is remaining.)

아니에요.
You’re welcome.

고마워요.
Thank you.
죄송해요.
I’m sorry. 괜찮아요.
That’s okay.

22

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 Language used in the classroom 17

잘 들으세요. 읽으세요.
Please listen Please read.
carefully.

사과 사과

따라 하세요. 쓰세요.
Please repeat. Please write.

여기 보세요. 이야기하세요.
Look here. Please talk.

18

알겠어요?
Do you 아니요,
네, 알겠어요.
understand? 잘 모르겠어요.
Yes, I understand. 알겠어요?
No, I don’t understand.
Do you
understand?

질문 있어요?
Do you have
a question?
잘했어요.
아니요, 없어요. You did a good job.
No, I don’t.
네, 있어요.
Yes, I do.

23

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 Appendix King Sejong and the Creation of Hangeul

The fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, King Sejong the Great (1397-1450; reigned, 1418-1450) felt
compassion for his people as they could only speak the language, but did not know how to write the
language. In December of 1443, during King Sejong’s 25th year of rule, he created a unique writing system
for everyone with his scholars in the Hall of Worthies. As a result, a unique system of phonetic characters
of Hangeul was created three years later in the 28th year of King Sejong (1446) within Hunminjeongeum
Haerye (lit. “Explanations and Examples of the Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People”).

Our language is different from Chinese, and we do not

share the same Chinese characters. For this reason, people
who do not know Chinese characters cannot leave any
record of what they would like to say. I have created twenty-
eight new letters so that my people can learn the language
and speak whatever they want to say.
-Hunminjeongeum Eonhaebon

There were strong oppositions against the creation of a new writing system; however, King Sejong
encouraged using Hangeul. The first song created using Hangeul ‘Yongbieocheonga’ is an example. As a
result, Hangeul was gradually spread and people were able to write about their thoughts and opinions.
This helped people resolve their difficulties and improve their lives and consciousness.

Hangeul consists of 28 letters with 11 consonants and 17 vowels. The basic principle of Hangeul is
hieroglyphics and strokes. Hieroglyphic forms are created by imitating shapes and stroke letters are
created by adding a point or stroke. The first five consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, ㅇ) are made based on the shape
of the vocal organs. The first sound ‘ㄱ’ refers to the shape of the root of the tongue blocking the throat,
while ‘ㄴ’ refers to the tongue stuck to the upper gums. ‘ㅁ’ refers to the shape of the lips, and ‘ㅅ’ refers
to the shape of a tooth. Finally, ‘o’ refers to the shape of the throat. A stroke can be added to the five
basic letters and form ‘ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ, ㅎ’. Each letter is created by adding a stroke(s) depending on the force of
pronunciation. Moreover, by using the same letter twice, we can also create ‘ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ’.
Also, vowels are made from the shape of the sky (•), land (ㅡ), and human body(ㅣ). (•) Refers to the shape
of the sky, while ‘ㅡ’ refers to the shape of flat terrain. ‘l’ refers to the human body standing upright. By
adding a point, we can create ‘ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ’, and by adding an additional point, we can make ‘ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ’.
After creating the basic consonants and vowels, syllables are created by forming the initial, middle, and
final consonants into a full form. The final consonants do not use new letters but allow us to use letters in
the initial consonants for simplicity.
Hangeul is recognized worldwide for its excellence and the Hunminjeongeum is listed as UNESCO
Memory of the world. October 9th celebrates Hangeul day to commemorate its significance.

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