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| xKorean Language The Korean language is a very beautiful soft-spoken language which belongs to the Ural-Altaic family of languages that includes Japanese, Mongolian, Finnish, Hungarian, and Turkish. Korean, like Japanese, includes a rich vocabulary borrowed from Chinese in the same way many European languages include a large number of words of Latin and Greek derivation. The Korean alphabet (originally called Hunmin chong-um -- now called "hangeul" or "hangul") was invented in 1446 by a group of scholars under the patronage of King Sejong the Great. It consists of 10 vowels and 14 consonants which are used to form numerous syllabic groupings. Hangul is easy to learn and write, which has contributed to the high literary rate of Koreans. Its ease of use on the computer keyboard and mobile devices has also helped to make Korea the second most wired nation in the world. Linguists consider the Korean alphabet to be the best in the world for several reasons.
In South Korea, Korea is called "Hanguk" (한국). The language is most often called "Hangugmal" (한국말), or more formally, "Hangugeo" (한국어). The language is also sometimes referred to colloquially as "Urimal" (우리말) -- "our language". The standard language taught in schools is often referred to as "Gugeo" (국어) -- "national language". In North Korea, Korea is still called "Chosŏn" (조선) -- just as it was in South Korea from 1392 until 1910. There, the language is most often called "Chosŏnmal" (조선말) or more formally, "Chosŏnŏ" (조선어).
The site points out: See the wonderful introduction to the Korean language at: http://www.declan-software.com/korean.htm.
Korean Language Classes at The Korea Society in NYC http://www.koreasociety.org/korean_studies/language_classes/
See What Is Hangueul? at: http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A020302 See UNESCO's Hangeul video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mdvRoD1d1o&mode=related&search=
Korea is an old country, with the earliest states beginning about the time of the Late Chou Dynasty in China. Despite the predominant Chinese influence on Korea and the vast borrowing of Chinese vocabulary, the Korean language is unrelated to Chinese. There is no agreement about just what it is related to, though kinship with Japanese seems likely and to the Altaic languages (Manchu, Mongol, Turkish) possible. Originally written in Chinese characters, Korean now uses its own unique writing system, Hangul, promulated by King Sejong in 1446. Hangul writes syllabic characters that are regularly composed of elements indicating the phonology of the syllables. This would allow Hangul to be easily and freely mixed with Chinese characters, as was long done, or completely replace them, as has largely been the custom since 1945. Hangul characters can easily be distinguished from Chinese, since they contain circles, which are not used in Chinese characters. Hangul was invented between 1443 and 1446 by King Sejong during the Chosun (Joseon) dynasty. Before, Korean was written in Chinese -- which was completely different than the spoken language. Chinese was still the dominate means of published writings until the 1950's. After the Korean War, a nationalistic movement brought forth changes which included that billboards, shop windows, and office directories in public buildings be written in Hangul. The alphabet was originally called "Hunminchongum" and contained 28 letters. Hangul (as the alphabet is now called) currently contains 24 letters, 14 consonants and 10 vowels. King Sejong employed many of Korean scientists and philosophers to create the alphabet. The shape of each letter corresponds to phonetic sound. The alphabet was designed to be simple enough for any 'layman' person of the day to be able to read and write their own language.
The Korean alphabet consists of 24 letters (just as English has 26 letters). Ten of the letters are vowels and 14 are consonants. Hear the letters spoken as you mouse over them at: http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/lessons/english/eng_p01.htm
Korean Vowels
Just when you think you have mastered the Korean alphabet, you discover that it has double vowels (called "dipthongs"), double consonants, and complex consonants! However, they become clear in a short while. http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/lessons/english/eng_p02.htm
Mouse over the letters at: http://rki.kbs.co.kr/learn_korean/lessons/english/eng_p02.htm to hear them spoken.
The following chart from the same site shows how the consonants and vowels are combined to make syllables.
The site at: http://www.mct.go.kr/hangeul/index.html has lots more info about the alphabet.
Declan offers several types of fantastic software to help you begin to learn Korean easily on your own. See the site at: http://www.declan-software.com/korean/index.htm
This page was last updated on: 05/11/2008.
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This site was last updated 05/11/08
Turn on your sound and go to the site at: 
Be sure to click the sound graphic on the site first. The link is from the site at: 
