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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 조선글 (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.
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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, and Cia-Cia (Bahasa Ciacia / 바하사 찌아찌아), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken
on Buton Island in Indonesia.
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The double consonants marked with * are pronounced fortis. There is no symbol in IPA to indiciate this.
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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
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Download
Download a Korean alphabet chart in Excel, Word or PDF format.
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.
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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)
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Information about Korean | Phrases | Numbers | Colours | Telling the time | Family words | Tongue twisters |
Tower of Babel | Articles | Learning materials | Links
Links
Information about the Korean language
http://ling.kgw.tu-berlin.de/Korean/Artikel01/Korean.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_language
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