Korea Tour : Hangeul (Korean Language)

Hi?

I am Eddie Kwon, a Korea Tour interpreter and guide.

Today, I would like to post about Hangeul (Korean Language).

Hangeul, one of the most indigenous and unique creations of the nation, was invented in 1443 by King Sejong (1418-1450), the 4th king of the Joseon Dynasty. In order to help all commoners to easily read and write this new alphabet, Hunminjeongeum (meaning "Proper sounds to instruct the people" in Korean) was created. In 1910, the name of the language was changed to Hangeul, a term widely used today.

 

Hangeul is a series of creative and scientifically designed characters. The alphabet is composed of basic consonants and vowels with a set sound each, with a dot or a line added to form more sounds. The 5 main consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅅ, ㅁ, ㅇ) imitate the shape the lips and tongue make when producing that particular sound, while the 3 main vowels (ㆍ, ㅡ, ㅣ) symbolize the sky, the earth and mankind respectively. Originally composed of 17 consonants and 11 vowels, only 14 consonants and 10 vowels are used in modern Hangeul. Surprisingly enough, almost every sound can be expressed by those letters.

 

Hangeul, as a written language, did not have any influence from pre-existing writing systems. The language is very easy for all to learn and so, Korea's illiteracy rate is one of the lowest in the world.

 

Of all Korea's cultural assets, Koreans are most proud of Hangeul and thus designated every October 9th as Hangeul Day, to memorialize and celebrate the invention of the Hangeul alphabet. In addition, UNESCO inscribed Hunminjeongeum Haerye (The Hangeul Manuscript) on the Memory of the World Register in 1997.

Many foreign students are now studying Korean language in Korea, and there are many foreign universities that teach Korean language as regular subjects. Particularly, in Southeast Asian countries, Korean companies that have a local presence there are more likely to give more employment chances to local people who can write and speak Korean language.