Introduction to Korean Language  Dot –Sun in the heave or universe.

 Horizontal line –flat earth or ground.

 Currently there are 7.7M native Korean speakers
 Vertical line – upright postured of man.
 5.6M consider Korean as their heritage language
Yang- Dots on the right and the above
 13th most commonly used language
Yin- Dots on the left and below
 Korean is a language that has its own letter and
Second derive letters were created by attaching two
characters.
dots to each side.
 Sejong the Great created the Korean alphabet
 Korean syllable is formed with a consonant and a
Hangul
vowel in the Korean Language.
 Devise a writing system and reading system that
 We use a voiceless consonant to create a letter.
would allow the common people to read and
10 Korean Vowels
write the Korean language
A- “ah” U- “food”
 Korean vocabulary is composed of
 35% Native words
 60% Sino-Korean words
 5% Loan words
Different levels of formality in Korean
• 반말 - Banmal (Casual language): Used with Eo- “ought” Eu- “given”
people younger than you and close friends. O-
• 존댓말 Jondaemal (Polite language): Used with “oh”
strangers and people you don’t know well. It
comes in two forms: informal and formal.
Sentences that are written in the informal I- “steel”
Ya- E
version usually end with a “요” on the verb.
and A
Sentences written in the formal version often
end in (ㅡ)ㅂ니다.
Hello- Anneonghaseyo
Name- Ireum Yoh- E and O

야 여
Teacher- seongsaengnim
Korea- Hanguk
Nice to meet you- Mannaseo bangapseumnida
Goodbye
Yo Yu- E and Yo
 Annyeonghikyeseyo- person leaving

요 유
 Annyeonghikaseyo- person staying

 14 basic consonants
 Consist of combinations or manipulation of the
same 5 symbols
 In Korean, there are no F, R, V, or Z sounds

Hangeul is written from left to right and top to bottom

King Sejong invented the Korean alphabet in 1443
Hun Ming Jeon translate the correct sound to educate
people – 28 letters
5 BASIC SYMBOLS
3 elements of the universe  Fire – Tongue
 Tree – Molar
  Soil – Lips
 Metal – Teeth
 Water - Throat
Innermost Part
 Throat
Inside Part
 Teeth
 Molars
 Tongue
Outside Part
 Lips
5 Separate Branches/ 5 Basic Consonants
 Alveolar (neun ㄴ)- the shape of a tongue
touching the gums of the upper teeth. This is the
N sound in English
 Velar (ㄱ)- the shape of a tongue that blocks the
windpipe and the sound is made. It is pronounce
soft K or G.
 Velum- soft palate
 Labial (mieum ㅁ)- the shape of the lips opening
after they have pushed.
 Dental (sieut ㅅ)- has a connection to teeth. This
strong represents the tip of the tongue that is
touching the back part of the upper teeth. It is
slightly different than the S and C sound.
 Glottal (ㅇ)- the shape of a throat. this sound
would best represent the epiglottis which is the
space between the vocal cords. (silent
consonant) when used as a final consonant,
sound is the same sound ng in song.
Giyeok (ㄱ)- is not a strong K sound, or a voiced G
sound. It has the appearance of a gun and sounds
similar to an English G.
Kiyeok (ㅋ)- is a strong k sound. It could be compared
to a key.
Nieun (ㄴ)- similar to the English n sound. It points up
and to the right like a compass pointing to
the north (and the east at the same time).
Digeut (ㄷ)- has the soft t sound somewhere in the
middle of T sound and a D sound. It could seem as a
doorframe or the panels on a door. Correspondingly,
this letter makes the sound D.
Tieut (ㅌ)- a strong T sound. It could be associated
with teeth. You can write this similar to the English
letter “E”.
Mieum (ㅁ)- has the English M sound. It is a square box
like a message on a phone or a piece of mail. You can
write this consonant like a rectangle.
Bieup (ㅂ)- has a soft P sound between a P sound and a
B sound. It looks like a bed with a post at either end.
Pieup (ㅍ)- has a strong P sound.
Siot (ㅅ)- has a different sound from the s sound and
the c sound in that it resembles a sound in between
those two but rather is a sound of air casing made by
touching your tongue to the gums of the upper teeth.
It is like a seashell or clam.
Jieut (ㅈ)- Sounds starts from the same place and it
resembles the J sound in the word job. It could be seen
as a jug with a spout at the top.
Chieut (ㅊ)- an aspirated sound with a burst of air and it
has the ch sound like in the English word chapel.
Ieung Silent consonant (ㅇ)/ Ng- Just like in math,
where we use the number 0 as a placeholder, in
Korean, the placeholder character (ㅇ) is a round shape
that looks like a zero.
Hieut (ㅎ)- a strong H sound. It looks like a man with
a hat.
Rieul (ㄹ)- consider it a sound in between the l sound
and the r sound. It could be compared to the rungs of
a ladder. Its sound is most similar to an English L and
can be made the same way by pressing down with your
tongue.
DOUBLE CONSONANTS
ㄸ- The D sound will be stronger, like DD
ㄲ- strong GG sound
ㅆ- like two seashells next to each
other. The sound is similar to a
strong SS
ㅃ- strong BB sound
ㅉ- stronger JJ
OTHER VOWELS
“pen”- Eo and i
“cat”- I and A
“weight”- O and i
 “we”- u and i Identical Twin Consonants: Two of the same
letters next to each other
Fraternal Twin Consonants: Two different letters next
to each other
5 Forms of Korean Syllables
• One-vowel syllable
• One-consonant-and-one-vowel syllable
DIPHTHONGS • One-vowel-and-one-consonant
syllable
ㅒ • One consonant, one vowel and one
ㅐ yae ㅙ
wae
consonant
• One consonant, one vowel and a
ae double consonant
ㅘ
wa
ㅔ
ㅖ
e ye
ㅚ
ㅞ
weh we
ㅟ ㅝ
wi ㅢ ui wo

• Korean writing is conceived in blocks

representing syllables, each composed of an initial
consonant, a (medial) vowel or a diphthong, and
finally an ending composed of one or two
consonants known as “batchim”.

• The word batchim (받침, literally meaning

“basis, support”) refers to consonant/s at the
conclusion of a syllable.

• No vowel can be written alone in a syllabic

block, but rather must always be accompanied by a
consonant. When a syllable starts with a vowel, it
must be preceded by the consonant ㅇ (ieung), which
is unvoiced when it falls at the beginning of a
syllable.

Three Major Rules in constructing a Korean syllable

1. A “vertical vowel” (one of the tall and narrow
vowels: ㅏㅑㅐㅒㅓㅕㅔㅖㅣ) is always written
to the right of the first consonant in the syllable
2. A “horizontal vowel” (one of the wide and short
vowels: ㅗㅛㅜㅠㅡ) is always written under the
first consonant in the syllable
3. If there is a final consonant in the syllable, it
always goes on the bottom.