[Let’s learn Korean]
[한글 교실-CLASS 1]
Hangeul
– Korea’s Official Alphabet
Hangeul (한글), Korea’s official alphabet, was first
invented by King Sejong during the Joseon Dynasty.
Originally called Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음), the
language was conceived in 1443, and further promulgated by the King in 1446. At the time of its inception, the language consisted of 17 consonants and
11 vowels however, since then, 3 of the originally
established consonants and 1 vowel have fallen into
disuse bringing the total number of characters to 24.
Syllables are formed by the selective combination of
vowels and consonants to create words.
The official name for the Korean language was
changed to ‘Hangeul’ in 1910. Hunminjeongeum
Proclamation Day was called ‘Gagya Proclamation
Day’ up until 1926, and it wasn’t until 1928 that it
was changed to its current title, ‘Hangeul Proclamation Day’.
The chart next represents the 24 Hangeul characters together with their romanized equivalents. ‘The
Hunminjeongeum,’ a historical document which
provides instructions to educate people on the use
of Hangeul, is registered with UNESCO. UNESCO
awards a ‘King Sejong Literacy Prize,’ every year in
memory of the inventor of Hangeul.
Vowels
ㅏ[ a] /
ㅓ[eo] /
ㅗ[o] /
ㅜ[u] /
ㅡ[eu] /
ㅑ[ya]
ㅕ[yeo]
ㅛ[yo]
ㅠ[yu]
ㅣ[i]
Consonants;( name )
ㄱ[g,k] ; (gi-eok)
ㄴ[n]
; (ni-eun)
ㄷ[d,t] ; (di-geut)
ㄹ[r,l] ; (ri-eul)
ㅁ[m] ; (mi-eum)
ㅂ[b,p] ; (bi-eup)
ㅅ[s,c] ; (si - ot)
ㅇ[ng,silent] ;(i-eung)
ㅈ[j]
; (ji -eut)
ㅊ[ch] ; (chi-eut)
ㅋ[k]
; (ki-eok)
ㅌ[t]
; (ti-deut)
ㅍ[p]
; (pi-eup]
ㅎ[h]
; (hi-eut)