A Commemorative Publication for

the International Congress of Linguists

(ClL) -18: to briefly introduce

the Korean Script, Hallgeul.

You can learn the KOREAN ALPHABET

in one morning

SOTONG 217 , A Sangga, By tick-san Apt 1st, Shiheung-2Dong, GeulTIcheon-Gu,

Seoul, Korea. ZIP : 153-764 Te l. 82-2-895-3080 Fax: 82-2-895-3330 E-ma il : sotongpub@gm:lil.com

Copyright ©2008 by Sa ng-O:l k Lee. 2nd prinLing 2011

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a rei rieval system ,

or tra nsmitted , in any rOfm or by any means, without [he prior permission in w riting of SO TONG .

W 9,000 ISBN 978-89-960564-7-8 03710

In the Homcpage (hup://www.nl.go. kr/cip. rhp) of

c-CIP (Electronic Ca(~l loging in Public:.n ion System)

nm by lhe N:tt ionai Library, the CIP of th is \x>ok is ;Ivaibblc.

(ell' Control No,: CI1'20080(2205)

"You can learn the Korean alphabet in one morning" is said by a court scholar of King Sejong.

Introduction

This book aims at providing the reader with much needed information for the Korean alphabet and basic reading skill. Although the book is handy and easy, the author uses authentic knowledge based on the Korean linguistics, unlike other amateurish efforts. The reader will learn not only the alphabet but also some words and short expressions.

Upon arrival at the Korean airport , this book will serve as a quick reference book to make sense of a rather quite exotic alphabet. On the streets and in restaurants foreigners can try to read shop signs, billboards, menus, and other kinds of notices written in Korean. It will be GREAT FUN in trying to read at least several words while in Korea . Otherwise, they will be surrounded by strange scripts and symbols.

It is a pleasure to express my thanks to Henry Rogers, Robert Fouser, John Stonham , Julie Kim, and Soheun Chung for reading parts of the work and offering valuable suggestions.

Sang-Oak Lee Seoul National University

e-mail: sangoak@snu.ac.kr

4 You can learn the KOREAN ALPHABET In one morning

Contents

• Introduction / 4

• King Sejong the great / 6

• The original work of the Korean alphabet (Hangeul) / 7

• Consonant symbols from the speech organs / 9

• Consonant letters / 10

• Summary of all consonants with some obsolete letters / 22

• Vowel le tters / 26

• Summary of vowels / 41

• C+V combination chart / 45

• consonants + vowels + consonants / 52

• Photos of actual Korean signs: from road signs, restaurants, etc. / 56

• Exercises for trying to read the meaning / 60

• Short conversations / 65

(Appendix 1) 'Memory of the World' /68

(Appendix 2) The alphabet with its birthday and creator memorialized on a banknote / 70

(Appendix 3) The Korean alphabet: A featural writing system / 72

(Appendix 4) The difference between Chinese characters and Hangeul: / 74

(Appendix 5) The Korean Alphabet: Optimized Featural System with Graphical Ingenuity / 76

(Appendix 6) Korean Romanization Systems / 81

(Appendix 7) Korean internet revolution / 98

(Appendix 8) Hangeul Font / 99

• King Sejong the great The Korean alphabet was created in 1443 by King Sejong the

Great. This uniquely Korean writing system was proclaimed under the original name Hunmin Jeongeum (the Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People) in 1446, at which time a book under the same name was published. In the preface to the Hunmin Jeongeum, the King expressed his determination and dedication to Korean cultural independence, as well as his prodigious commitment to the welfare of his people.

"Being of foreign origin, Chinese characters are incapable of capturing uniquely Korean meanings. Therefore, many common people have no way to express their thoughts and feelings. Out of my sympathy for their difficulties, I have created a set of 28 letters. The letters are very easy to learn, and it is my fervent hope that they improve the quality of life of all people."

Breaking from the long tradition of bipartite syllable structure fundamental to Chinese phonology, King Sejong discerned the crucial concept necessary to writing Korean effectively: the analysis of tripartite syllabic structure, including an initial consonant or "onset," a peak vowel or "nucleus," and a final consonant or "coda."

Writing a Syllable : In Korean, the alphabetic signs are written in syllabic units, each of which fits into a square. The layout of signs inside each square depends on the syllable structure as well as the vowel involved. Syllabic units are read from left to right , then top to bottom.

The Korean writing system, now known as Hangeul, is the only alphabet with an official birthday (October 9), during which its creator is memorialized.

In 1420, King Sejong the Great also established the Academy of the Wisdoms (Jipheonjeon), a royal research institute, inside the palace walls to compile many books in this alphabet.

6 You can learn the KOREAN ALPHABET in one morning

~. ...• . •• The original work of the Korean

alphabet (Hangeul) In the Korean writing system consonants articulated at the same

place in the mouth share the same basic graph. Then, if one of

these consonants has the added feature of aspiration, the symbol

for that consonant is written with an additional stroke. Compare ,

for example, the symbols of the Roman alphabet: nothing in the

shapes of the letters indicates how the phonemes are articulated.

For example, pairs of letters such as t and d provide no clue that

the two sounds they represent are related in any way. (Both are

articulated in the upper tooth-gum region.)

King Sejong created a separate symbol for each vowel

phoneme. This remarkable accomplishment is ultimately more

important than the representation of consonant features: prior to

the 15th centUlY, no writing system with a full representation of

vowels was known in all of Eastern Asia . The importance and

significance of the vowel was a discovery unprecedented in East

Asia, especially in China. (Indian alphabets, for example, which

were familiar to Koreans through Buddhism, incorporate the

vowel "a" into the consonant symbols and represent other

vowels with diacritics.) The orthography in Hunrnin Jeongeum (the name of Hangeul

when it was first proclaimed) orthography even provided a

system of diacritic dots for marking the tone of each syllable,

which was also unprecedented in other writing systems used to represent tonal languages.

Hangeul also stood in stark contrast with the soft and flowing

lines of Chinese characters . One looking at this original work

carefully could not fail to be impressed by the difference.

#; ,~, Three basic vowel letters ~\~'::I

In the Korean alphabet, there are three basic vowel letters representing the philosophical trinity Heaven, Earth, and

Humans.

Heaven Humans Earth

(Yang bright, male) (neutral) (Yin dark, female)

Round dot Stand erect Level

• I "'"hAl ilHt C~)

~ (:ttl!.)

Th ese are typically the limited set of strokes (vertica l ,

horizontal, and short lines = dots) frequently used in many other

alphabets. However, interesting meanings of three elements are

assigned to this unique script.

8 You can learn the KOREAN ALPHABET In one morning

• Consonant symbols from the speech organs

Vowels are introduced in detail after consonants are first

explained group by group. As explicated in the book Hunmin jeongeum, published at the time the alphabet was created, the

consonant letters are based on the shape of various speech

organs. This is very innovative idea with the articulatory phonetic

explanation which is better than Bell's Visible Speech in the West. [ef. appendix entitled The Korean Alphabet: Optimized

Featural System with Graphical Ingenuity] The basic structure of

Hangeul is logical and systematic, which made it easy to learn to

read and to remember the symbols.

According to the Hunmin jeongeum Haerye ("Explanations and

Examples of the Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the

People") the basic consonant symbols are schematic drawings of

the speech organs articulating the sound.

retroflex alveolar pulata!

bilabial velie ... ..---.-- uvular

pharyngal

glottal

<Major articulatory areas>