Korean alphabet
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Also known as: Chosŏn muntcha, Han’gŭl, Hangeul, Hunminjŏngŭm, Hunminjeongeum, Korean alphabet
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Hangul
Category: Geography & Travel
- Korean:
- “Great Script”
- Also spelled:
- Hangeul or Han’gŭl
- Key People:
- Sejong
- Related Topics:
- alphabet
- Korean language
Recent News
Apr. 1, 2024, 8:11 AM ET (Korea Herald)
Herald Corp. partners with National Hangeul Museum to spread Hangeul culture
Top Questions
What is Hangul?
Hangul is the writing system of the Korean language. Hangul is made up of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, making it an alphabet with a total of 24 letters. It is the official writing system in South Korea and North Korea (where it is known as Chosŏn muntcha), and it is used by diaspora Koreans across the world.
Who developed the Hangul system?
The Hangul system was developed by Sejong, fourth king of the Chosŏn dynasty, in 1443 to improve literacy. In 1446 Hangul was made the official writing system of Korea. Despite this, Hanja (Chinese characters) persisted as the main writing system of the elite class for 500 more years.
What do the shapes in Hangul represent?
Consonants in Hangul are designed to look like the speaker’s mouth shape when making the corresponding sounds, whereas vowels consist of lines and points that represent the Earth, the Sun, and the human. As a featural writing system, Hangul is one of the only alphabets that feature an explicit connection between a letter’s iconography and the letter’s pronunciation.
How are Hangul letters assembled into words?
Hangul letters are assembled into syllabic blocks that consist of at least one consonant and one vowel. This differs from other East Asian writing systems such as Chinese and Kanji, which employ logographic characters in which each character represents a distinct word.
Hangul, alphabetic system used for writing the Korean language. The system, known as Chosŏn muntcha in North Korea, consists of 24 letters (originally 28), including 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The consonant characters are formed with curved or angled lines. The vowels are composed of vertical or horizontal straight lines together with short lines on either side of the main line.
The development of the Hangul alphabet is traditionally ascribed to Sejong, fourth king of the Chosŏn (Yi) dynasty; the system was made the official writing system for the Korean language in 1446 by one of Sejong’s decrees. The script was generally known until the 20th century by the name Sejong gave it, Hunminjŏngŭm (Hunminjeongeum; loosely translated, “Proper Sounds to Instruct the People”). Because of the influence of Confucianism and of Chinese culture, Hangul was not used by scholars or Koreans of the upper classes until after 1945.
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This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.
