한글 Presentation

1. 한글
Hangul – The Korean Alphabet
Presented by Jenny Yang

2. Before the Invention of Hangul
• Korean was a spoken language but had no alphabet
• Chinese letters, hanja (한자), were used by the elite (양반 – yangban)
• Middle and low class had no means to express their opinions

3. Creation of Hangul
• Created in 1443 during the Joseon Dynasty (조선 왕조) by King Sejong
(세종대왕)
• Published in 1446 as “hunmin jeong-eum” (헌민정음) “The Proper Sounds
for the Education of the People”
• Influences from Phags-pa and Chinese script, along with new creations by
King Sejong
• “A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; a
stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days.”

5. Early Hangul

6. Old Hangul vs. Current Hangul
• Written vertically, right to left
• 7 vowels
• 17 consonants
• Obsolete letters
• Written horizontally, left to right
• 10 vowels
• 14 consonants
• Has eliminated letters

7. Technicalities
• 24 letters; 14 consonants (자음), 10 vowels (모음)
• 5 consonants are doubled tense consonants
• Letters are grouped into blocks; each block is a syllable
• Each syllable includes at least one vowel and one consonant
• Stacking

8. Design of Korean/Efficiency
• Numerous linguists have praised the “remarkable” design of Korean script
• The shapes of hangul letters represent the shape organs pronouncing those
letters so that the script resembles the spoken language
• Korean is an efficient language, making it simple to learn

10. Spreading Use of Hangul
• Became the primary script of Korea in the mid-20th century
• Growing Korean nationalism in 19th century
• October 9th became Hangul Day in South Korea