Hangul

The Korean alphabet is the modern <a href="/facts/Writing_system/ABG251A0">writing system</a> for the <a href="/facts/Korean_language/dmNnRxAA">Korean language</a>. In <a href="/facts/North_Korea/Q41laakP">North Korea</a>, the alphabet is known as Chosŏn'gŭl , and in <a href="/facts/South_Korea/pCobAaVw">South Korea</a>, it is known as Hangul (<a href="/facts/South_Korean_standard_language/oluE8oEB">South Korean</a>: 한글). The letters for the five basic <a href="/facts/Consonant/81X2SGS6">consonants</a> reflect the shape of the speech organs used to pronounce them. They are systematically modified to indicate <a href="/facts/Phonetics/ljAVT8fv">phonetic</a> features. The <a href="/facts/Vowel/BNhCeFtH">vowel</a> letters are systematically modified for related sounds, making Hangul a <a href="/facts/Featural_writing_system/n3maaHKA">featural writing system</a>. It has been described as a syllabic alphabet as it combines the features of <a href="/facts/Alphabet/vqfRpS3E">alphabetic</a> and <a href="/facts/Syllabary/GCbFXaJ4">syllabic</a> writing systems.
Hangul was created in 1443 by <a href="/facts/Sejong_the_Great/emQwGwhk">Sejong the Great</a>, the fourth king of the <a href="/facts/Joseon/Vv7SVEfL">Joseon</a> dynasty. The alphabet was made as an attempt to increase literacy by serving as a complement to <a href="/facts/Hanja/cvLdbcxX">Hanja</a>, which were <a href="/facts/Chinese_characters/5pn1PFvj">Chinese characters</a> used to write <a href="/facts/Literary_Chinese/gjCoUEo4">Literary Chinese</a> in Korea by the 2nd century BCE, and had been adapted to write Korean by the 6th century CE.
Modern <a href="/facts/Hangul_orthography/ljg7x1Lw">Hangul orthography</a> uses 24 basic letters: 14 consonant letters and 10 vowel letters. There are also 27 complex letters that are formed by combining the basic letters: 5 tense consonant letters, 11 complex consonant letters, and 11 complex vowel letters. Four basic letters in the original alphabet are no longer used: 1 vowel letter and 3 consonant letters. Korean letters are written in syllabic blocks with the alphabetic letters arranged in two dimensions. For example, <a href="/facts/Seoul/H0Xloz9o">Seoul</a> is written as 서울, not ㅅㅓㅇㅜㄹ. The syllables begin with a consonant letter, then a vowel letter, and then potentially another consonant letter called a batchim (받침). If the syllable begins with a vowel sound, the consonant <a href="/facts/%25E3%2585%2587/jQ1HUBae">ㅇ</a> (ng) acts as a silent placeholder. However, when ㅇ starts a sentence or is placed after a long pause, it marks a <a href="/facts/Glottal_stop/Xfqy2ArP">glottal stop</a>. Syllables may begin with basic or tense consonants but not complex ones. The vowel can be basic or complex, and the second consonant can be basic, complex or a limited number of tense consonants. How the syllables are structured depends solely if the baseline of the vowel symbol is horizontal or vertical. If the baseline is vertical, the first consonant and vowel are written above the second consonant (if present), but all components are written individually from top to bottom in the case of a horizontal baseline.
As in traditional <a href="/facts/Chinese_language/771ruUY1">Chinese</a> and <a href="/facts/Japanese_language/EEv485a5">Japanese</a> writing, as well as many other texts in East and Southeast Asia, Korean texts were traditionally written top to bottom, right to left, as is occasionally still the way for stylistic purposes. However, Korean is now typically written from left to right with <a href="/facts/Space_(punctuation)/0Um7Qfkq">spaces</a> between words serving as <a href="/facts/Word_divider/3kM5CYBW">dividers</a>, unlike in Japanese and Chinese. Hangul/Chosŏn'gŭl is the official writing system throughout both North and South Korea. It is a co-official writing system in the <a href="/facts/Yanbian_Korean_Autonomous_Prefecture/eQ6nbgka">Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture</a> and <a href="/facts/Changbai_Korean_Autonomous_County/F5Lj0RhK">Changbai Korean Autonomous County</a> in <a href="/facts/Jilin/JhwB76Lf">Jilin Province</a>, China. Hangul has also seen limited use by speakers of the <a href="/facts/Cia-Cia_language/sICGWXx2">Cia-Cia language</a> in <a href="/facts/Buton/M2cRWGMm">Buton</a>, Indonesia.

Hangul open-in-new

Hangul