January 2025
Hangeul is a scientific yet original writing system. This script, which originated in Korea, holds value beyond mere letters as it remains closely connected to Korean life while building bridges to the world.
한글은 과학적이면서도 독창적인 문자다. 한국에서 시작한 이 문자는, 한국인의 삶에 밀접해 있으면서도 세계로 통하는 다리를 놓으며 문자 그 이상의 가치를 품고 있다.
Writer. Jeong Juri
Recently, seven Korean words including “dalgona” (honeycomb toffee), “maknae” (youngest member of a group), “noraebang” (karaoke room), “hyung” (older brother, used by males), and “jjigae” (stew) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary. This update follows the addition of 26 words in 2021, including “Hallyu” (Korean cultural wave), “K-drama” (Korean television series), “mukbang” (eating show/broadcast), and “daebak” (amazing/fantastic). Seeing Korean words gradually appearing in such a globally authoritative dictionary demonstrates the significant worldwide interest in the Korean language.
Interest in the Korean language inevitably leads to interest in Hangeul, as it is the writing system used to transcribe Korean, and must be learned to read and speak the language. It would be a mistake to assume that Hangeul is difficult because it seems unfamiliar. Non-Koreans who choose to learn Hangeul to understand Korean culture often say it is “easy to learn.” What could be the reason for this?
ⓒ National Folk Museum of Korea. Rolled Book of Hunminjeongeum (Printed Version), 1160.3 cmx25.4 cm
Hangeul was created by King Sejong, the fourth monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. During his reign, Joseon had no native writing system and borrowed Chinese characters. However, Chinese characters were difficult to use for expressing Korean due to differences in word order and pronunciation systems. As a result, written language was a cultural element only accessible to the upper class who received advanced education.
In response, King Sejong created “Hunminjeongeum” in 1443 for the common people. It was a systematic and simple writing system consisting of 17 consonants and 11 vowels. The meaning of “Hunminjeongeum” is “the proper sounds for the instruction of the people,” indicating that anyone could easily learn and use it. Today’s Hangeul embodies King Sejong’s love for his people, as it was born from his desire to ensure that common people would not be excluded from written communication.
This writing system, created with such caring intentions, gradually permeated people’s daily lives. It became a tool for learning other languages and helped streamline administrative work. It enabled those who previously couldn’t write to communicate through letters. Although it was suppressed by Japanese colonial rule in the 1900s, thanks to the efforts of the Korean Language Society, which protected Hangeul and continuously promoted its spread, Hangeul education was able to take root quickly. As a result, Korea was able to achieve the remarkable feat of reaching a near 0% illiteracy rate.
The phonological differences between Korean and Chinese made Chinese characters ineffective for communication, leaving many unable to express themselves despite their thoughts. To address this, 28 new letters were created for ease of learning and daily use. The translation of the Hunminjeongeum
Hangeul is an efficient writing system. Writing systems are broadly categorized into logographic (like Chinese characters), syllabic (like Japanese kana), and phonemic (like English), with Hangeul being a type of phonemic script. Logographic systems require a new character for each concept to be expressed, necessitating tens of thousands of characters. Syllabic systems represent syllable units of sound, requiring fewer characters than logographic systems but more than phonemic ones. Hangeul combines minimal sound units (phonemes) to form syllables, allowing for diverse sounds with relatively few characters.
While Hangeul is a phonemic system like English, it uniquely combines consonants and vowels into syllabic units. Unlike English, which arranges consonants and vowels horizontally (as in “mountain”), Hangeul combines “ㅅ”, “ㅏ” and “ㄴ” to create “산” (san). In other words, it functions as a phonemic system in its consonant-vowel combinations while producing syllabic units as its final output. Thanks to this easy combination and condensation of characters, Hangeul allows for rich expression even with the same number of letters.
Hangeul consonants are based on five basic letters (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, ㅇ) determined by the position (molars, gums, lips, teeth, throat) and method of sound production. Additional strokes were added to create “ㅋ”, “ㄷ”, “ㅌ”, “ㅂ”, “ㅍ”, “ㅎ” and others. Vowels were created by combining shapes and dots representing heaven (?), earth (ㅡ) and human (ㅣ). Following these scientific and systematic principles, learning just 24 basic letters enables expression of numerous syllables, making Hangeul quick to learn and highly versatile.
Korean words added to the Oxford Dictionery in January 2025
Hangeul, which has become completely integrated into Korean life, is now infinitely expanding its potential beyond national borders. This is because Hangeul’s founding principles can be used to accurately express any language. By adopting a linear writing system similar to the alphabet, where consonants and vowels are written separately, it can be applied even to languages where syllabic blocks are difficult to use. This gives Hangeul the potential to contribute to language preservation.
A prime example of Hangeul’s potential for globalization was demonstrated in 2009 when it was taught to the Cia-Cia people of Indonesia, who were facing language extinction due to lack of a writing system. Textbooks were provided, and to this day, Hangeul schools continue to operate, teaching the Cia-Cia people and helping facilitate communication among residents by transcribing their language in Hangeul. Additionally, some provinces in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific have adopted Hangeul as their writing system, and it has also been introduced to the Aymara people of Bolivia.
Hangeul can be used to preserve endangered languages, unwritten languages, languages at risk of extinction and languages that are difficult to read and write due to complex writing systems. The international community has highly valued these aspects of Hangeul, leading UNESCO to establish the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize in 1989, awarded to individuals and organizations contributing to literacy eradication. This prize honors the scientific nature and practicality of Hangeul created by King Sejong, reflecting how it was designed with practical principles that make it easy for anyone to learn.
Hangeul also serves to facilitate cultural exchange between people, nations and businesses. With increasing interest in Korea through K-pop and other cultural exports, it has recently gained attention as a “representative element of Korea.” For example, Coca-Cola launched a new “K-wave flavor” drink with Hangeul-inspired package designs worldwide. Moreover, sports and high-end fashion brands have actively incorporated Hangeul into their products.
ⓒ The Coca-Cola Company.
ⓒ Yonhap News.
Global companies’ use of Hangeul in their products and services demonstrates the popularity of both Hangeul and Korea. This popularity is also evident in the number of students learning Korean. According to the National Institute for International Education’s 2023 records, 240,000 people from 224 cities in 76 countries took the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), more than doubling in just seven years. Schools and language institutes offering Korean classes have also increased. For instance, Oxford University’s Language Centre adopted Korean as its 12th foreign language. At the national level, as of late 2023, 23 countries have adopted Korean as a second foreign language, and 10 countries include Korean in their university entrance exams. Since learning Hangeul is the first step in studying Korean, this shows how quickly Hangeul is reaching people worldwide.
There’s a reason for noting Hangeul’s popularity. As students learn Hangeul and Korean, they naturally expand their interest to Korean culture, society, and Korean studies in general. Indeed, Korean language education institutions in countries with diplomatic ties to Korea serve as cultural exchange platforms, effectively strengthening friendly relations between nations. Hangeul, originally created to preserve Korea’s unique culture, is now spreading worldwide, connecting people and nations. The future impact of Hangeul is highly anticipated.
Writer. Jeong Juri
Jeong Juri is engaged in academic research on the semantics and syntax of the Korean language, as well as writing Korean stories for the general public. She has written a series of Korean/Hangeul books, explaining the characteristics and history of the Korean language in an interesting way.
