Hangul

native alphabet of the Korean language

Hangul or Hangeul (Korean: 한글) is the

alphabet (or alphabetic syllabary) used for the
Korean language.[1][2]

It was made by Sejong the Great, the 4th King

of the Joseon Dynasty in 1443, and it is still
used. When Hangeul was spreading, King
Sejong published Hunminjeong'eum
Haeryebon (훈민정음 해례본) which was chosen
as the 'Memory of the World' by UNESCO in
1997. In this book, the design ideas of Hangeul
and information about its use were written
down in detail.

The book Hunminjeong'eum Haeryebon states

the two design ideas of Hangeul. The first one
is that the consonants of Hangeul look like
vocal organs. The second one is that the
vowels of Hangeul are based on Cheonji'in (천
지인). Cheonji'in refers to the three elements of
philosophy which are sky (천), earth (지) and
human (인). Because of these ideas, Hangeul is
well known for being easy to learn.

Although it was only used by the lower classes

at first, Hangeul became the official writing
script of Korea in the late 19th century. Today it
is the most used writing system of both North
Korea and South Korea. North Korea abolished
the use of Hanja, and today North Koreans
write only in Hangeul. In South Korea, people
write mostly in Hangeul, but sometimes Hanja
is still used.

Vowels

Consonants

Blocks

Examples

References

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