한국어 1

Korean 1
THM 201 — Foreign Language 1

COLLEGE OF ACCOUNTANCY, BUSINESS, ECONOMICS, AND

INTERNATIONAL HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
ARASOF-NASUGBU

Module 1
Introduction
The modern Korean writing system, Hangeul (한글) was devised in 1443 during
the reign of King Sejong, perhaps the greatest monarch of the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910).
Before hangeul, other Korean scripts used a complex system of Chinese characters to
represent the sounds of Korean. But because of the differences between Chinese and
Korean, Chinese characters could not adequately denote Korean speech. Further, only
the elite could afford the time necessary to study Chinese, so King Sejong (1397-1450)
commissioned the invention of a phonetic script both more efficient and more accessible
to the common people. Described as one of the most scientific alphabets ever devised,
hangeul consists of 24 letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Combinations of these
letters represent 5 double consonants and 11 diphthongs. The letters, grouped in clusters
of 2, 3, or 4, form syllables and words. The invention of hangeul marks a major
achievement in the history of Korean culture because it has contributed to one of the
highest literacy rates in the world.
A variety of grammatical forms reveal the high value Koreans traditionally placed
on expressing and receiving respect. Korean verbs have several forms to indicate the
inferior, equal, or superior status of one speaker to another. Koreans now use only a few
respectful styles, a change reflecting growth of the middle class and greater social
equality.
Modern Korean still reflects China's deep influence over centuries. Roughly half
the Korean vocabulary consists of words derived from Chinese, mainly through the
Confucian classics. Today South Koreans generally use a hybrid writing system in which
words derived from Chinese are written with Chinese characters, while Korean words are
written in hangeul. (North Koreans totally eliminated Chinese characters and write even
Chinese words in hangeul.) Despite word borrowing, Korean is completely distinct from
Chinese, in sound and in sentence structure.
Intended Learning Outcomes
1. Recognize Korean phonetic system and the general idea of the uniqueness of
Korean grammar and sentence structure.
2. Exchange greetings appropriate for Korean culture.
3. Read and write using Korean alphabets.
4. Familiarize and express oneself with Korean common phrases.

Learning Content
Let’s meet Korea!
The Korean peninsula, roughly 1,030 km long and 175 km wide at its narrowest point, is
located in Northeast Asia. With Seoul as its capital city, Korea's total land area is 100,033 ㎢.
Korea's neighbors include Japan to the east, China to the west, and Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (North Korea) across the northern border.

Korea is a region in East Asia. Since 1948 it has been divided between two distinct
sovereign states, North Korea and South Korea. Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju
Island, and several minor islands near the peninsula.

The total population of Korea is approximately 51,635,256 (as of September 2018), with
most of the population residing in the Seoul metropolitan area. Outside of Seoul, other large and
economically advanced cities such as Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju and Ulsan also
have higher population densities than other cities in Korea. Moon Jae-in 문재인, born on January
24 1953, is the President of South Korea since 2017. He was elected after the impeachment of
Park Geun-hye as the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Reasons why one should learn Korean language:

1. Korean is the 17th most widely spoken language in the world with approx. 80 Million native
speakers. South Korea is also the 13th largest economy in the world and it’s a beautiful and
dynamic country. So, if you want to travel to Korea or want to study, work or do business
there, you should consider learning Korean language.
2. The Korean alphabet Hangeul is really easy to learn. You can learn it in an hour or two. All
the characters are combinations of straight lines or circles.

3. The pronunciation system in Korean not random like in English. The relationship between
the spelling and pronunciation of words is very scientific in Korean. There are very logical
and scientific rules of pronunciations which may be difficult to learn in the beginning, but
once you learn them the chances of pronouncing any word in correctly are very low.

4. Korean grammar might be difficult to learn for native English speakers as it follows SOV
pattern. But once you understand the concept it’s really easy. The verb always comes in the
end; that’s most important. Other elements of the sentence have specific particles attached to
them, so even if you change their order in the sentence, the meaning doesn’t change (though
it may sound unnatural).

5. In Korean language, the verb forms do not change according to singular or plural
subjects.

6. Unlike other languages, there is no concept of gender (of nouns) in Korean. The gender
of nouns don’t affect the other elements of the sentence.

7. There are no specific intonations to learn (like in Chinese and some other languages).

8. Korean has a very comprehensive system of Honorifics, which may be intimidating in the
beginning but it gets interesting later and helps you understand Korean culture and society
better. There are several levels of honorifics which are used according to the social factors
like age, status, solidarity, context etc. If you are not sure it’s better to use the honorific forms
with everyone, to be on the safe side.

9. The loanwords from English (Known as Konglish) are widely used and understood in Korea.
So when you are short of proper vocabulary use the English word and chances are that you
will be understood.

10. After learning Korean, you will be able to understand your favorite K-pop song lyrics and
Korean drama dialogues better. Though you can still enjoy them using English subtitles,
understanding Korean language will take the pleasure to another level as you will be able to
understand subtle nuances and emotions.
Features of Hangeul writing system:

 Hangeul is composed of a consonant and a vowel forming one syllable.

 In each syllable, there is a beginning consonant or initial sound, medial vowel or medial sound
and an option to final consonant.
 Written from left to right and top to bottom

 Written into “blocks” that make up one syllable. One block always has exactly one syllable.

34

 Number 2 is ALWAYS a vowel.

 Number 1, 3 and sometimes 4 are ALWAYS consonants.
 Horizontally drawn vowels always use the first two blocks on the left.
 Vertically drawn vowels always use the last two blocks on the right.

Korean Basic Vowels

Basic Vowels Second-derived

Vowels
이 I
야 ya

vertical vowels
아 a

여 yeo
eo
어
요 yo
오 o
유 yu
horizontal vowels
우 u

으 eu
 Let’s practice!
Read and write the following letters:

아 요

야 우

어 유

여 으

오 이

Korean Basic Consonants

Basic symbols Name Romanized sound
ㄱ giyeok G/ soft K
ㄴ nieun N
ㄷ digeut D/ softT
ㄹ rieul R/L
ㅁ mieum M
ㅂ bieup B/P
ㅅ siot S/Sh
ㅇ ieung NG
ㅈ jieut J
ㅊ chieut aspirated CH

ㅋ kieuk aspirated K

ㅌ tieut aspirated T

ㅍ pieup aspirated P

ㅎ hieut H
Let’s practice!
Read and write the following syllables:

CV 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이

ㄱ 가

ㅎ
 Other Korean Vowels and Diphthongs

Vowels Diphthongs Diphthongs

애 ae 얘 yae 워 wo

에 e 예 ye 웨 we

외 we 와 wa 의

위 we 왜 wae

Let’s practice!
Read and write the following words:

회사 company
돼지 pig
의사 doctor
의자 chair
개미 ant
세수 wash face
그네 swing
얘기 story
과자 snack
스웨터 sweater
카메라 camera
와이셔츠 shirts
배 ship
새 bird
해 sun
게 crab
받침 The final consonants
1. ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ, ㄳ, ㄺ → [ㄱ]

2. ㄴ, ㄵ, ㄶ → [ㄴ]

3. ㄷ, ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅎ → [ㄷ]

4. ㄹ, ㄼ, ㄾ, ㅀ → [ㄹ] 6. ㅂ, ㅍ, ㅄ, ㄿ → [ㅂ]

5. ㅁ, ㄻ → [ㅁ] 7. ㅇ → [ㅇ]

Let’s practice!
Read correctly the following words with the final consonants

국 soup
닫다 to close 넓다 wide

부엌 kitchen end 핥다 to lick

끝
밖 outside
끓다 to boil
옷 clothes
몫 share to have/ 몸 body
있다 to exist
읽다 to read
삶 life
낮 daytime
문 door
답 answer
꽃 flower
앉다 to sit
to put down 없다 not to have/
놓 not to exist

많다 many
읊다 to recite
별 star
강 river
표현 Basic Expressions

안녕하세요 Hello! / Goodbye!

반갑습니다 Nice to meet you!

감사합니다 Thank you!

잠시만요 Just a moment

죄송합니다 I’m sorry

여보세요 Hello (on phone)

오랜만이다 Long time no see!

어떻게 지내세요? How are you?

잘지내요 I’m ok.

안녕히 가세요 Goodbye! (you’re staying)

안녕히 계세요 Goodbye! (you’re leaving)

보고싶다 I miss you

사랑해 I love you

축하해요! Congratulations!

한국말 잘 못해요 I don’t speak Korean well.

교실 표현 Classroom Expressions

따라 하세요. Repeat after me. 질문 있어요? Do you have question?

잘 들어 보세요. Listen carefully. 네 / 아니요 Yes / No

읽어 보세요. Please read. 이해했어요? Do you

understand?
조용히 하세요. Please be quiet. 천천히 말씀해 Please speak
좋아요. Good! 주세요. slowly.
선생님 Teacher
맞아요. That’s correct!
앉으세요 Please sit down.
Exercises
I. Directions: Listen and write the following words:

1 6 11 16 21 26
아이 이 오이 야구 구두 가구

2 7 12 17 22 27
오 이 우유 아기 나라 고기

3 8 13 18 23 28
여우 아야 요요 누나 다리 오리

4 9 14 19 24 29
아이유 어 요 머리 부모 비누

5 10 15 20 25 30
아요 어요 으이 두부 보리 바지

II. Directions: Click the letter with the correct answer.

1. Which region of Asia is Korea located?

a. East Asia b. West Asia c. North Asia d. South Asia
2. Who is the President of South Korea?
a. Xi Jinping b. Kim Jong-un c. Moon Jae-In d. Shinzō Abe

3. What is the modern Korean writing system?

a. Hanguk b. Hangeul c. Hannyeong d. Hanja

4. Who commissioned the invention of the Korean writing system?

a. King Sejong b. King Geun-hye c. King Hangul d. King Hanja

5. How many basic letters does Korean alphabet have?

a. 10 letters b. 14 letters c. 20 letters d. 24 letters

6. What should be the final sound of the Korean word 읽다 ?

a. ㅋ b. ㄺ c. ㄲ d. ㄱ

7. What does 읽어 보세요 mean in English?

a. Please be quiet. b. Please read c. Please sit down d. Please speak slowly

8. What is teacher in Korean?

a. 의사 b. 친구 c. 선생님 d. 어머니
III. Directions: Write the English translation of the following:

1
축하해요!
2
한국말 잘 못해요
3
잠시만요
4
죄송합니다
5
여보세요

IV. Directions: Read the following

1
반갑습니다
2
오랜만이다
3
어떻게 지내세요?
4
안녕히 계세요
5
잘지내요