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Lyceum of the Philippines University – Davao Campus

Km 11 C.P. Garcia Highway, Sasa, Davao City Philippines
Email: lpudavaohr@lpu.edu.ph/ Tel.no. : (082) 228- 5783/ Website:
www.lpu.edu.ph

Topic: LESSON 1- Introduction to Korean Alphabet/한글에 대한 소개

Contents:
1.1 History of Hangeul
1.2 Composition of syllables.
1.3 Learning the vowels of Hangeul
1.4 Learning the consonants of Hangeul.
1.5 Activities
1.6 Assignments

1.1 Brief History of Korean Alphabet - Hangeul (한글)

Korean uses its own unique alphabet called Hangeul. It is considered to be one of the most efficient
alphabets in the world and has garnered unanimous praise from language experts for its scientific design
and excellence.

Hangeul was created by King Sejong of Joseon Dynasty (1393-1910) and introduced to the public in 1443
as " Hun min jeong eum" 훈민정음 which literally meant "the correct sounds for the instruction of the
people/Korean script. " Before that, Koreans used Chinese characters called Hanja 한자 when writing
Korean language. However, Chinese characters were too difficult for ordinary people without education.
Thus, King Sejong created Hangeul, which can be easily used by ordinary people.

Throughout the Korean history, Hangeul has been at the root of the Korean culture,helping to preserve its
national identity and independence. It is also the easiest Language to learn in Asia (Chinese and Japanese).
Because it is composed of Vowels and Consonats.

The Korean Alphabet. Hangeul (한글)

The 21 vowels in Hangeul are divided into 10 simple vowels (vowel 1) and 11 double vowels (vowel 2).
And the 19 consonants in Hangeul are divided in 14 basic consonants (consonant 1) and 5 double
consonants (consonant 2).
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1.2 The composition of Korean syllables. ( 한국어의 음절 구성)

All words in Korean are composed of syllables, which go by the following basic rules:
1. A syllable begins with a consonant.
2. A syllable has at least one consonant and one vowel.
3. All Korean word starts with a consonant and also it is always followed by a vowel.

1.3 Learning the vowels of Hangeul (한글 모음익히기)

The vowels was designed based on the "The three basic components of the universe" such as Heaven,
Earth and Man.

A point for the sun in the heaven, the essence of yang.

A horizontal line representing the flat earth, the essence of yin.

A vertical line for the upright human, the neutral mediator between the two.

10 Simple Vowels
ㅏ- a ㅑ – ya
ㅓ- eo ㅕ – yeo
ㅗ–o ㅛ – yo
ㅜ–u ㅠ – yu
ㅡ – eu ㅣ – i (ee)
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Things to remember :
"ㅇ" before the vowel has no sound value.
No Korean vowels can stand alone at the beginning of a Korean syllable without a preceding
consonant, but if it has no consonant sound value on its own, it must be preceded by the
consonant "ㅇ" which is silent when preceded at the beginning of the syllable.

Here are another set of vowels, Diphthongs/combination of two vowels in a single syllable .

11 Double Vowels/Diphthongs
(ㅏ + ㅣ) ㅐ- ae (ㅓ + ㅣ) ㅔ- e

(ㅑ + ㅣ) ㅒ- yae (ㅕ + ㅣ) ㅖ- ye

(ㅗ + ㅏ) ㅘ- wa (ㅗ + ㅐ) ㅙ- wae

(ㅗ + ㅣ) ㅚ- we (ㅜ + ㅓ)ㅝ-wo

(ㅜ + ㅔ) ㅞ-we (ㅜ + ㅣ) ㅟ-wi

(ㅡ + ㅣ) ㅢ- eui

Be careful not to write them as below:

Things to remember:
‘ㅚ’, ‘ㅙ’, and ‘ㅞ’ also tend to be pronounced the same as "we".
ㅐ,ㅔ,ㅒ,ㅖ, occur on the right side of the consonant, whereas ㅘ,ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ.ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅢ occur
under the consonant.
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1.4 Learning the consonants of Hangeul. (한글 자음 익히기)

Consonants cannot be used alone. It should be combined with a vowel to form a syllable. All syllable
begins with a consonant. All syllable has at least one consonant and one vowel.

14 Basic Consonants Names

g/k -ㄱ 기역
n -ㄴ 니은
d/t -ㄷ 디귿
r/l -ㄹ 리을
m -ㅁ 미음
b/p -ㅂ 비읍
s/sh -ㅅ 시옷
silent/ng -ㅇ 이응
j/ch -ㅈ 지읒
ch -ㅊ 치읓
kh -ㅋ 키읔
th -ㅌ 티읕
ph -ㅍ 피읖
h -ㅎ 히읗

Things to remember:
As mentioned earlier, each syllable must have both a consonant and a vowel.
Thus, if there is no beginning consonant, use ‘ㅇ’, which has no sound – it’s silent..
ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅓ,ㅕ,ㅣ occur on the right side of the consonant, whereas ㅗ,ㅛ,ㅜ,ㅠ,ㅡ occur under the
consonant.

2.2 Here are another set of consonants.

The tensed consonants are ‘doubled’ versions of the normal consonants. For pronunciation, the tensed
versions is pronounced without any release of air, but the tightness in the throat. Stronger sound than that
of the basic consonants.

5 Double Consonants
ㄲ- kk ㄸ- tt
ㅃ- pp ㅆ – ss
ㅉ- jj
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1.5 Activity
 다음을 읽고 쓰십시오. Read and Write the following (10 Simple Vowels)
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 다음을 읽고 쓰십시오. Read and Write the following. (11 Double Vowels)
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Activity No.2
 다음을 읽고 쓰십시오. Read and Write the following. (14 Basic Consonants)
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 다음을 읽고 쓰십시오. Read and Write the following. (5 Double Consonants)

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Activity No.3
 Practice writing: Combination of Consonant and Vowel
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Activity No.4
 Read the following :

 Practice writing:
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 Read the following :

 Practice writing:
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 Read the following :

 Practice writing:
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 Read the following:

 Practice writing:
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 Read the following:

 Practice writing:
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 Read the following:

 Practice writing:

1.6 Assignment:
Please memorize Hangeul (40 Letters)
Kindly download 2 or more Korean-English Dictionary or vice versa. For future purposes. (Offline)
Install Korean Keyboard on your cellphone, pc or laptop and practice typing in Korean.
Practice Reading and Writing Korean words in this lesson. Because practice makes perfect. 