Hangeul step 1

ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ

Step 1: Introduction
Step 2: Letters 1
Step 3: Letters 2

Welcome. Unlike Japanese and Chinese, the basics of the Korean script can be learned in a matter of hours. The only way to accurately pronounce Korean words is to use the Korean script. English and Korean do not have perfectly matching sounds, so using Romanization is mostly a bad idea. We have created a 6 step lesson plan and have employed various methods to help others learn the Korean script quickly and effectively. After finishing the 6 step lesson, you should also visit the consonant assimilation pages for advanced pronunciation rules. This project is still under construction and the recording of each vocal sound is still in process, please be patient. As time permits, each page will be gradually finished. We would also like to hear your input on the talk page. Thank you for your patience --Bluesoju 12:32, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Brief history

A page from the Hunmin Jeong-eum Eonha

Hangul was introduced under Sejong the Great and finished around 1444. Up until and even after that time, Chinese characters were used as the written language which limited reading and writing to the royal and government elite. King Sejong wanted Korea to have it's own script which was easier for the commoner to use. Hangeul was said to be easy enough to learn that a wise man could finish it in the morning and a fool could finish it by night. For that reason, there was opposition to Hangeul for a long time by the aristocrats who thought learning Hangeul was only for Women or the poor.

Hangeul is the only alphabet in existence that was invented from scratch for an existing language, rather than naturally developed.

Ever since Hangeul was first introduced, it went through many phases of being refined. Korean went through a large reformation during the Japanese colonization in the early 1900's, removing many of the now archaic letters and changing some rules.

See full article at Wikipedia on the Origin of Hangeul

Jamo

Korean is very differentiated from the other Asian languages in that it uses letters (called Jamo) that are arranged in character form. Just like English, Jamo are classified as either consonants or vowels.

Consonants

There are three kinds of consonants. The 10 simple consonants form the basis of the other consonants. The 5 tense consonants (also known as double or glottalized) are written as two simple consonants and involve tensing up the mouth. The 4 aspirated consonants (sometimes listed with the simple) involve blowing more air than the simple consonant it's based on. The consonants are: ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ

Vowels

There are simple and complex vowels. The 6 simple vowels form the basis of the complex vowels. Within the complex vowels there are diphthongs and iotized. Diphthongs usually (but not always) add a 'w' sound onto a simple vowel and the iotized always adds a 'y' sound. The vowels are: ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ

Structure

The easiest way to describe the structure of Hangeul is that it's a combination of a letter-based language like English and a character-based language like Chinese. Korean syllables are organized into blocks of Jamo that have a beginning consonant (called Cho), a middle vowel (called Jung), and an optional end consonant (called Jong).