Hangul: Difference between revisions

Korean alphabet
Korean alphabet;
	Hangul text. Top is the North Korean name, Template:Tlit, and bottom is the international and South Korean name, Template:Tlit or Template:Tlit
Script type	Alphabet
Time period	1443 or 1444 to present
Direction	Left-to-right; Top-to-bottom, columns right-to-left;
Languages	Korean; Jeju; Cia-Cia;
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Hang, , Hangul (Hangŭl, Hangeul) Jamo (Template:ISO 15924 number) (for the jamo subset)
Unicode
Unicode alias	Template:ISO 15924 alias
Unicode range	Hangul Syllables:; U+AC00–U+D7AF; Hangul Jamo:; U+1100–U+11FF; Hangul Compatibility Jamo:; U+3130–U+318F; Hangul Jamo Extended-A:; U+A960–U+A97F; Hangul Jamo Extended-B:; U+D7B0–U+D7FF;
	This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

VisualWikitext

Latest revision as of 23:47, 29 March 2026

The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. It has gone by a variety of names, such as Template:Tlit^{[lower-alpha 1]} in North Korea, Hangul internationally, and Template:Tlit^{[lower-alpha 2]} in South Korea. The script's original name was Template:Tlit.^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Before Hangul's creation, Korea had been using Hanja (Chinese characters) since antiquity. As Hanja was poorly suited for representing the Korean language, and because its difficulty contributed to high illiteracy, Joseon king Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450) moved to create Hangul. The script was announced around late 1443 to early 1444 and officially published in 1446 via the text Hunminjeongeum and its companion commentary Hunminjeongeum Haerye. While Hangul saw gradual adoption among both the elite and commoners, it was looked down upon by the elite for centuries. It only began to receive societal acceptance in the late 19th century. It is now the predominant script for Korean in both Koreas and among the Korean diaspora. It is also used to write the Jeju language, and to a limited degree, the Cia-Cia language of Indonesia.

Hangul orthography has changed over time and differs between North and South Korea. Modern Korean language orthographies use 24^{[lower-alpha 4]} basic letters, which are called jamo. These 14 consonants and 10 vowels can be combined to yield 27 additional letters; a total of 51. They are arranged in syllable blocks consisting of an initial consonant, a vowel, and an optional final consonant. The syllables can be arranged in vertical or horizontal rows, although the latter practice has become dominant. Hangul punctuation is now largely similar to Western punctuation, with some differences. Spaces between words or phrases are a modern feature of Hangul.

Hangul letters were designed to be graphically simple, and traditionally consisted of only straight lines, dots, and circles. The shapes of 5 basic consonants are based on those of human speech organs. Most of the other basic consonants, which are considered to correspond to "harsher" sounds than those 5, are derived by adding additional lines to those letters to indicate progressively harsher sounds. There are a number of other hypothesized inspirations for the letter shapes, but these are still debated.

The script has received significant praise from international linguists and historians. It is now a major point of pride for Korean people.

Names[edit | edit source]

The Korean alphabet has been referred to by various names since its invention. Its original name was Hunminjeongeum (Template:Korean/auto). It shared this name with the manuscript that introduced it.^[1]

Internationally, the script goes by Hangul. This spelling has been adopted as a word in the English language^[2] and is used by organizations like the International Organization for Standardization (which gives it the four-letter code Hang and numeric code 286).^[3] Hangul is an ad-hoc romanization of the name South Korea uses for the script; South Korea's preferred Revised Romanization system renders this as Hangeul (한글). The McCune–Reischauer and related romanization systems render this as Han'gŭl. Without diacritics, this is rendered as Hangul. The name means script of Han, where Han is one of the names of Korea.^[4] The name appeared some time around the early 1910s.^[5]^[6]

In North Korea, the name Hangul was briefly used until it was replaced by Chosŏn'gŭl in 1949. This is in part due to differing preferences for names of Korea: North Korea refers to the whole of Korea as Chosŏn, while South Korea uses Hanguk.^[7]

The script also historically went by a variety of other names, including ŏnmun (Template:Korean),^[8] panjŏl (Template:Korean),^[9] and Template:Korean/auto.^[10]

Classifications[edit | edit source]

Hangul is a phonographic script: a writing system where graphemes represent the sounds of a language. It is also an alphabet.^[11] The script is often described as "syllabic" because of how its letters are grouped into syllables Template:Crossreference,^[12] although linguist John DeFrancis is skeptical of this.^[13] Several linguists have instead argued for calling it an "alphabetic syllabary", "syllabic alphabet", or "alpha-syllabary".^[14] While Hangul was originally a more phonemic script (where spelling is strictly tied to pronunciation), modern Hangul has become more morphophonemic (where some pronunciation changes are not reflected in spelling) over time Template:Crossreference.^[15]

Hangul and mixed script are considered to have a property called ŏnmun ilch'i (Template:Korean): tight correspondence between pronunciation and text. By contrast, the Idu and Kugyŏl scripts for writing Korean do not have this property.^{[lower-alpha 5]}^[17] Pae, Winskel, and Kim argue this property was initially stronger but weakened over time due to changes in the language and script.^[18]

Featural script[edit | edit source]

Some scholars argue that Hangul is what is called a "featural script": a writing system where the shapes of the symbols encode phonological features of the spoken language they represent. The term was coined by Sampson in a 1985 book, wherein he argued Hangul was featural. This argument is largely based on the Haerye's explanations for the derivations of the letter shapes.^[19]

In a 1989 book, DeFrancis praises Hangul but questions Sampson's classification of Hangul as featural. He argues that Hangul encodes too few features of Korean and that most people literate in Hangul do not actively learn or process the featural principles used to construct the shapes of the letters.^[20] In a 1997 book, Chin-Woo Kim rebuts DeFrancis's argument. He argues that DeFrancis relies on a count of Korean's features that is too high, and that other scholars provide lower counts. He also argues that, even if one accepts that most do not learn or perceive Hangul's featural aspects, that does not mean such aspects do not exist. Kim also claims that scholars argue Hangul is not a featural script because it does not neatly abide by Jakobsonian distinctive features.^[21] In the same book, linguist Young-Key Kim-Renaud argues against a featural label. She argues it should be considered that the derivation rules are applied to varying quality and that some symbols represent or contribute to multiple significantly different sounds. Kim-Renaud gives the example of the dot: the dot is used as a vowel (ㆍ) and a component in other vowels (e.g. two of them in ㅑ). When used as a component, it does not carry the meaning of the dot vowel.^[22] Linguists Pae, Winskel, and Kim argue that the featural designation is difficult to falsify, debatable, and uncertain.^[23] Linguists Taylor and Taylor argue that not all of Hangul's letters are derived from articulatory features and their shape communicates little to learners and users of Korean.^[24] Linguist Dimitrios Meletis feels that the label is given too much attention, and that the stroke addition rule and philosophical concepts behind the letters are not purely featural.^[25]

History[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

Before the invention of Hangul, Korea had been using Hanja (Chinese characters) since antiquity. The difficulty of the script limited its use to mostly upper-class people; commoners were largely illiterate.^[26] Hanja is not well suited for representing the Korean language; the Chinese and Korean languages are not closely related and differ in significant ways. For example, Classical Chinese uses subject–verb–object word order while Middle Korean uses subject–object–verb word order.^[27] Korean pronunciation and ideas could only be indirectly represented.^[28]

Origin[edit | edit source]

First page of the *Hunminjeongeum*, which formally introduced Hangul

Due to a lack of records, it is unknown when work on Hangul first began, nor what that process looked like.^[29] Joseon king Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450) was responsible for Hangul's creation, and most scholars believe he was significantly personally involved in creating it.^[30] Hangul was first introduced, likely in a mostly complete form, to Sejong's court in the 12th month of 1443 of the Korean calendar (around December 30, 1443 to January 28, 1444 in the Gregorian calendar).^[31] Work then began on applying the script and developing official documentation for it. Part of this effort resulted in the creation of Yongbiŏch'ŏn'ga, the first ever piece of Hangul literature.^[32]

In the 9th month of 1446 (the specific day of publication is not known), Hangul was officially promulgated via the introductory texts Hunminjeongeum and Hunminjeongeum Haerye.^[33] The Hunminjeongeum begins with this now famous preface by Sejong:^[34]

The sounds of our country's language are different from those of the Middle Kingdom and are not confluent with the sounds of characters. Therefore, among the ignorant people, there have been many who, having something they want to put into words, have in the end been unable to express their feelings. I have been distressed because of this, and have newly designed twenty-eight letters, which I wish to have everyone practice at their ease and make convenient for their daily use.^[35]
— Sejong the Great, Hunminjeongeum, preface

Critics of Hangul emerged soon after its introduction. They argued that a native Korean script was too far a departure from Chinese civilization, which they insisted Korea should be deferent to in a Confucian manner.^[36] Modern historians have argued that elitism and self-interest were other motivators for anti-Hangul elite; literacy in Hanja was then seen as a status symbol and general literacy was seen as potentially harming their social positions.^[37]

Spread[edit | edit source]

A copy of the landmark novel *Hong Gildong jeon*

While Sejong had attempted to spread Hangul throughout the government and society, his efforts had limited success.^[38] Hangul was only rarely used during the 15th century; its use was largely centered in Seoul, among people close to the royal family and court.^[39] It only began to spread outside of Seoul in the 16th century.^[40] Women and Buddhists were significant early adopters of the script. While Hangul was rarely taught in traditional Confucianist curricula, it was often taught by women in the home.^[41]

King Yeonsangun (r. 1495–1506) persecuted the use of Hangul during the 1504 second literati purge [ko], after learning that criticisms of him had been written in the script.^[42] In the 16th century, the government agency Bureau of Interpreters became a significant center for Hangul scholarship, with one of its members Ch'oe Sejin still being revered today for his lasting contributions to the script and Korean linguistics.^[43]

Hangul orthography experienced significant changes in the script's early history. Around the time of Hangul's promulgation, an apparent dispute between whether to use a phonemic or morphophonemic orthography resulted in an apparent victory for the morphophonemic faction; among that faction was Sejong himself.^[44] A number of letters gradually stopped seeing significant use by the late 16th century, including the base letters ㅿ and ㆆ.^[45] By the 17th century, the letters ㅇ and ㆁ had merged into one.^[46] Tone markings [ko] for Hangul stopped being used around the 16th century.^[47] The chaotic 1592–1598 Imjin War caused significant disruption and inconsistencies to Hangul orthography that persisted and even worsened into the late 19th century.^[48]

Hangul popular literature and sijo poetry began to flourish around the 17th century.^[49] The landmark novel Hong Gildong jeon was published around the beginning of the century.^[50]

Enlightenment and Korean Empire periods[edit | edit source]

*Tongnip sinmun*, the first modern Korean newspaper and the first to use pure Hangul

With the end of Korea's isolationism in the 1870s, an influx of foreign ideas arrived in Korea. Around this time, Hangul began to be seen as a symbol of national identity and pride. Various Hangul reform movements arose, with many persisting into the late 20th century. Collectively, these efforts are referred to as the Hangul Movement [ko].^[51] Various issues became debated, such as whether to use Hangul only or mixed script,^[52] whether to abandon the syllable block structure and write linearly,^[53] and whether to write vertically or horizontally.^[54]

This era saw numerous landmark firsts for Hangul. Scottish missionary John Ross's landmark 1877 work Corean Primer (조선어 첫걸음) saw the introduction of spaces and horizontal writing for Hangul.^[54] In 1888, a Morse code specification for Hangul was developed for the first time by Korean scholar Kim Hagu [ko].^[55] In 1897, the first Braille encoding for Hangul, called Pyongyang Point (평양점자), was invented by Canadian missionary Rosetta Sherwood Hall.^[56] This period also saw the rise of newspapers in Korea. In 1886, the Hansŏng chubo became the first Korean newspaper to use mixed script.^[57] In 1896, The Independent, one of the earliest independent modern Korean newspapers, was established. It was written in pure Hangul.^[58]

On November 21, 1894, the Joseon government decreed pure Hangul to be the country's preferred script for administrative documents, although mixed script was also allowed.^[59] This edict was apparently enforced to varying degrees, as exclusive Hangul was rare in many documents even until the beginning of the colonial period.^[60] Joseon was succeeded by the Korean Empire in 1897. On July 19, 1905, the Korean Empire approved the first official orthography for Hangul: the New Edition of National Writing (Template:Korean).^[61] Ultimately, this orthography proved controversial and was not put into significant practice.^[62]

Colonial period[edit | edit source]

Cover of a revision of the Unified Hangul Orthography [ko]

In 1910, Korea was colonized by the Empire of Japan. The Korean language and script saw varying degrees of repression during the colonial period.^[63] After the 1919 March First Movement protests, the Japanese colonial government temporarily eased suppression of Korean culture in a phenomenon now dubbed cultural rule [ja; ko]. Hangul use and reform significantly expanded as a result.^[64]

This period saw significant orthographic reform efforts. The colonial Government-General of Chōsen published the first Hangul orthography to be put in common practice in 1912 (revised in 1921 and 1930).^[65] The Korean Language Society (KLS) published its landmark 1933 Unified Hangul Orthography [ko] (UHO). The orthographies of both North and South Korea are currently based on this one.^[66] These orthographies ended the use of the vowel ㆍ, although that vowel's sound had long since disappeared from the language.^[67] The KLS also established Hangul Day in 1926.^[68] With the rise of the Second Sino-Japanese War, colonial repression of Hangul and the Korean language increased. The KLS was arrested en masse and tortured beginning in 1942. Hangul reform activity significantly slowed until the 1945 liberation.^[69]

The Korean diaspora also participated in significant Hangul reform efforts. Koryo-saram (Koreans of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union) published a number of orthographic reforms,^[70] although their use of Hangul declined especially after they were subjected to a 1937 forced migration.^[71] The first Hangul typewriter was invented in 1913 by Korean-American Wonic Leigh (이원익; Yi Wŏnik).^[72]

Liberation and division[edit | edit source]

1945 saw the liberation of Korea from colonial rule, as well as its division. Soon after the liberation, use of Hangul began to diverge between the Koreas. Both Koreas continued orthographic reform efforts. North Korea's current Compendium of Korean Language Norms [ko] was published in 1966 and revised a number of times.^[73] South Korea's Hangeul Orthography was published in 1989.^[74] The South Korean language regulator National Institute of Korean Language was established in 1991.^[75]

Soon after the liberation, both North and South Korea pushed to increase literacy, which had remained low during the colonial period. Within a decade, a significant majority of Koreans in both Koreas became literate in at least Hangul.^[76] The Koreas also pushed to eliminate Hanja from writing. North Korea eliminated Hanja in 1949, although it continued to be used and taught thereafter.^[77] South Korea oscillated between the elimination and preservation of Hanja for decades afterwards.^[77] In the 1990s, newspapers switched to using mostly Hangul.^[78]

The 1960s saw the rise of computers and the computerization of Hangul in South Korea.^[79] Such efforts lacked a standard until 1974, when KS C 5601 (predecessor to the current KS X 1001) was published.^[79] In 1995, South Korea adopted ISO 10646-1, the Universal Coded Character Set, as its standard, in KS C 5700.^[80]^[81]

A Hangul internet slang culture has also developed. For example, single letters have been used to convey meaning, which is typically not allowed in mainstream orthographies. For example, ㅋ indicates the sound of laughter and ㅠ is a visual representation of crying.^[82] In the late 2010s, the yaminjeongeum trend emerged. It substitutes similar looking letters and syllables in words, like substituting the nonsense word Template:Korean/auto for Template:Korean/auto.^[83]^[84]

Distribution outside Korea[edit | edit source]

Hangul has remained in significant use among parts of the Korean diaspora in China. In the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County, it is an official writing system.^[85] One 2004 book claimed that around 81% of the Korean population in China is literate in Hangul.^[86] Hangul sees a moderate degree of use in Japan. In the mid 20th century, Chōsen gakkō and Kankoku gakkō [ja], schools aligned with North and South Korea respectively, were significant centers of Hangul education in Japan. Now, a significant majority of ethnic Koreans in Japan attend regular Japanese schools and have low Korean language ability and Hangul literacy. Otherwise, Hangul is often used for the numerous South Korean tourists, who form a significant proportion of tourists to the country. The rise of the Korean Wave around the beginning of the 21st century has corresponded with a rise in Korean language education for Japanese people.^[87] The Korean Wave has also impacted interest in Korean and Hangul in the United States, with numerous universities and language learning tools like Duolingo teaching the subjects.^[88]

Letters[edit | edit source]

Letters in the Korean alphabet are called jamo (Template:Korean).^[89] Hangul letters generally have more consistent pronunciations than those of other scripts.^[90]

Letter counts[edit | edit source]

The current mainstream Hangul orthographies for Korean use 24 basic jamo: 14 basic consonants (Template:Korean/auto^[91]) and 10 basic vowels (Template:Korean/auto^[92]).^[89]^[93] The basic letters can be modified and combined to yield 51 jamo in total. Duplications result in 5 additional consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ), and modifications and combinations result in 11 additional vowels (ㅐ, ㅒ, ㅔ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅢ)^[94] and 11 additional heterogeneous consonant digraphs (ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅀ, ㅄ).^{[lower-alpha 6]} South Korea considers Hangul to have 24 letters (only counting basic letters) and North Korea 40 (not counting 11 heterogeneous consonant digraphs).^[96]^[7]

Hangul uses the same letters for initial and final consonants. Some letters are not typically used as final consonants, however.^[97]

Consonant letters[edit | edit source]

Below are the Hangul consonant letters that are in current use for Korean. They have different pronunciations as well as transcriptions in Revised Romanization depending on whether they are in the initial or final part of a syllable block.

Hangul consonant letters^[98]^[99]
Hangul		ㄱ	ㄲ	ㄴ	ㄷ	ㄸ	ㄹ	ㅁ	ㅂ	ㅃ	ㅅ	ㅆ	ㅇ	ㅈ	ㅉ	ㅊ	ㅋ	ㅌ	ㅍ	ㅎ
Initial	RR	g	kk	n	d	tt	r	m	b	pp	s	ss	^{[upper-alpha 1]}	j	jj	ch	k	t	p	h
Initial	IPA^{[citation needed]}	/k/	/k͈/	/n/	/t/	/t͈/	/ɾ/	/m/	/p/	/p͈/	/s/	/s͈/	Template:Ipa	/t͡ɕ/	/t͈͡ɕ͈/	/t͡ɕʰ/	/kʰ/	/tʰ/	/pʰ/	/h/
Final	RR	k	k	n	t	^{[upper-alpha 2]}	l	m	p	^{[upper-alpha 2]}	t	t	ng	t	^{[upper-alpha 2]}	t	k	t	p	t
Final	IPA^{[citation needed]}	/k̚/		/n/	/t̚/	^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/ɭ/	/m/	/p̚/	^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/t̚/		/ŋ/	/t̚/	^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/t̚/	/k̚/	/t̚/	/p̚/	/t̚/
↑ ㅇ is silent when used as an initial letter. It is used as a placeholder. In RR, it is typically not transcribed. In the reversible variant of RR, it is transcribed as a hyphen ("-").^[99] ↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 This letter is not used as a final.

Korean consonants are broadly categorized into two categories:^[100]

obstruents: sounds produced when airflow either completely stops (i.e., a plosive consonant) or passes through a narrow opening (i.e., a fricative).
sonorants: sounds produced when air flows out with little to no obstruction through the mouth, nose, or both.

Consonants in standard Hangul orthography^[101]^{[citation needed]}
			Bilabial	Alveolar	Alveolo-palatal	Velar	Glottal
Obstruent	Plosive	Lax	p (ㅂ)	t (ㄷ)		k (ㄱ)
		Tense	p͈ (ㅃ)	t͈ (ㄸ)		k͈ (ㄲ)
		Aspirated	pʰ (ㅍ)	tʰ (ㅌ)		kʰ (ㅋ)
	Fricative	Lax		s (ㅅ)			h (ㅎ)
	Fricative	Tense		s͈ (ㅆ)
	Affricate	Lax			t͡ɕ (ㅈ)
		Tense			t͈͡ɕ͈ (ㅉ)
		Aspirated			t͡ɕʰ (ㅊ)
Sonorant	Nasal		m (ㅁ)	n (ㄴ)		ŋ (ㅇ)
Sonorant	Liquid			l (ㄹ)

Vowel letters[edit | edit source]

Below are the basic Hangul vowel letters, digraphs and sequences currently in use for Korean.

Hangul vowel letters
Hangul	ㅏ	ㅐ	ㅑ	ㅒ	ㅓ	ㅔ	ㅕ	ㅖ	ㅗ	ㅘ	ㅙ	ㅚ	ㅛ	ㅜ	ㅝ	ㅞ	ㅟ	ㅠ	ㅡ	ㅢ	ㅣ
RR^[99]	a	ae	ya	yae	eo	e	yeo	ye	o	wa	wae	oe	yo	u	wo	we	wi	yu	eu	ui	i
IPA^{[citation needed]}^{[upper-alpha 1]}	/a/	/ɛ/^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/ja/	/jɛ/^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/ʌ/	/e/^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/jʌ/	/je/^{[upper-alpha 2]}	/o/	/wa/	/wɛ/	/ø/^{[upper-alpha 3]}	/jo/	/u/	/wʌ/	/we/	/y/^{[upper-alpha 4]}	/ju/	/ɯ/	/ɰi/	/i/
↑ IPA values here are for traditional Standard Korean (Seoul dialect). Current Standard South Korean has diverged from these practices.^[102] ↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `eye` ↑ Recent speakers pronounce ㅚ, ㅞ, and ㅙ as Template:Ipa.^[103] ↑ ㅟ is now commonly pronounced Template:Ipa.^[104]

Even though vowel length has been a feature of many historical and current dialects of Korean since the invention of Hangul, mainstream forms of Hangul have never indicated vowel length.^[105]

Letter names[edit | edit source]

Hangul vowels have been consistently named after the sound they produce, for example ㅑ is named ya.^[106]

The names of the consonants have varied across time and now between North and South Korea.^[107]

In South Korea, most consonant names follow a ㅣ으 spelling pattern, where the consonant being named appears in the beginning of the first syllable and end of the second. For example, ㅂ is named bieup (비읍). There are three exceptions: ㄱ is named giyeok (기역), ㄷ is named digeut (디귿), and ㅅ is named siot (시옷). These inconsistencies are the result of approximate Hanja transcriptions of these names in the 16th century. South Korea decided to keep these traditional spellings; these spellings had been used for centuries and had become a part of Korean culture. Doubled consonants have the prefix ssang (쌍) attached to the name of the letter being doubled. For example, ㅆ is named ssangsiot (쌍시옷).^[108]^[109]

North Korea decided to regularize the inconsistencies to all fit the ㅣ으 spelling pattern. For doubled consonants, North Korea uses toen (Template:Korean, referring to the harder pronunciation) instead of ssang (Template:Korean, referring to letter shapes) for the duplicated consonants (e.g. the name of ㄲ is Template:Korean/auto).^[7]^[110] One reason for doing this was that ssang is a Sino-Korean word, which North Korea sometimes discourages in favor of native Korean vocabulary.^[7]

Design[edit | edit source]

The shape of ㄱ resembles the shape of the tongue (red line) when pronouncing the letter's sound.

Hangul letters were designed to be graphically simple, and originally consisted of only straight lines, dots, and circles.^[111] The Hunminjeongeum Haerye provides explanations of how the shapes of Hangul letters were derived. The shapes of 5 basic consonants are based on those of human speech organs during the production of the letter's sound:^[112]

ㄱ depicts the root of the tongue blocking the upper palate
ㄴ depicts the tongue touching the upper palate
ㅁ depicts the mouth
ㅅ depicts the incisor
ㅇ depicts the throat

From these five, most of the other consonant shapes are derived. In most cases, lines are added to the letters to represent related sounds that are considered more "severe" or "harsh". For example, ㄱ (/k/) Template:Arrow ㅋ (/kʰ/).^[113]

The vowels are claimed to be designed based on concepts in Chinese philosophy:^[114]

ㆍ, an archaic vowel, represents yin and earth
ㅡ represents yang and the sun
ㅣ represents man

The rest of the vowels are derived from these three letters, for example ㅏ is a combination of ㅣ and ㆍ (the dot was originally drawn detached from the line, but has since become an attached short line).^[115] Other philosophical concepts are linked to the vowels and consonants, although modern scholars have expressed skepticism of the concepts, and by proxy, their link to Hangul.^[116]

Since Hangul's creation, scholars have also argued that perhaps other scripts may have influenced Hangul as well, although this is still debated.^[117] Chinese characters almost certainly had some influence on Hangul's design, for example in the syllable block format.^[118] There are a variety of hypotheses, with the ʼPhags-pa hypothesis in particular having some traction among modern scholars.^[119]^[120]

Alphabetic order[edit | edit source]

The ordering of the letters has varied across time and now between North and South Korea.

The 11,172 characters in the Hangul Syllables Unicode character block follow a sort order specified in the South Korean national standard KS X 1026-1 [ko]. That order accounts for the various Hangul Unicode code points, including obsolete letters.^[121]

North Korean order[edit | edit source]

North Korea uses the following orders:

Initial consonants: ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ ㅇ^{[lower-alpha 7]}

Vowels: ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ^[126]

Final consonants: ∅ ㄱ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㅆ^[127]

Modifications and combinations of initial consonants and vowels are placed at the end of the order. Final consonants follow the same order as initial, but combinations of consonants are inserted into that order and are sorted by the second consonant.^[128]

South Korean order[edit | edit source]

South Korea uses the following orders:^[129]^[130]

Initial consonants: ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ

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

Final consonants: ∅ ㄱ ㄲ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ

Modifications and combinations of letters are placed just after the primary or initial parent letter. Such modifications and combinations are then sorted according to the previously established orderings. E.g. ㄱ is followed by ㄲ and ㅘ by ㅙ.^[128]

Obsolete letters[edit | edit source]

This section contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

A number of letters and letter combinations are no longer in use for transcribing Korean, although some are still actively used for transcribing other languages.^[131] This includes the base consonants ㆁ, ㅿ, and ㆆ, as well as the base vowel ㆍ,^[132] although that last letter is still used for the Jeju language.^[133] Examples of obsolete doubled letters include ㆀ,^[134] ㆅ,^[135] and the doubled vowel ᆢ.^[136] A number of now obsolete letters were virtually exclusively used for transcribing Chinese, like the pure dental and palatal-supradental sibilants [ko] (ᄼ, ᄽ, ᅎ, ᅏ, ᅔ and ᄾ, ᄿ, ᅐ, ᅑ, ᅕ)^[137] and most of the light labial letters (e.g. ㆄ, ᄛ, ㅱ, ㅹ), although ㅸ was used for Korean.^[138] Clustered consonants have also changed. Clusters mixing different letters were once acceptable for initial consonants, with some clusters even including up to three letters, like ㅴ, which was used in ᄢᅳᆷ (lit. 'crack, opening').^[138] A number of letters were invented in the centuries following Hangul's invention, for example ᆖ (a doubled form of ㅡ) was invented in the 1900s.^[139]

Orthography[edit | edit source]

A sample of Hangul writing using the South Korean orthography. Letters are arranged in syllable blocks, spacing is used, and most punctuation used is similar to that of the West, with the exception of the tilde (~) for number ranges.

Hangul orthography has changed over time. Since 1948, North and South Korea have used different orthographies. However, because their current orthographies are based on the 1933 Unified Hangul Orthography [ko], they are still relatively similar. North Korea now uses the Compendium of Korean Language Norms [ko]^[73] and South Korea the Hangeul Orthography.^[140]

The depth of current Hangul orthographies is a subject of some disagreement. Many scholars argue current orthographies have a relatively shallow or transparent orthography, in that pronunciation generally closely corresponds to what is written. Their complexities are often the product of sound changes in the Korean language over time as well as morphophonemic orthographic practices (changing some spellings to reflect the function or meaning of some words).^[141] Some have described current orthographies as deep because of the morphophonemic practices.^[142]

Syllable blocks[edit | edit source]

Hangul letters are arranged into syllable blocks in a principle called moasseugi (Template:Korean).^[143] Each syllable block is broadly divided into two or three components: an initial consonant (Template:Korean/auto), vowel (Template:Korean/auto; also called "medial"), and optional final consonant (Template:Korean/auto; also called Template:Korean/auto).^[144] Final heterogenous digraph consonant clusters are orthographically considered to be two different letters combined, but phonologically considered to be a single letter.^[145] When no initial consonant sound is needed, the zero initial consonant ㅇ is used.^[146]

In modern orthographies, to construct a syllable block, the following rules are applied in order:^[147]

Write the initial consonant.
Place the vowel depending on the appropriate condition below:
- If the vowel has a long vertical stroke (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅐ, ㅒ, ㅔ, ㅖ, or ㅣ), write it to the right of the initial.
- If the vowel has a long horizontal stroke (ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ), write it below the initial.
- If the vowel is a combination and begins with a long horizontal stroke followed by a long vertical stroke (e.g. ㅢ), place the initial above the horizontal stroke.
If there is a non-zero final consonant, it is written at the bottom. If the final consonant is a combination, place the letters side by side.

Assuming consonant clusters are treated as single letters, following the above steps yields the following possible consonant blocks:^[148]

initial

medial

initial

medial

initial	med. 2
med. 1

initial	medial
final

initial

medial

final

initial	med. 2
med.
final

Hangul letters currently used for Korean (19 initial consonants, 21 vowels, and 28 final consonants) can be combined to yield 11,172 syllables.^{[lower-alpha 8]}^[150] However, many of those syllables virtually never see use in natural language; scholars have argued that only around 2,000 are used in Korean.^[151]

Several scholars have argued that the syllable block structure was likely inspired by and makes Hangul resemble the form of Chinese characters,^[118] and that their similar form aids compatibility in writing them together in mixed script.^[152]

Several scholars have argued that the syllable block structure is a good fit for the phonology and speech cadence of Korean. Several have also argued that the limited number of syllable shapes, with vowels and consonants in consistent positions, makes Hangul easier to read and learn.^[153] Taylor and Taylor argue that the syllable block structure is especially helpful to young children learning Korean and for people with disabilities that affect reading.^[154]

Some scholars have argued that syllable blocks have the downside of causing orthographic complexity^[155] and difficulty with moveable type and computers.^[156] In especially the 19th and 20th centuries, these downsides motivated Hangul reformers to debate if the syllable block structure should be abandoned in favor of a fully linear orthography. Such an orthography is called pureosseugi [ko] (Template:Korean). While several pureosseugi orthographies were developed, none ever saw significant adoption.^[157]

Spelling[edit | edit source]

In general, words are spelled as they sound in the respective standard Korean dialect, with most exceptions being due to morphophonemic word-formation rules. For example, Template:Korean/auto is spelled the way it is pronounced; there is no need to spell it 한을, as 하늘 is already a whole word and not a stem with particle.^[158] However, Template:Korean/auto has this spelling despite being pronounced 머거. This is because it follows a word-formation rule that preserves the spellings of the stem verb 먹 and the particle 어. Other exceptions also exist, for example relating to pronunciation differences between stem words when pronounced alone and when attached to particles that begin with ㅇ.^[159]

North–South differences[edit | edit source]

Various shared words are spelled differently between North and South Korea. One significant reason for this is the differing standard dialects used. North Korea uses the Pyongan dialect and South Korea the Gyeonggi dialect. Differences arise due to various phonemena, including the initial sound rule, vowel harmony, local pronunciations, loanwords, tensing, compounds, morphological derivation, and the saisiot [ko] (epenthic ㅅ).^[160]

Punctuation[edit | edit source]

Hangul has used varying punctuation over time and now in both North and South Korea. Modern Hangul now uses a mix of modern Western, Korean, and East Asian punctuation.^[161]

South Korean punctuation[edit | edit source]

South Korean punctuation largely follows Western practice, with some exceptions.^[162] Examples of exceptions include 『』 or ≪ ≫;Template:Please verify either of these sets of characters can be put around titles of works. Also, the tilde (~) can be used to indicate ranges of numbers or dates, as well as distances.^[163]

Spaces are used in Hangul. As with most other scripts, practices around spaces are somewhat arbitrary and ambiguous because it is difficult to define what a word is. Spacing is considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of Hangul orthography; many native Korean speakers do not use spaces properly or sometimes even at all.^[164] In general, spaces are inserted between lexical clusters called eojeol (Template:Korean). These lexical clusters can be subdivided into various other categories.^[165]^[166] Each eojeol can consist of a word and its subsequent corresponding particles or compounds. For example, "학교에 간다" consists of two eojeol separated by a space. The first is "학교" (lit. 'school') with an attached adpositional particle "에". The second is "간다", a conjugated verb.^[167]

North Korean punctuation[edit | edit source]

North Korean punctuation is similar to Western practice. Differences include the lack of Western quotation marks (e.g. "), which are replaced by guillemet (≪ ≫).^[168] Like South Korea, it recommends the tilde (~) for ranges of numbers or dates.^[169] Recommendations are also given for vertical writing. Vertical writing punctuation is largely the same as horizontal, but guidance is given on the placement and rotation of some punctuation marks.^[170]

North Korean spacing rules result in fewer spaces and more compound words when compared to South Korea's.^[171]

Writing direction[edit | edit source]

Historically, Hangul syllable blocks were arranged vertically (top to bottom, right to left). Over the course of the 20th century, horizontal writing (left to right, top to bottom) became dominant in both Koreas.^[54] South Korea allows both horizontal and vertical writing, while North Korea officially prefers horizontal writing.^[172] Lee and Ramsey argue that the syllable block structure of Hangul aids the adaptability of the script to both directions of writing.^[173]

Style[edit | edit source]

Several major categories of Hangul font styles

The style of Hangul writing has changed over time. Originally, Hangul letters were drawn highly geometric and regular. They were thus awkward to write with brushes. Their style gradually changed in response to that issue.^[111] Aesthetic considerations have also impacted Hangul style. The sizes and shapes of letters in syllable blocks are typically altered depending on the format of the syllable block, to make letters relatively proportionally sized.^[174]

There are a variety of Hangul fonts. Serif fonts are called batang or myongjo. Sans-serif fonts are called dotum or Gothic (Template:Korean/auto).^[175]

Stroke order[edit | edit source]

Hangul adopted aspects of Chinese stroke order. Broadly, strokes of letters are written from top to bottom, left to right.^[174]

ㄱ (giyeok 기역)
ㄴ (nieun 니은)
ㄷ (digeut 디귿)
ㄹ (rieul 리을)
ㅁ (mieum 미음)
ㅂ (bieup 비읍)
ㅅ (siot 시옷)
ㅇ (ieung 이응)
ㅈ (jieut 지읒)
ㅊ (chieut 치읓)
ㅋ (kieuk 키읔)
ㅌ (tieut 티읕)
ㅍ (pieup 피읖)
ㅎ (hieut 히읗)
ㅏ (a)
ㅐ (ae)
ㅓ (eo)
ㅔ (e)
ㅗ (o)
ㅜ (u)
ㅡ (eu)
ㅣ (i)

Hangul and computers[edit | edit source]

Encoding methods[edit | edit source]

Hangul has been implemented for use on computers in a number of ways. The implementations fall into two broad categories: the composition model (also called Johab [ko]) and the precomposed model (also called Wansung [ko]). Johab considers syllables to be a combination of letters, while Wansung renders syllables as entire fixed blocks.^[176] Unicode implements both Johab and Wansung^[177] and implements Johab using several mathematical tricks that allow for efficient composition and decomposition of syllables.^[177] In mainstream Unicode, while contemporary Hangul for Korean can all be rendered using Wansung, archaic letters and syllables are rendered using Johab. Particular fonts may be needed to display archaic letters properly.^[178]

The primary encoding method for Hangul currently in use is Unicode. There are a number of other coded character set standards that were used largely historically, although they continue to see some use. The South Korean government maintains KS X 1001 and KS X 1002. North Korea maintains KPS 9566. China maintains GB 12052. There is also the Unified Hangul Code, a private standard by the company Microsoft.^[179] As of 2026^[update], 96.1% of websites with the .kr domain (used by South Korea) used UTF-8 encoding, with only 6.3% using an alternate standard EUC-KR (total exceeds 100%; websites can use multiple encodings).^[180]

Archaic Hangul was not fully supported in Unicode until the late 2000s. Private Use Areas were often used for that purpose until official Unicode implementation was added.^[181]

Hangul-related blocks in Unicode^[177]
Block	Range	Description
Hangul Syllables	`U+AC00`–`U+D7AF`	Pre-composed 11,172 Hangul syllable blocks using letters for modern Korean
Hangul Jamo	`U+1100`–`U+11FF`	Letters that can be combined into syllables, including many archaic letters
Hangul Jamo Extended-A	`U+A960`–`U+A97F`	Contains 29 archaic consonant clusters for composing syllables
Hangul Jamo Extended-B	`U+D7B0`–`U+D7FF`	Contains 72 archaic vowel and consonant clusters for composing syllables
Hangul Compatibility Jamo	`U+3130`–`U+318F`	Solely for compatibility with KS X 1001:1998. Standalone letters that cannot be joined
Enclosed CJK Letters and Months	`U+3200`–`U+321E` `U+3260`–`U+327E`	Selection of 62 parenthesized (e.g. ㈝) and circled (e.g. ㉨) Hangul letters and words
Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms	`U+FFA0`–`U+FFDC`	Halfwidth forms for Hangul letters
CJK Symbols and Punctuation	`U+302E`, `U+302F`	Tone markings for archaic Hangul [ko] (〮, 〯)

Hangul keyboards[edit | edit source]

The South Korean *dubeolsik [ko]* keyboard layout

For typing Hangul, there are a number of keyboard layouts in use. The current most common layout is called dubeolsik [ko]. In this layout, consonants are on the left of the keyboard and vowels on the right, and no distinction is made between keys for initial and final consonants.^[182] North and South Korea have different versions of dubeolsik.^[183] For the South Korean dubeolsik there is a designated key or keystroke used to toggle between Hangul and Latin input modes.^[184]

Derivatives and uses for other languages[edit | edit source]

Korean Braille encodes the letters of Hangul

There are a number of communication systems that encode the letters of Hangul. Examples include Korean Braille,^[56] Korean morse code,^[55] the Korean manual alphabet,^[185] the Korean spelling alphabet,^[186] and Hangul shorthand.^[187] Most romanization systems for Korean work by mapping Hangul spellings to Latin letters. However, many of them are transcription systems and not transliteration systems. While transliteration systems are fully reversible, meaning one can always retrieve the original Hangul spelling from romanized text, transcription systems are not.^[188]

Use for Jeju[edit | edit source]

The Jeju language was traditionally not written. Hangul has since become used to write it.^[189] Two orthographies are in current use: one created in 1991 by the Jeju Dialect Research Society (제주방언연구회) and another created in 2014 by the provincial government.^[190] Hangul orthography for Jeju is relatively similar to those for Korean, with one notable difference being the use of the vowel ㆍ, which is no longer used for Korean. Spelling is attempted to be made to be morphophonemic, although there is some uncertainty around how to do this.^[189]

Uses for non-Koreanic languages[edit | edit source]

Entries from the 1908 text *Ahakp'yŏn*. Here, Hangul is used to transcribe Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English (in order, within each cell, from top right to left, then bottom).

Since its creation, Hangul has been used to encode the sounds of other languages. It was designed to be able to transcribe both Korean and Chinese of the time. To accomplish this, additional consonants were created exclusively to transcribe Chinese;^[191] these consonants have often been revived or repurposed for use in other languages. Before the modern era, Hangul was also used to transcribe Japanese, Ryukyuan, and Manchu.^[192] Beginning around the 19th century, Hangul was used to transcribe Russian^[193] and English.^[194]

Since 1986, the South Korean National Institute of Korean Language has provided official guidance on how to approximately render a number of non–Korean languages into South Korean standard Hangul, particularly for seamless use alongside the Korean language.^[195]^[196] A number of scholars have attempted to modify Hangul to be able to represent the sounds of every language, similar to the International Phonetic Alphabet.^[197]

Efforts have been made to make Hangul the primary script for various languages. Some South Korean linguists have been encouraging ethnic groups without scripts for their languages to adopt Hangul. In the 1990s, a Hangul-based alphabet was devised for the Lahu language of China and Southeast Asia, but this did not see significant adoption.^[198] In October 2012, a pilot program was launched for Hangul to be taught to speakers of the Ghari and Kwaraqae languages of the Solomon Islands. The program was halted less than a year after its launch due to a lack of funding.^[199]

In the late 1980s, Taiwanese linguists made at least one adaptation of Hangul for Taiwanese Hokkien, a Sinitic language. However, the Taiwanese government eventually endorsed the use of Chinese characters for that language.^[200]^[201]^[202]

Cia-Cia language[edit | edit source]

Beginning in the late 2000s, efforts began to be made by the South Korean private organization Hunminjeongeum Society to have Hangul be used for the Cia-Cia language of Indonesia. That language did not already have a script in significant use for it. While Hangul was not legally made an official script for the language due to Indonesian legal restrictions, the local government of Baubau partnered with the Hunminjeongeum Society and several other organizations to promote the use of Hangul for Cia-Cia. A number of local schools taught the script.^[203]^[204] The program was not financially supported by the South Korean or Indonesian governments. It experienced several difficulties in the early 2010s,^[205] although it continued to operate. It saw renewed activity and support in the early 2020s.^[206] Hangul has since continued to be taught and used in the area.^[207]

Chitembo language[edit | edit source]

The sister of a Twa leader from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo visited South Korea in 2015 for a cultural-exchange event. She learned that Hangul was used for the Cia-Cia language in Indonesia, and thought it would help her people, who speak the Chitembo language, estimated to be spoken by 500,000 to 700,000 people. Four South Korean linguists developed a Hangule alphabet for Chitembo over the next few years. Teachers from a Hangul school in Los Angeles, California, taught the alphabet to primary-school teachers from Bunyakiri in Congo. Those school teachers, along with South Korean missionaries, in turn taught it to Twa in the region, who were mostly illiterate. As of 2023^[update], they reported that 40 adults and 300 children had been taught the Chitembo Hangul alphabet. Children could write their names within half an hour, but the adults took months to do the same.^[208]

Evaluations and legacy[edit | edit source]

Linguist John DeFrancis wrote that "scholars are in general agreement on the excellence of the Korean alphabetic script".^[209] Hangul has been described by various linguists and historians as the best or among the best actively used writing systems,^[210]^[211] as well as a landmark intellectual achievement in Korean and human history.^[212]^[213] Hangul is a significant aid for modern scholars interested in the historical linguistics of the Korean language. Scholarly understanding of historical Korean sharply improves right at the invention of Hangul.^[214] Several linguists have argued that Hangul is distinguished among writing systems in common use in that it was created, designed to suit the Korean language and be easy to learn, and original in a number of ways.^[215]

When Westerners first began encountering Hangul in the 19th century, a number of them evaluated it glowingly and bemoaned that it was not yet respected by Koreans themselves.^[216]^[217] Since then, Hangul has become a major source of pride for Korean people.^[218]

A copy of the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, the document that formally introduced Hangul, was designated a National Treasure of South Korea on December 20, 1962^[219]^[220] and a UNESCO Memory of the World in 1997.^[221]^[220]

Notes[edit | edit source]

↑ Template:Korean/auto
↑ 한글; English: /ˈhɑːnɡuːl/ (listen) HAHN-gool
↑ Template:Korean
↑ 24 is the letter count used by international and South Korean scholars. North Korea considers the alphabet to have 40 letters, although both Koreas use the same set of letters. Template:Crossreference
↑ Idu and Kugyŏl sometimes match single Chinese characters to multisyllabic Korean words.^[16]
↑ In general, horizontal consonant clusters are called Template:Korean/auto. Digraphs that are composed of duplicate consonants (e.g. ㄲ) are called Template:Korean/auto. Clusters where the consonants differ are called Template:Korean/auto.^[95]
↑ The initial ㅇ is introduced in North Korea's official Compendium of Korean Language Norms [ko] after ㅅ.^[122] Some non–North Korean scholarly sources also use that ordering.^[123] This ordering places ㅇ at the end because, when it is an initial, it does not produce its own sound.^[7]^[124] In 1999, North Korea submitted a proposal to Unicode and ISO (that was eventually rejected) that places ㅇ at the end of the order for initial consonants.^[125]
↑ This is derived from multiplying the number of initial consonants, vowels, and final consonants together. Of the total, 399 are just initial consonant and vowel pairs.^[149]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ 홍윤표 2019, pp. 63–64.
↑ "Hangul". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
↑ "ISO 15924 Code Lists: Codes for the representation of names of scripts". Unicode. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
↑ Cho & Whitman 2019, p. 30.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, pp. 38, 68.
↑ 김민수. 한글모죽보기. Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in 한국어). Academy of Korean Studies. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 ^7.2 ^7.3 ^7.4 홍윤표 (June 2018). 한글 사용에 남북한은 어떠한 차이가 있을까? [What differences are there in the use of Hangul between North and South Korea?]. 한박웃음 (in 한국어). No. 59. National Hangeul Museum. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
↑ Kim-Renaud 2000, pp. 17–18; Pratt 2007, p. 122; Ramsey 1992, p. 44; Song 2006, pp. 47–48.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, pp. 66–67.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, p. 67.
↑ Sampson 1985, p. 120.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, p. 122; Kim 1997, p. 152.
↑ DeFrancis 1989, p. 192.
↑ Pae 2011, pp. 104, 114; Taylor & Taylor 2014, p. 198.
↑ DeFrancis 1989, pp. 193–194; Lee 1997, pp. 19–23.
↑ Ahn 2018, p. 251.
↑ Ahn 2018, p. 252; Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, p. 37.
↑ Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, p. 37.
↑ Sampson 1985, pp. 40–42; Park 2015, p. 22; Cho & Whitman 2019, pp. 31–32; Meletis 2025, p. 524.
↑ DeFrancis 1989, pp. 196–198.
↑ Kim 1997, pp. 145, 148–150.
↑ Kim-Renaud 1997b, p. 184.
↑ Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, pp. 33–35.
↑ Taylor & Taylor 2014, p. 198.
↑ Meletis 2025, pp. 524–525.
↑ Sohn 2001, p. 122; Haarmann 1993, pp. 144–145.
↑ Wang 2023, pp. 70–71; Haarmann 1993, p. 145; Kim-Renaud 2000, p. 18.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 1–2; Kim 2005, pp. 3, 7–9; Oh 2013, pp. 140–142.
↑ Ledyard 1990, p. 13.
↑ Lee 2009, p. 14; Ahn 2004, p. 6.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 85, 134–136; Yoo 2006, p. 32.
↑ Paek 2011, p. 3.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 161–162; Ramsey 1992, pp. 44–45.
↑ Ledyard 1998, p. 170; Wang 2014, p. 60; Kim-Renaud 2000, p. 17.
↑ Ledyard 1998, p. 170; Kim 2000, p. 7; Kim-Renaud 2000, p. 17.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 150–151; Wang 2014, p. 60; Yoo 2006, p. 26.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 150–152; Haarmann 1993, pp. 152–154; Song 2006, pp. 47–48.
↑ Ledyard 1998, p. 379; Yoo 2006, p. 33.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 379–380.
↑ Ahn 2018, pp. 253–256.
↑ Paek 2011, pp. 20–21.
↑ Park 2015, pp. 82–83; Kim 2005, p. 135.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 111–112; Ahn 2018, p. 219; Cho & Whitman 2019, pp. 48–49.
↑ Kim 2005, pp. 27–30; Lee 1997, pp. 19–23; Kim-Renaud 1997b, pp. 179–180; Ahn 2018, pp. 282–289.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, p. 142; Ledyard 1998, p. 231.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 213–214, 245–246; Lee 1997b, pp. 110–111; Sampson 1985, pp. 127–128.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 255–256; Kim-Renaud 1997b, p. 176; Cho & Whitman 2019, p. 49.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 253–254.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 249–250.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, p. 250.
↑ Traulsen 2012, p. 105.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 287–288.
↑ King 1997, pp. 222–223.
↑ ^54.0 ^54.1 ^54.2 홍윤표 2019, pp. 88–90.
↑ ^55.0 ^55.1 홍윤표 2019, pp. 99–101.
↑ ^56.0 ^56.1 Chiu, Tasing (July 3, 2024). "The tactile reading systems in East Asia: missionaries, colonialism, and unintended consequences". Paedagogica Historica. 60 (4): 622. doi:10.1080/00309230.2023.2269860. ISSN 0030-9230.
↑ Park 2015, p. 130.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 288–289; Park 2015, p. 130.
↑ Ahn 2018, pp. 242–243; Kim 2005, p. 35.
↑ Ahn 2018, p. 243; Sohn 2001, pp. 144–145.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 289–290.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, pp. 80–82; Park 2015, pp. 138–139.
↑ King 2007, pp. 206–207.
↑ King 2007, p. 207.
↑ King 1997, pp. 239–240.
↑ Ahn 2018, pp. 296–299; King 1997, p. 240.
↑ King 1997, pp. 239–240; 홍윤표 2019, p. 74.
↑ 리의도 (2006). 한글날의 유래와 발자취 [The Origin and Footprints of Hangul Day]. 나라사랑 (in 한국어) (111): 78. ISSN 1739-7855 – via DBpia.
↑ King 2007, p. 208.
↑ King 1997, pp. 240–255.
↑ Son, Zhanna (2020). "Korean-language Textbooks (Hangul) Published in the USSR (1920-1930)". Journal of Multiculture and Education. 5 (1): 32–33. Archived from the original on August 4, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025 – via Higher School of Economics.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, pp. 101–102.
↑ ^73.0 ^73.1 Song 2015, pp. 487–488.
↑ Ahn 2018, pp. 301–302.
↑ Song 2015, pp. 478–479.
↑ Pae 2025, p. 114; King 2007, pp. 210–211.
↑ ^77.0 ^77.1 King 2007, p. 211.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, p. 289.
↑ ^79.0 ^79.1 Park 2016, p. 44.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, p. 113.
↑ "Korean Localization". Oracle Corporation. 2010. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
↑ Harkness 2015, p. 502.
↑ 고한솔; 임재우 (October 8, 2017). 롬곡롬곡·댕댕이·띵곡…'야민정음' 아세요 [Romgokromgok, daengdaengi, ttinggok... Do you know of 'yaminjeongeum'?]. The Hankyoreh (in 한국어). Archived from the original on May 24, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
↑ Lim, Jae-seong (October 7, 2022). "[Newsmaker] What is 'daengdaengi?' Government's use of Hangeul slang stirs controversy". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on March 24, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
↑ Pae, Hye K. (2024). "Analyzing the Korean Alphabet". SpringerLink: 90. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-49633-2.
↑ Brown & Yeon 2015b, p. 465.
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↑ Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, p. 36.
↑ Song 2006, pp. 48–51.
↑ 홍윤표 2019, pp. 48–49.
↑ Taylor & Taylor 2014, p. 184; 최호철 1988, pp. 47–48.
↑ Park 2015, pp. 62–63.
↑ Song 2006, pp. 49–51, 66; Kim-Renaud 1997c, p. 282.
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↑ Shin 2015, p. 7.
↑ Shin 2015, p. 6; Qian 2018, p. 34.
↑ Shin 2015, p. 5.
↑ Shin 2015, pp. 3–5.
↑ Sampson 1985, pp. 132–133.
↑ 안경상 2020, p. 46; Sohn 2001, pp. 140–141; Martin 1992, p. 22.
↑ Sohn 2001, pp. 138–139.
↑ 한글 자모의 수는 스물넉 자로 하고, 그 순서와 이름은 다음과 같이 정한다. [The number of Hangul letters is 24, and their order and names are as follows]. 한국어 어문규범 (in 한국어). National Institute of Korean Language. Archived from the original on May 24, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
↑ 이관규 2024, p. 43.
↑ 최호철 1988, p. 37; Martin 1992, p. 22.
↑ ^111.0 ^111.1 Kim 1983, p. 85.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 116–117; Ledyard 1998, pp. 243–246.
↑ Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 116–117; Ledyard 1998, pp. 243–246; Kim-Renaud 1997b, p. 164.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 204–206, 242–243, 248–249; Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 120–121.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 204–206, 242–243, 248–249; Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 120–121; Kim 1983, p. 85.
↑ Ledyard 1998, pp. 285–286; Taylor & Taylor 2014, pp. 185–186.
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↑ ^118.0 ^118.1 Pae 2011, p. 107; Meletis 2025, pp. 531–532.
↑ Tranter, Nicolas (2001). "Script 'Borrowing', Cultural Influence, and the Development of the Written Vernacular in East Asia". In McAuley, Thomas E. (ed.). Language Change in East Asia (1st ed.). Curzon Press. pp. 200–202. doi:10.4324/9781315028521. ISBN 0-7007-1377-8. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2025 – via Taylor & Francis.
↑ Kim, Chin-Woo (January 1, 2006). "Korean Script: History and Description". In Brown, Keith (ed.). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 239–243. ISBN 978-0-08-044854-1. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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↑ North Korea 2010, pp. 4–6.
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↑ [별표 1] 무선통신에 사용하는 모르스부호·약어 및 통화표(제4조관련) [[Appendix 1] Morse code, abbreviations, and terminology used in wireless communication (regarding article 4)]. Korean Law Information Center (in 한국어). Ministry of Government Legislation. p. 47. Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
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↑ Qian 2018, pp. 35–36.
↑ Kim-Renaud, Young-Key (2022). "Korean Language, Power, and National Identity". In Jackson, Andrew David (ed.). The Two Koreas and their Global Engagements (eBook ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Cham. p. 210. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-90761-7. ISBN 978-3-030-90761-7. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
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↑ 楊允言; 張學謙; 呂美親 (2008). 台語文運動訪談暨史料彙編 [Compilation of Historical Materials and Interviews on the Written Taiwanese Movement] (in 中文). Taiwan: 國史館. pp. 284–285. ISBN 9789860132946. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
↑ Dong Zhongsi (董忠司), 「台灣閩南語槪論」講授資料彙編, Taiwan Languages and Literature Society
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↑ Choe, Sang-Hun (September 11, 2009). "South Korea's Latest Export: Its Alphabet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
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↑ Suhartono, Muktita (November 4, 2024). "An Indonesian Tribe's Language Gets an Alphabet: Korea's". New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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↑ Reischauer, Edwin O.; Fairbank, John King (1960). East Asia: The great tradition. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 434–436. ISBN 978-1125640975. Retrieved October 15, 2025 – via Internet Archive.
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↑ Silva, David J. (2002). "Western Attitudes toward the Korean Language: An Overview of Late Nineteenth-and Early Twentieth-Century Mission Literature". Korean Studies. 26 (2): 277–278, 282. ISSN 0145-840X.
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In English[edit | edit source]

Books[edit | edit source]

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Haarmann, Harald (1993). "The emergence of the Korean script as a symbol of Korean identity". In Fishman, Joshua A. (ed.). The Earliest Stage of Language Planning. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 143–158. doi:10.1515/9783110848984.143. ISBN 978-3-11-084898-4.
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Kim-Renaud, Young-Key (2000). "Sejong's Theory of Literacy and Writing". Studies in the Linguistic Sciences. 30 (1): 13–45. ISSN 0049-2388. Archived from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved October 26, 2025 – via University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University Library.
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Lee, Ki-Moon (September 2009). "Reflections on the Invention of the Hunmin jeongeum". Scripta. 1. The Hunmin jeongeum Society: 1–34. ISSN 2092-7215. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
Pae, Hye K. (January 1, 2011). "Is Korean a syllabic alphabet or an alphabetic syllabary". Writing Systems Research. 3 (2): 103–115. doi:10.1093/wsr/wsr002. ISSN 1758-6801.
Paek, Doohyeon (September 2011). "Hunmin jeongeum: Dissemination Policy and Education". Scripta. 2. The Hunmin jeongeum Society: 1–23. ISSN 2092-7215. Archived from the original on February 19, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
Park, Dongoh (May 25, 2016). "The Korean Character Code: A National Controversy, 1987-1995". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 38 (2). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: 40–53. doi:10.1109/MAHC.2016.14. ISSN 1934-1547.
Yoo, Mi-rim (September 1, 2006). "King Sejong's Leadership and the Politics of Inventing the Korean Alphabet". The Review of Korean Studies. 9 (3): 7–38. ISSN 2733-9351 – via AccessON.

In Korean[edit | edit source]

Books[edit | edit source]

홍윤표 (December 13, 2019). 한글 [Hangul] (in 한국어) (Ebook ed.). 세창출판사. ISBN 978-89-8411-924-6.

Academic articles[edit | edit source]

안경상 (2020). 어학고전 《훈몽자회》의 몇가지 특징 [Some Features of "Hunmong Jahoe"]. Korean Language in China (in 한국어). 225: 38–51 – via DBpia.
양왕성 (2018). "옛한글 코드의 변천사" [A Study on Changes in the Old Hangul Code]. 정신문화연구 (in 한국어). 41 (4): 213–238. ISSN 2671-8197 – via DBpia.
이관규 (2024). "한글 자음자의 명칭에 대한 고찰" [A Study on the Names of Korean Consonants]. 문법 교육 (in 한국어). 51. 한국문법교육학회: 41–71. doi:10.21850/kge.2024.51..41 – via Korea Citation Index.
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Primary sources[edit | edit source]

조선말규범집 [Compendium of Korean Language Norms] (Report) (in 한국어). 국어사정위원회. 2010. Archived from the original on August 2, 2025. Retrieved October 26, 2025 – via Wikisource.

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Hangul Jamo Template:Joseon

[106] ㅇ is silent when used as an initial letter. It is used as a placeholder. In RR, it is typically not transcribed. In the reversible variant of RR, it is transcribed as a hyphen ("-").^[99]

[final-107] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 This letter is not used as a final.

[111] IPA values here are for traditional Standard Korean (Seoul dialect). Current Standard South Korean has diverged from these practices.^[102]

[eye-112] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named eye

[we-114] Recent speakers pronounce ㅚ, ㅞ, and ㅙ as Template:Ipa.^[103]

[116] ㅟ is now commonly pronounced Template:Ipa.^[104]

[1] Template:Korean/auto

[2] 한글; English: /ˈhɑːnɡuːl/ (listen) HAHN-gool

[3] Template:Korean

[4] 24 is the letter count used by international and South Korean scholars. North Korea considers the alphabet to have 40 letters, although both Koreas use the same set of letters. Template:Crossreference

[21] Idu and Kugyŏl sometimes match single Chinese characters to multisyllabic Korean words.^[16]

[101] In general, horizontal consonant clusters are called Template:Korean/auto. Digraphs that are composed of duplicate consonants (e.g. ㄲ) are called Template:Korean/auto. Clusters where the consonants differ are called Template:Korean/auto.^[95]

[138] The initial ㅇ is introduced in North Korea's official Compendium of Korean Language Norms [ko] after ㅅ.^[122] Some non–North Korean scholarly sources also use that ordering.^[123] This ordering places ㅇ at the end because, when it is an initial, it does not produce its own sound.^[7]^[124] In 1999, North Korea submitted a proposal to Unicode and ISO (that was eventually rejected) that places ㅇ at the end of the order for initial consonants.^[125]

[163] This is derived from multiplying the number of initial consonants, vowels, and final consonants together. Of the total, 399 are just initial consonant and vowel pairs.^[149]

[FOOTNOTE홍윤표201963–64-5] 홍윤표 2019, pp. 63–64.

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[FOOTNOTEChoWhitman201930-8] Cho & Whitman 2019, p. 30.

[FOOTNOTE홍윤표201938,_68-9] 홍윤표 2019, pp. 38, 68.

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[FOOTNOTE홍윤표201966–67-13] 홍윤표 2019, pp. 66–67.

[FOOTNOTE홍윤표201967-14] 홍윤표 2019, p. 67.

[FOOTNOTESampson1985120-15] Sampson 1985, p. 120.

[FOOTNOTELeeRamsey2011122Kim1997152-16] Lee & Ramsey 2011, p. 122; Kim 1997, p. 152.

[FOOTNOTEDeFrancis1989192-17] DeFrancis 1989, p. 192.

[FOOTNOTEPae2011104,_114TaylorTaylor2014198-18] Pae 2011, pp. 104, 114; Taylor & Taylor 2014, p. 198.

[FOOTNOTEDeFrancis1989193–194Lee199719–23-19] DeFrancis 1989, pp. 193–194; Lee 1997, pp. 19–23.

[FOOTNOTEAhn2018251-20] Ahn 2018, p. 251.

[FOOTNOTEAhn2018252PaeWinskelKim2025a37-22] Ahn 2018, p. 252; Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, p. 37.

[FOOTNOTEPaeWinskelKim2025a37-23] Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, p. 37.

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[FOOTNOTEDeFrancis1989196–198-25] DeFrancis 1989, pp. 196–198.

[FOOTNOTEKim1997145,_148–150-26] Kim 1997, pp. 145, 148–150.

[FOOTNOTEKim-Renaud1997b184-27] Kim-Renaud 1997b, p. 184.

[FOOTNOTEPaeWinskelKim2025a33–35-28] Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, pp. 33–35.

[FOOTNOTETaylorTaylor2014198-29] Taylor & Taylor 2014, p. 198.

[FOOTNOTEMeletis2025524–525-30] Meletis 2025, pp. 524–525.

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[FOOTNOTELedyard199013-34] Ledyard 1990, p. 13.

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[FOOTNOTELedyard199885,_134–136Yoo200632-36] Ledyard 1998, pp. 85, 134–136; Yoo 2006, p. 32.

[FOOTNOTEPaek20113-37] Paek 2011, p. 3.

[FOOTNOTELedyard1998161–162Ramsey199244–45-38] Ledyard 1998, pp. 161–162; Ramsey 1992, pp. 44–45.

[FOOTNOTELedyard1998170Wang201460Kim-Renaud200017-39] Ledyard 1998, p. 170; Wang 2014, p. 60; Kim-Renaud 2000, p. 17.

[FOOTNOTELedyard1998170Kim20007Kim-Renaud200017-40] Ledyard 1998, p. 170; Kim 2000, p. 7; Kim-Renaud 2000, p. 17.

[FOOTNOTELedyard1998150–151Wang201460Yoo200626-41] Ledyard 1998, pp. 150–151; Wang 2014, p. 60; Yoo 2006, p. 26.

[FOOTNOTELedyard1998150–152Haarmann1993152–154Song200647–48-42] Ledyard 1998, pp. 150–152; Haarmann 1993, pp. 152–154; Song 2006, pp. 47–48.

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[FOOTNOTELunde200925-189] Lunde 2009, p. 25.

[FOOTNOTEPark201643–44-190] Park 2016, pp. 43–44.

[corespec18-191] 177.0 ^177.1 ^177.2 "East Asia". The Unicode Standard Version 17.0 – Core Specification. Unicode Consortium. September 9, 2025. ISBN 978-1-936213-35-1. Archived from the original on September 17, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.

[FOOTNOTE양왕성2018227–232-192] 양왕성 2018, pp. 227–232.

[FOOTNOTELunde200987–88,_269-193] Lunde 2009, pp. 87–88, 269.

[194] "Distribution of Character Encodings among websites that use .kr". w3techs.com. Retrieved January 22, 2026.

[FOOTNOTE양왕성2018226–228-195] 양왕성 2018, pp. 226–228.

[FOOTNOTELunde2009340–341-196] Lunde 2009, pp. 340–341.

[197] Kim, Kuk (2009). 한글 세벌식 자판의 세 가지 유형과 남북 통합 설계 [Three Modes of Three Sets Type Korean Keyboards and Unified Designs for North and South Koreas]. Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management. 37 (4): 52. Archived from the original on March 19, 2025. Retrieved November 8, 2025.

[FOOTNOTELunde2009311,_340–341-198] Lunde 2009, pp. 311, 340–341.

[199] 윤병천. 한글 지문자 (한글 指文字). Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in 한국어). Academy of Korean Studies. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.

[200] [별표 1] 무선통신에 사용하는 모르스부호·약어 및 통화표(제4조관련) [[Appendix 1] Morse code, abbreviations, and terminology used in wireless communication (regarding article 4)]. Korean Law Information Center (in 한국어). Ministry of Government Legislation. p. 47. Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.

[FOOTNOTE홍윤표2019108–109-201] 홍윤표 2019, pp. 108–109.

[FOOTNOTELunde200944–45-202] Lunde 2009, pp. 44–45.

[FOOTNOTEYangYangO'Grady201922–23-203] 189.0 ^189.1 Yang, Yang & O'Grady 2019, pp. 22–23.

[204] 강영봉 (June 16, 2018). '제주어 표기법'에 대한 단상 [Brief Thoughts on "Jeju Language Orthography"] (PDF). 제주어 표기법 토론회 (in 한국어). pp. 12–14. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2025.

[FOOTNOTELedyard1998132–133Ramsey199249–50-205] Ledyard 1998, pp. 132–133; Ramsey 1992, pp. 49–50.

[FOOTNOTEOsterkamp201294–95,_98–100-206] Osterkamp 2012, pp. 94–95, 98–100.

[207] King, Ross (May 2024). "Another 'language that failed'? The beginnings of 'Soviet' Korean in the Russian Far East, 1922–1937". Korean Linguistics. 20 (1). John Benjamins Publishing Company: 49. doi:10.1075/kl.00007.kin. eISSN 2212-9731. ISSN 0257-3784. Archived from the original on September 26, 2025. Retrieved November 3, 2025.

[FOOTNOTEOsterkamp201288–89-208] Osterkamp 2012, pp. 88–89.

[209] 국립국어원 외래어 표기법 [Methods for transcribing foreign languages]. National Institute of Korean Language (in 한국어). Archived from the original on July 16, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.

[FOOTNOTEQian201835–36-210] Qian 2018, pp. 35–36.

[211] Kim-Renaud, Young-Key (2022). "Korean Language, Power, and National Identity". In Jackson, Andrew David (ed.). The Two Koreas and their Global Engagements (eBook ed.). Palgrave Macmillan Cham. p. 210. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-90761-7. ISBN 978-3-030-90761-7. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2025.

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[213] Choi, Jae-hee (April 9, 2023). "A case study: The Solomon Islands project 10 years ago". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved November 7, 2025.

[IdealSMin-214] 洪惟仁 (2010). "閩南語書寫法的理想與現實" [Idealism vs. Reality: Writing Systems for Taiwanese Southern Min] (PDF). 臺灣語文研究 (in 中文). 5 (1): 89, 101–105. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

[WrittenTaiwanese-215] 楊允言; 張學謙; 呂美親 (2008). 台語文運動訪談暨史料彙編 [Compilation of Historical Materials and Interviews on the Written Taiwanese Movement] (in 中文). Taiwan: 國史館. pp. 284–285. ISBN 9789860132946. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

[TLLS-216] Dong Zhongsi (董忠司), 「台灣閩南語槪論」講授資料彙編, Taiwan Languages and Literature Society

[217] Lee, Tae-hoon (October 6, 2010). "Hangeul didn't become Cia Cia's official writing". The Korea Times. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[:22-218] Choe, Sang-Hun (September 11, 2009). "South Korea's Latest Export: Its Alphabet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[219] Yi, Whan-woo (October 8, 2012). "Sejong Institute withdrawal to leave Cia-Cia out in cold". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.

[KimSH2-220] Kim, So-hyun (April 2, 2023). "[Hello Hangeul] Sharing the Korean alphabet with the world". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.

[nytimes-221] Suhartono, Muktita (November 4, 2024). "An Indonesian Tribe's Language Gets an Alphabet: Korea's". New York Times. Retrieved November 5, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

[222] Kim, So-hyun (April 2, 2023). "Hangeul as a writing system for African tribe". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on May 23, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.

[FOOTNOTEDeFrancis1989196-223] DeFrancis 1989, p. 196.

[FOOTNOTESampson1985120DeFrancis1989198-224] Sampson 1985, p. 120; DeFrancis 1989, p. 198.

[225] Livaccari, Chris (October 24, 2025). "The World's Most Incredible Alphabet". Asia Society. Archived from the original on March 20, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2025. In an interview shortly before his death in 1999, [James D. McCawley] noted that 'Hangul is the most ingeniously devised writing system that exists, and it occupies a special place in the typology of writing systems.'

[:1-226] Reischauer, Edwin O.; Fairbank, John King (1960). East Asia: The great tradition. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 434–436. ISBN 978-1125640975. Retrieved October 15, 2025 – via Internet Archive.

[FOOTNOTESohn2001129Shin201422-227] Sohn 2001, p. 129; Shin 2014, p. 22.

[FOOTNOTELeeRamsey20111–2Sohn200111LeeRamsey20004-228] Lee & Ramsey 2011, pp. 1–2; Sohn 2001, p. 11; Lee & Ramsey 2000, p. 4.

[FOOTNOTEMeletis2025529–530-229] Meletis 2025, pp. 529–530.

[FOOTNOTEPaeWinskelKim2025a32-230] Pae, Winskel & Kim 2025a, p. 32.

[231] Silva, David J. (2002). "Western Attitudes toward the Korean Language: An Overview of Late Nineteenth-and Early Twentieth-Century Mission Literature". Korean Studies. 26 (2): 277–278, 282. ISSN 0145-840X.

[FOOTNOTEKim20051–2King2007220–221Meletis2025532–533-232] Kim 2005, pp. 1–2; King 2007, pp. 220–221; Meletis 2025, pp. 532–533.

[233] "Hunminjeongeum (The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People)". Korea Heritage Service. Retrieved September 27, 2025.

[FOOTNOTEAhn20185-234] 220.0 ^220.1 Ahn 2018, p. 5.

[235] "Hunminjeongum Manuscript". UNESCO. Archived from the original on March 7, 2025. Retrieved September 27, 2025.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Native alphabet of the Korean language}}
-{{Other uses}}
+{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
 {{Infobox writing system
 | name        = Korean alphabet
-| altname     = {{lang|ko|한글}} / {{lang|ko|조선글}}<br />{{small|{{transliteration|ko|Hangul}} ({{transliteration|ko|Hangeul}}) / {{transliteration|ko|Chosŏn'gŭl}}}}
+| type        = [[Alphabet]]
-| typedesc-prefix = [[Featural writing system|Featural]]
+| sample      = Hangul chosongul fontembed.svg
-| type        = [[alphabet]]
+| caption     = Hangul text. Top is the North Korean name, {{tlit|ko|mr|Chosŏn'gŭl}}, and bottom is the international and South Korean name, {{tlit|ko|Hangul}} or {{tlit|ko|rr|Hangeul}}
-| caption     = "Chosŏn'gŭl" (top) and "Hangul" (bottom)
+| languages   = {{hlist | [[Korean language|Korean]] | [[Jeju language|Jeju]] | [[Cia-Cia language|Cia-Cia]] }}
-| languages   = {{nowrap|[[Korean language|Korean]] and [[Jeju language|Jejuan]] (standard);<br />[[Cia-Cia language|Cia-Cia]] (limited use)}}
+| time        = 1443 or 1444 to present
-| time        = 1443–present
+| unicode     = {{Plainlist|
-| creator     = [[Sejong the Great|Sejong of Joseon]]
+* [[Hangul Syllables]]:<br>U+AC00–U+D7AF
-| unicode     = {{ubl|[[Hangul Jamo (Unicode block)|U+1100–U+11FF]]|[[Hangul Compatibility Jamo|U+3130–U+318F]]|[[Hangul Jamo Extended-A|U+A960–U+A97F]]|[[Hangul Jamo Extended-B|U+D7B0–U+D7FF]]}}
+* [[Hangul Jamo (Unicode block)|Hangul Jamo]]:<br>U+1100–U+11FF
+* [[Hangul Compatibility Jamo]]:<br>U+3130–U+318F
+* [[Hangul Jamo Extended-A]]:<br>U+A960–U+A97F
+* [[Hangul Jamo Extended-B]]:<br>U+D7B0–U+D7FF
+}}
 | iso15924    = Hang
-| iso15924 note = {{code|Jamo}} (for the jamo subset)
+| iso15924 note = {{mono|1=Jamo}} {{mono|1=({{ISO 15924 number|alpha4=Jamo}})}} (for the jamo subset)
-| sample      = Hangul chosongul fontembed.svg
+| direction   =
-| imagesize   =
+* Left-to-right
-| direction   = {{plainlist|
+* [[Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts|Top-to-bottom, columns right-to-left]]
-*Current practice: left to right, new line underneath
+| module   = {{Infobox Korean name/auto
-*Original: top to bottom, new line to the left; alternatively right to left with new line underneath
+|child=yes
+| title = North Korean name
+| hangul = ^조선글
+| hanja = 朝鮮글<!-- Do not add "㐎" for "글". "글" is a native Korean term, and "㐎" is a later transliteration for it. Source: https://stdict.korean.go.kr/search/searchView.do?word_no=401354&searchKeywordTo=3 -->
+| ipa = {{IPA|ko|tsʰo.sʰɔn.ɡɯɭ|label=}}
+| othername1 = South Korean name
+| hangul1 = ^한글
+| hanja1  = <!-- 1. Do not add "㐎" for "글". "글" is a native Korean term, and "㐎" is a later transliteration for it. / 2. Do not add "韓" for "한" either, unless there is a reliable source that directly shows that the 한 in 한글 is indeed 韓. Source: https://stdict.korean.go.kr/search/searchView.do?word_no=362576&searchKeywordTo=3 -->
+| ipa1 = {{IPA|ko|ha(ː)n.ɡɯɭ|audio=Ko-한글.oga|label=}}
 }}
 }}
-{{Korean writing}}
+The '''Korean alphabet''' is the modern [[writing system]] for the [[Korean language]]. It has gone by a [[Names of the Korean alphabet|variety of names]], such as '''{{tlit|ko|mr|Chosŏn'gŭl}}'''{{Efn|{{Korean/auto|조선글|ko_ipa=tsʰo.sʰɔn.ɡɯɭ}}}} in [[North Korea]], '''''Hangul'''''<!-- Do not wrap this in tlit; it is an English-language word -->  internationally, and '''{{tlit|ko|rr|Hangeul}}'''{{efn|{{lang|ko|한글}}; {{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|h|ɑː|n|g|uː|l|audio=Ko-한글.oga}} {{Respell|HAHN|gool}}}} in [[South Korea]]. The script's original name was '''{{tlit|ko|rr|Hunminjeongeum}}'''<!-- Do not link the Hunminjeongeum article here; that article is about the book, not the alphabet. -->.{{efn|{{Korean|hangul=훈민정음|hanja=訓民正音|labels=no}}}}
-{{Writing systems worldwide}}
-The '''Korean alphabet''', known as '''Hangul'''{{efn|From [[Korean language|Korean]] {{lang-ko|한글|links=no|translit=|label=none|italic=|italics=}}, {{IPA-ko|ha(ː)n.ɡɯl}}. Hangul may also be written as '''{{lang|ko-Latn|Hangeul}}''' following South Korea's [[Revised Romanization of Korean|standard Romanization]].}} ({{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|h|ɑː|n|g|uː|l}} {{Respell|HAHN|gool}};<ref name="MW">{{cite web |title=Hangul |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangul |website=[[Dictionary by Merriam-Webster]] |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=15 August 2017 }}</ref> {{Korean|hangul=한글}}) in [[South Korea]] and '''Chosŏn'gŭl''' ({{Korean|hangul=조선글|labels=no}}) in [[North Korea]], is the modern official [[writing system]] for the [[Korean language]].<ref>{{cite web |title=알고 싶은 한글 |url=http://www.korean.go.kr/hangeul/setting/002.html |website=국립국어원 |publisher=National Institute of Korean Language |access-date=4 December 2017 }}</ref>{{sfn|Kim-Renaud|1997|p=15}}<ref name="Cock">{{Cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/a-linguist-explains-why-korean-is-the-best-written-language-2016-6 |title=A linguist explains why Korean is the best written language |last=Cock |first=Joe |date=2016-06-28 |work=[[Business Insider]] |access-date=2017-12-02 }}</ref> The letters for the five basic [[consonant]]s reflect the shape of the speech organs used to pronounce them, and they are systematically modified to indicate [[phonetic]] features; similarly, the [[vowel]] letters are systematically modified for related sounds, making Hangul a [[featural writing system]].{{sfn|Sampson|1990|p=120}}{{sfn|Taylor|1980|p=67–82}}<ref name=":2" /> It has been described as a syllabic alphabet as it combines the features of [[alphabetic]] and [[Syllabic writing system|syllabic]] writing systems, although it is not necessarily an [[abugida]].{{sfn|Taylor|1980|p=67–82}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pae |first1=Hye K. |title=Is Korean a syllabic alphabet or an alphabetic syllabary |journal=Writing Systems Research |date=1 January 2011 |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=103–115 |doi=10.1093/wsr/wsr002 |s2cid=144290565 |issn=1758-6801 }}</ref>
-Hangul was created in 1443 CE by King [[Sejong the Great]] in an attempt to increase [[literacy]] by serving as a complement (or alternative) to the [[logogram|logographic]] [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]] ''[[Hanja]]'', which had been used by Koreans as their primary script to write the Korean language since as early as the [[Gojoseon]] period (spanning more than a thousand years and ending around 108 BCE), along with the usage of [[Classical Chinese]].<ref name="kim2016@System">{{Cite web|url= https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2017164849A1/en|title=System, learning material, and computer readable medium for executing hangul acquisition method based on phonetics|last=Kim |first=Taemin |date=2016-03-22|ref=kim2016@System|website=World Intellectual Property Organization|number=WO2017164849A1 |access-date=2020-04-05}}</ref><ref name="Hunminjeongeum Manuscript" />  As a result, Hangul was initially denounced and disparaged by the Korean educated class.
+Before Hangul's creation, Korea had been using [[Hanja]] ([[Chinese characters]]) since antiquity. As Hanja was poorly suited for representing the Korean language, and because its difficulty contributed to high [[literacy|illiteracy]], Joseon king<!-- not capitalized per [[MOS:PSEUDOTITLE]] --> [[Sejong the Great]] ({{reign|1418|1450}}) moved to [[Origin of Hangul|create Hangul]]. The script was announced around late 1443 to early 1444 and officially published in 1446 via the text ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'' and its companion commentary ''[[Hunminjeongeum Haerye]]''. While Hangul saw gradual adoption among both the elite and commoners, it was looked down upon by the elite for centuries. It only began to receive societal acceptance in the late 19th century. It is now the predominant script for Korean in both Koreas and among the [[Korean diaspora]]. It is also used to write the [[Jeju language]], and to a limited degree, the [[Cia-Cia language]] of Indonesia.
-Modern [[Hangul orthography]] uses 24 basic letters: 14 consonant letters{{efn|[[ㄱ]] [[ㄴ]] [[ㄷ]] [[ㄹ]] [[ㅁ]] [[ㅂ]] [[ㅅ]] [[ㅇ]] [[ㅈ]] [[ㅊ]] [[ㅋ]] [[ㅌ]] [[ㅍ]] [[ㅎ]]}} and 10 vowel letters.{{efn|[[ㅏ]] [[ㅑ]] [[ㅓ]] [[ㅕ]] [[ㅗ]] [[ㅛ]] [[ㅜ]] [[ㅠ]] [[ㅡ]] [[ㅣ]]}}  There are also 27 complex letters that are formed by combining the basic letters: 5 tense consonant letters,{{efn|ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ}} 11 complex consonant letters,{{efn|ㄳ ㄵ ㄶ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ}} and 11 complex vowel letters.{{efn|ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ}} Four basic letters in the original alphabet are no longer used: 1 vowel letter{{efn|ㆍ}} and 3 consonant letters.{{efn|ㅿ ㆁ ㆆ}} Korean letters are written in [[syllable|syllabic]] blocks with the alphabetic letters arranged in two dimensions. For example, the Korean word for "honeybee" ({{transliteration|ko|kkulbeol}}) is written as {{lang|ko|꿀벌}}, not {{lang|ko|ㄲㅜㄹㅂㅓㄹ}}.<ref name="korean.go.kr">{{Cite web |url=http://www.korean.go.kr/eng_hangeul/principle/001.html |title=Individual Letters of Hangul and its Principles |date=2008 |website=National Institute of Korean Language |access-date=2017-12-02 }}</ref> The syllables begin with a consonant letter, then a vowel letter, and then potentially another consonant letter called a ''batchim'' ({{Korean|hangul=받침|rr=}}). If the syllable begins with a vowel sound, the consonant [[ㅇ]] (ng) acts as a silent placeholder. However, when ㅇ starts a sentence or is placed after a long pause, it marks a [[glottal stop]]. Syllables may begin with basic or tense consonants but not complex ones. The vowel can be basic or complex, and the second consonant can be basic, complex or a limited number of tense consonants. How the syllable is structured depends if the baseline of the vowel symbol is horizontal or vertical. If the baseline is vertical, the first consonant and vowel are written above the second consonant (if present), but all components are written individually from top to bottom in the case of a horizontal baseline.<ref name="korean.go.kr" />
+[[Hangul orthography]] has changed over time and differs between North and South Korea. Modern Korean language orthographies use 24{{efn|24 is the letter count used by international and South Korean scholars. North Korea considers the alphabet to have 40 letters, although both Koreas use the same set of letters. {{crossreference|See {{slink|#Letter counts}}.}}}} basic letters, which are called ''jamo''. These 14 consonants and 10 vowels can be combined to yield 27 additional letters; a total of 51. They are arranged in syllable blocks consisting of an initial consonant, a vowel, and an optional final consonant. The syllables can be arranged in [[Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts|vertical or horizontal rows]], although the latter practice has become dominant. [[Korean punctuation|Hangul punctuation]] is now largely similar to Western punctuation, with some differences. [[Space (punctuation)|Spaces]] between words or phrases are a modern feature of Hangul.
-As in traditional [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Japanese language|Japanese]] writing, as well as many other texts in East Asia, Korean texts were traditionally written top to bottom, right to left, as is occasionally still the way for stylistic purposes. However, Korean is now typically written from left to right with [[space (punctuation)|spaces]] between words serving as [[word divider|dividers]], unlike in Japanese and Chinese.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/10/economist-explains-7 |title=How was Hangul invented? |date=2013-10-08 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=2017-12-02}}</ref> Hangul is the official writing system throughout [[Korea]], both North and South. It is a co-official writing system in the [[Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture]] and [[Changbai Korean Autonomous County]] in [[Jilin|Jilin Province]], [[China]]. Hangul has also seen limited use in the [[Cia-Cia language]].
+[[Origin of Hangul#Official narrative for letter design|Hangul letters were designed]] to be graphically simple, and traditionally consisted of only straight lines, dots, and circles. The shapes of 5 basic consonants are based on those of [[Place of articulation|human speech organs]]. Most of the other basic consonants, which are considered to correspond to "harsher" sounds than those 5, are derived by adding additional lines to those letters to indicate progressively harsher sounds. There are a [[Origin of Hangul#Hypothesized inspirations for Hangul|number of other hypothesized inspirations for the letter shapes]], but these are still debated.
-==Names==
+The script has received significant praise from international linguists and historians. It is now a major point of pride for Korean people.
-=== Official names ===
-{{Infobox Korean name
+== Names ==
-| title      = Korean name (North Korea)
+{{Main|Names of the Korean alphabet}}
-| context    = north
+The Korean alphabet has been referred to by various names since its invention. Its original name was ''Hunminjeongeum'' ({{Korean/auto|hangul=^훈민_정음|hanja=訓民正音|mr=yes|lit=Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People|labels=no}}). It shared this name with [[Hunminjeongeum|the manuscript that introduced it]].{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=63–64}}
-| hangul     = {{wikt-lang|ko|조선글}}
-| hanja     = {{wikt-lang|ko|朝鮮}}{{wikt-lang|ko|글}}
-| rr         = Joseon(-)geul
-| mr         = Chosŏn'gŭl
-| koreanipa  = {{IPA-ko|tso.sɔn.ɡɯl}}
-}}
-{{Infobox Korean name
-| title      = Korean name (South Korea)
-| hangul     = {{wikt-lang|ko|한글}}
-| rr         = Han(-)geul
-| mr         = Han'gŭl{{sfn|McCune|Reischauer|1939|p=52}}
-| koreanipa  = {{IPA-ko|ha(ː)n.ɡɯl}}
-}}
-[[File:Hangeul.svg|thumb|300px|The word "Hangul", written in the Korean alphabet]]
-The Korean alphabet was originally named [[Hunminjeongeum|Hunminjeong'eum]] ({{lang|ko|훈민정음}}) by King [[Sejong the Great]] in 1443.<ref name="Hunminjeongeum Manuscript">{{Cite web|url=http://www.cha.go.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?ctgryLrcls=CTGRY168&nttId=57977&bbsId=BBSMSTR_1205&mn=EN_03_03|title=Hunminjeongeum Manuscript|date=2006|website=Korean Cultural Heritage Administration|language=en|access-date=2017-12-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224537/http://www.cha.go.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?ctgryLrcls=CTGRY168&nttId=57977&bbsId=BBSMSTR_1205&mn=EN_03_03|archive-date=2017-12-03}}</ref> [[Hunminjeongeum|Hunminjeong'eum]] ({{lang|ko|훈민정음}}) is also the document that explained logic and science behind the script in 1446.
-The name ''hangeul'' ({{lang|ko-kr|한글}}) was coined by Korean linguist [[Ju Si-gyeong]] in 1912. The name combines the ancient Korean word ''han'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko-Hang|한}}), meaning great, and ''geul'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko-Hang|글}}), meaning script. The word ''han'' is used to refer to Korea in general, so the name also means Korean script.{{sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2000|p=13}} It has been [[romanized]] in multiple ways:
+Internationally, the script goes by ''Hangul''. This spelling has been adopted as a word in the English language<ref name="MW">{{cite web |title=Hangul |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangul |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218052113/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hangul |archive-date=18 February 2022 |access-date=15 August 2017 |website=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref> and is used by organizations like the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (which gives it the four-letter code <code>Hang</code> and numeric code <code>286</code>).<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 15924 Code Lists: Codes for the representation of names of scripts |url=https://unicode.org/iso15924/iso15924-codes.html |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=[[Unicode]]}}</ref> ''Hangul'' is an ad-hoc romanization of the name South Korea uses for the script; South Korea's preferred [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]] system renders this as ''Hangeul'' ({{Lang|ko|한글}}). The [[McCune–Reischauer]] and related romanization systems render this as ''Han{{'}}gŭl''. Without diacritics, this is rendered as ''Hangul''. The name means ''script of Han'', where ''Han'' is one of the [[names of Korea]].{{Sfn|Cho|Whitman|2019|p=30}} The name appeared some time around the early 1910s.{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=38, 68}}<ref name=":2">{{Cite encyclopedia |author=김민수 |script-title=ko:한글모죽보기 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0061516 |access-date=2025-10-02 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=June 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620230710/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0061516 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-* ''Hangeul'' or ''han-geul'' in the [[Revised Romanization of Korean]], which the [[South Korea]]n government uses in English publications and encourages for all purposes.
-* ''Han'gŭl'' in the [[McCune–Reischauer]] system, is often capitalized and rendered without the [[diacritic]]s when used as an English word, Hangul, as it appears in many English dictionaries.
-* ''hān kul'' in the [[Yale romanization of Korean|Yale romanization]], a system recommended for technical linguistic studies.
-[[North Korea]]ns call the alphabet ''Chosŏn'gŭl'' ({{lang|ko-kp|조선글}}), after [[Chosŏn]], the North Korean [[Names of Korea|name for Korea]].{{sfn|Kim-Renaud|1997|p=2}} A variant of the [[McCune–Reischauer]] system is used there for romanization.
+In North Korea, the name ''Hangul'' was briefly used until it was replaced by ''Chosŏn'gŭl'' in 1949. This is in part due to differing preferences for names of Korea: North Korea refers to the whole of Korea as ''Chosŏn'', while South Korea uses ''Hanguk''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |author=홍윤표 |date=June 2018 |script-title=ko:한글 사용에 남북한은 어떠한 차이가 있을까? |trans-title=What differences are there in the use of Hangul between North and South Korea? |url=https://www.hangeul.go.kr/webzine/201806/sub1_1.html |access-date=2025-09-23 |magazine=한박웃음 |publisher=[[National Hangeul Museum]] |language=ko |issue=59}}</ref>
-=== Other names ===
+The script also historically went by a variety of other names, including ''ŏnmun'' ({{Korean|hangul=언문|hanja=諺文|labels=no|lit=vernacular script}}),{{sfnm|1a1=Kim-Renaud|1y=2000|1pp=17–18|2a1=Pratt|2y=2007|2p=122|3a1=Ramsey|3y=1992|3p=44|4a1=Song|4y=2006|4pp=47–48}} ''panjŏl'' ({{Korean|hangul=반절|hanja=反切|labels=no}}),{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=66–67}} and {{Korean/auto|hangul=국문|hanja=國文|mr=yes|lit=national script|labels=no|order=mhz|out=yes}}.{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|p=67}}
-Until the mid-20th century, the Korean elite preferred to write using [[Chinese characters]] called [[Hanja]]. They referred to Hanja as ''jinseo'' (진서/真書) meaning true letters. Some accounts say the elite referred to the Korean alphabet derisively as ''<nowiki/>'amkeul'' ({{Lang-ko|암클|label=none}}) meaning women's script, and ''<nowiki/>'ahaetgeul'' ({{Lang-ko|아햇글|label=none}}) meaning children's script, though there is no written evidence of this.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.korean.go.kr/eng_hangeul/another/001.html|title=Different Names for Hangeul|date=2008|website=National Institute of Korean Language|access-date=2017-12-03}}</ref>
-Supporters of the Korean alphabet referred to it as ''jeong'eum'' ({{Lang-ko|정음/正音|label=none}}) meaning correct pronunciation, ''gungmun'' ({{Lang-ko|국문/國文|label=none}}) meaning national script, and ''eonmun'' ({{Lang-ko|언문/諺文|label=none}}) meaning [[vernacular]] script.<ref name=":3" />
+== Classifications ==
+Hangul is a [[Writing system#Classification by basic linguistic unit|phonographic script]]: a writing system where [[Grapheme|graphemes]] represent the sounds of a language. It is also an [[alphabet]].{{Sfn|Sampson|1985|p=120}} The script is often described as "syllabic" because of how its letters are grouped into syllables {{crossreference|(see {{slink|#Syllable blocks}})}},{{sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1p=122|2a1=Kim|2y=1997|2p=152}} although linguist [[John DeFrancis]] is skeptical of this.{{Sfn|DeFrancis|1989|p=192}} Several linguists have instead argued for calling it an "alphabetic syllabary", "syllabic alphabet", or "alpha-syllabary".{{Sfnm|1a1=Pae|1y=2011|1pp=104, 114|2a1=Taylor|2a2=Taylor|2y=2014|2p=198}} While Hangul was originally a more [[Phonemic orthography|phonemic]] script (where spelling is strictly tied to pronunciation), modern Hangul has become more [[Morphophonemic orthography|morphophonemic]] (where some pronunciation changes are not reflected in spelling) over time {{crossreference|(see {{slink|Hangul orthography|Buncheol vs. yeoncheol debate}})}}.{{sfnm|1a1=DeFrancis|1y=1989|1pp=193–194|2a1=Lee|2y=1997|2pp=19–23}}
-==History==
+Hangul and mixed script are considered to have a property called ''[[ŏnmun ilch'i]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=언문일치|hanja=言文一致|labels=no|lit=spoken–written agreement}}): tight correspondence between pronunciation and text. By contrast, the [[Idu script|Idu]] and [[Kugyŏl]] scripts for writing Korean do not have this property.{{Efn|Idu and Kugyŏl sometimes match single Chinese characters to multisyllabic Korean words.{{sfn|Ahn|2018|p=251}}}}{{Sfnm|1a1=Ahn|1y=2018|1p=252|2a1=Pae|2a2=Winskel|2a3=Kim|2y=2025a|2p=37}} Pae, Winskel, and Kim argue this property was initially stronger but weakened over time due to changes in the language and script.{{Sfn|Pae|Winskel|Kim|2025a|p=37}}
-{{Main|Origin of Hangul}}
-=== Creation ===
+=== Featural script ===
-Koreans primarily wrote using [[Classical Chinese]] alongside native phonetic writing systems that predate Hangul by hundreds of years, including [[Idu script]], [[Hyangchal]], [[Gugyeol]] and Gakpil.{{sfn|Hannas|1997|p=57}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_CpZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|title=Multilingual Access and Services for Digital Collections|last1=Chen|first1=Jiangping|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440839559|page=66|language=en|access-date=20 September 2016|date=2016-01-18}}</ref><ref name="phonetic">{{cite book |date=1 January 2005 |title=Invest Korea Journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00a2AAAAIAAJ |language=en|publisher=Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency|volume=23|access-date=20 September 2016|quote=They later devised three different systems for writing Korean with Chinese characters: Hyangchal, Gukyeol and Idu. These systems were similar to those developed later in Japan and were probably used as models by the Japanese.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=1 July 2000|title=Korea Now|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAlWAAAAYAAJ|language=en|newspaper=Korea Herald|volume=29|access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref> However, many lower class uneducated Koreans were illiterate due to the difficulty of learning the Korean and Chinese languages, as well as the large number of Chinese characters that are used.<ref name="NAKL Back2">{{cite web|url=http://www.korean.go.kr/eng_hangeul/setting/002.html|title=The Background of the invention of Hangeul|date=2008|website=National Institute of Korean Language|publisher=The National Academy of the Korean Language|access-date=2017-12-03}}</ref> To promote literacy among the common people, the fourth king of the [[Joseon]] dynasty, [[Sejong the Great]], personally created and promulgated a new alphabet.{{sfn|Kim-Renaud|1997|p=15}}<ref name="NAKL Back2" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCqLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|title=Concise History of the Language Sciences: From the Sumerians to the Cognitivists
+Some scholars argue that Hangul is what is called a "[[Featural writing system|featural script]]": a writing system where the shapes of the symbols encode phonological features of the spoken language they represent. The term was coined by Sampson in a 1985 book, wherein he argued Hangul was featural. This argument is largely based on the ''Haerye''{{'}}s explanations for the derivations of the letter shapes.{{sfnm|1a1=Sampson|1y=1985|1pp=40–42|2a1=Park|2y=2015|2p=22|3a1=Cho|3a2=Whitman|3y=2019|3pp=31–32|4a1=Meletis|4y=2025|4p=524}}
- |last1=Koerner|first1=E. F. K.|last2=Asher|first2=R. E.|publisher=[[Elsevier]]|isbn=9781483297545|page=54|language=en|access-date=13 October 2016|date=2014-06-28
- }}</ref> Although it is widely assumed that King Sejong ordered the [[Hall of Worthies]] to invent Hangul, contemporary records such as the ''[[Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty|Veritable Records of King Sejong]]'' and [[Jeong Inji]]'s preface to the ''[[Hunminjeongeum Haerye]]'' emphasize that he invented it himself.<ref>{{cite web |title=Want to know about Hangeul? |url=https://www.korean.go.kr/eng_hangeul/setting/002.html |website=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |access-date=25 May 2020}}</ref>
-The Korean alphabet was designed so that people with little education could learn to read and write. A popular saying about the alphabet is, "A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; even a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days."<ref name="Haerye">''[[Hunmin Jeongeum Haerye]]'', postface of [[Jeong Inji]], p. 27a, translation from [[Gari K. Ledyard]], ''The Korean Language Reform of 1446'', p. 258</ref>
+In a 1989 book, DeFrancis praises Hangul but questions Sampson's classification of Hangul as featural. He argues that Hangul encodes too few features of Korean and that most people literate in Hangul do not actively learn or process the featural principles used to construct the shapes of the letters.{{sfn|DeFrancis|1989|pp=196–198}} In a 1997 book, Chin-Woo Kim rebuts DeFrancis's argument. He argues that DeFrancis relies on a count of Korean's features that is too high, and that other scholars provide lower counts. He also argues that, even if one accepts that most do not learn or perceive Hangul's featural aspects, that does not mean such aspects do not exist. Kim also claims that scholars argue Hangul is not a featural script because it does not neatly abide by [[Distinctive feature|Jakobsonian distinctive features]].{{Sfn|Kim|1997|pp=145, 148–150}} In the same book, linguist [[Young-Key Kim-Renaud]] argues against a featural label. She argues it should be considered that the derivation rules are applied to varying quality and that some symbols represent or contribute to multiple significantly different sounds. Kim-Renaud gives the example of the dot: the dot is used as a vowel ({{Lang|ko|ㆍ}}) and a component in other vowels (e.g. two of them in {{Lang|ko|ㅑ}}). When used as a component, it does not carry the meaning of the dot vowel.{{Sfn|Kim-Renaud|1997b|p=184}} Linguists Pae, Winskel, and Kim argue that the featural designation is difficult to [[Falsifiability|falsify]], debatable, and uncertain.{{Sfn|Pae|Winskel|Kim|2025a|pp=33–35}} Linguists Taylor and Taylor argue that not all of Hangul's letters are derived from articulatory features and their shape communicates little to learners and users of Korean.{{Sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|p=198}} Linguist Dimitrios Meletis feels that the label is given too much attention, and that the stroke addition rule and philosophical concepts behind the letters are not purely featural.{{sfn|Meletis|2025|pp=524–525}}
-[[File:Hunmin jeong-eum.jpg|thumb|A page from the ''Hunminjeong'eum Eonhae''. The Hangul-only column, third from the left ({{Script/Korean|나랏말ᄊᆞ미}}), has pitch-accent diacritics to the left of the syllable blocks.]]
-The project was completed in late December 1443 or January 1444, and described in 1446 in a document titled ''[[Hunminjeongeum|Hunminjeong'eum]]'' (''The Proper Sounds for the Education of the People''), after which the alphabet itself was originally named.<ref name=":3" /> The publication date of the ''Hunminjeongeum'', October 9, became [[Hangul Day]] in South Korea. Its North Korean equivalent, Chosŏn'gŭl Day, is on January 15.
+== History ==
+{{Main|History of Hangul}}
-Another document published in 1446 and titled ''[[Hunmin Jeongeum Haerye|Hunminjeong'eum Haerye]]'' (''Hunminjeong'eum'' Explanation and Examples) was discovered in 1940. This document explains that the design of the consonant letters is based on [[articulatory phonetics]] and the design of the vowel letters is based on the principles of [[yin and yang]] and [[vowel harmony]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Man-Tae |date=2009-04-02 |title=A Study on the Principle of Character Combination and the Ideology of Science of I Ching in Hunminjeongeum: Focusing on the Principles of Yin-yang and Five Elements & the Principles of Three Components of the Universe |url=https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/bitstream/10371/79624/1/03.%20%EA%B9%80%EB%A7%8C%ED%83%9C.pdf |pages=39 |language=Ko}}</ref>
+=== Background ===
+Before the invention of Hangul, Korea had been using [[Hanja]] ([[Chinese characters]]) since antiquity. The difficulty of the script limited its use to mostly upper-class people; commoners were largely illiterate.{{sfnm|1a1=Sohn|1y=2001|1p=122|2a1=Haarmann|2y=1993|2pp=144–145}} Hanja is not well suited for representing the [[Korean language]]; the Chinese and Korean [[Language family|languages are not closely related]] and differ in significant ways. For example, [[Classical Chinese]] uses [[subject–verb–object word order]] while [[Middle Korean]] uses [[subject–object–verb word order]].{{sfnm|1a1=Wang|1y=2023|1pp=70–71|2a1=Haarmann|2y=1993|2p=145|3a1=Kim-Renaud|3y=2000|3p=18}} Korean pronunciation and ideas could only be indirectly represented.{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1pp=1–2|2a1=Kim|2y=2005|2pp=3, 7–9|3a1=Oh|3y=2013|3pp=140–142}}
-=== Opposition ===
+=== Origin ===
-The Korean alphabet faced opposition in the 1440s by the literary elite, including [[Choe Manri]] and other [[Korean Confucian]] scholars. They believed [[Hanja]] was the only legitimate writing system. They also saw the circulation of the Korean alphabet as a threat to their status.<ref name="NAKL Back2" /> However, the Korean alphabet entered [[popular culture]] as King Sejong had intended, used especially by women and writers of popular fiction.<ref name="Pratt">Pratt, Rutt, Hoare, 1999. ''Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary.'' Routledge.</ref>
+{{Main|Origin of Hangul}}
+[[File:Hunminjeongum.jpg|thumb|First page of the ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'', which formally introduced Hangul]]
+Due to a lack of records, it is unknown when work on Hangul first began, nor what that process looked like.{{Sfn|Ledyard|1990|p=13}} Joseon king [[Sejong the Great]] ({{Reign|1418|1450}}) was responsible for Hangul's creation, and most scholars believe he was significantly personally involved in creating it.{{sfnm|1a1=Lee|1y=2009|1p=14|2a1=Ahn|2y=2004|2p=6}} Hangul was first introduced, likely in a mostly complete form, to Sejong's court in the 12th month of 1443 of the [[Korean calendar]] (around December 30, 1443 to January 28, 1444 in the [[Gregorian calendar]]).{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=85, 134–136|2a1=Yoo|2y=2006|2p=32}} Work then began on applying the script and developing official documentation for it. Part of this effort resulted in the creation of ''[[Yongbiŏch'ŏn'ga]]'', the first ever piece of Hangul literature.{{Sfn|Paek|2011|p=3}}
-[[Yeonsangun of Joseon|King Yeonsangun]] banned the study and publication of the Korean alphabet in 1504, after a document criticizing the king was published.<ref name="NAKL process">{{cite web|publisher=The National Academy of the Korean Language |title=4. The providing process of Hangeul |url=http://www.korean.go.kr/eng_hangeul/supply/001.html |date=January 2004|access-date=2008-05-19 }}</ref> Similarly, [[Jungjong of Joseon|King Jungjong]] abolished the Ministry of Eonmun, a governmental institution related to Hangul research, in 1506.<ref name="EncyKorea">{{cite web|url=http://100.empas.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=254353&v=43 |title=Jeongeumcheong, synonymous with Eonmuncheong (<span lang="ko">정음청 正音廳, 동의어: 언문청</span>)|publisher=[[Nate (web portal)|Nate]] / [[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]]|language=ko |access-date=2008-05-19 }}</ref>
+In the 9th month of 1446 ([[Hangul Day#Creation date of Hangul|the specific day of publication is not known]]), Hangul was officially promulgated via the introductory texts ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'' and ''[[Hunminjeongeum Haerye]].{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=161–162|2a1=Ramsey|2y=1992|2pp=44–45}}'' The ''Hunminjeongeum'' begins with this now famous preface by Sejong:{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1p=170|2a1=Wang|2y=2014|2p=60|3a1=Kim-Renaud|3y=2000|3p=17}}
+{{Blockquote|text=The sounds of our country's language are different from those of the [[Names of China|Middle Kingdom]] and are not confluent with the sounds of characters. Therefore, among the ignorant people, there have been many who, having something they want to put into words, have in the end been unable to express their feelings. I have been distressed because of this, and have newly designed twenty-eight letters, which I wish to have everyone practice at their ease and make convenient for their daily use.{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1p=170|2a1=Kim|2y=2000|2p=7|3a1=Kim-Renaud|3y=2000|3p=17}}|author=Sejong the Great|source=preface|title=''Hunminjeongeum''}}
+Critics of Hangul emerged soon after its introduction. They argued that a native Korean script was too far a departure from [[Sadae|Chinese civilization, which they insisted Korea should be deferent to]] in a [[Confucianism|Confucian]] manner.{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=150–151|2a1=Wang|2y=2014|2p=60|3a1=Yoo|3y=2006|3p=26}} Modern historians have argued that elitism and self-interest were other motivators for anti-Hangul elite; literacy in Hanja was then seen as a status symbol and general literacy was seen as potentially harming their social positions.{{Sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=150–152|2a1=Haarmann|2y=1993|2pp=152–154|3a1=Song|3y=2006|3pp=47–48}}
-=== Revival ===
+=== Spread ===
-The late 16th century, however, saw a revival of the Korean alphabet as ''[[Gasa (poetry)|gasa]]'' and ''[[sijo]]'' poetry flourished. In the 17th century, the Korean alphabet novels became a major [[genre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://enc.daum.net/dic100/viewContents.do?&m=all&articleID=b24h2804b |title=Korea Britannica article |language=ko|publisher=Enc.daum.net |access-date=2012-04-13}}</ref> However, the use of the Korean alphabet had gone without [[Orthography|orthographical standardization]] for so long that spelling had become quite irregular.<ref name="Pratt" />
+[[File:Honggildongjeon.jpg|thumb|A copy of the landmark novel ''[[Hong Gildong jeon]]'']]
-[[File:Songganggasa15-2.jpg|thumb|''Songangasa'', a collection of poems by Jeong Cheol, printed in 1768.]]
+While Sejong had attempted to spread Hangul throughout the government and society, his efforts had limited success.{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1p=379|2a1=Yoo|2y=2006|2p=33}} Hangul was only rarely used during the 15th century; its use was largely centered in Seoul, among people close to the royal family and court.{{Sfn|Ledyard|1998|pp=379–380}} It only began to spread outside of Seoul in the 16th century.{{Sfn|Ahn|2018|pp=253–256}} Women and Buddhists were significant early adopters of the script. While Hangul was rarely taught in traditional Confucianist curricula, it was often taught by women in the home.{{Sfn|Paek|2011|pp=20–21}}
-In 1796, the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] scholar [[Isaac Titsingh]] became the first person to bring a book written in Korean to the [[Western world]]. His collection of books included the Japanese book ''[[Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu]]'' (''An Illustrated Description of Three Countries'') by [[Hayashi Shihei]].<ref>WorldCat, [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sangoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page ''Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204210419/http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sangoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page |date=4 February 2016 }}; alternate [[romaji]] [http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sankoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page ''Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006200028/http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Sankoku+Ts%C5%ABran+Zusetsu&qt=results_page |date=6 October 2018 }}</ref> This book, which was published in 1785, described the [[Joseon Kingdom]]<ref>Cullen, Louis M. (2003). {{Google books|ycY_85OInSoC|''A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds,'' p. 137.|page=137}}</ref> and the Korean alphabet.<ref>Vos, Ken. [http://www.rmv.nl/publicaties/11Koreavroeg/e/accidentalacquisitions.pdf "Accidental acquisitions: The nineteenth-century Korean collections in the National Museum of Ethnology, Part 1"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622021232/http://www.rmv.nl/publicaties/11Koreavroeg/e/accidentalacquisitions.pdf |date=2012-06-22 }} p. 6 (pdf p. 7); Klaproth, Julius. (1832). {{Google books|lsoNAAAAIAAJ|''San kokf tsou ran to sets, ou Aperçu général des trois royaumes,'' pp. 19 n1.|page=19}}</ref> In 1832, the [[Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland#Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland|Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland]] supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation.<ref>Klaproth, {{Google books|lsoNAAAAIAAJ| pp. 1–168.|page=1}}</ref>
+[[Yeonsangun of Joseon|King Yeonsangun]] ({{Reign|1495|1506}}) persecuted the use of Hangul during the 1504 {{Ill|second literati purge|ko|갑자사화}}, after learning that criticisms of him had been written in the script.{{sfnm|1a1=Park|1y=2015|1pp=82–83|2a1=Kim|2y=2005|2p=135}} In the 16th century, the government agency [[Bureau of Interpreters]] became a significant center for Hangul scholarship, with one of its members [[Ch'oe Sejin]] still being revered today for his lasting contributions to the script and Korean linguistics.{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1pp=111–112|2a1=Ahn|2y=2018|2p=219|3a1=Cho|3a2=Whitman|3y=2019|3pp=48–49}}
-Thanks to growing [[Korean nationalism]], the [[Gabo Reform]]ists' push, and Western missionaries' promotion of the Korean alphabet in schools and literature,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Silva | first1 = David J. | year = 2008 | title = Missionary Contributions toward the Revaluation of Han'geul in Late 19th Century Korea | journal = International Journal of the Sociology of Language | volume = 2008 | issue = 192 | pages = 57–74 | doi=10.1515/ijsl.2008.035| citeseerx = 10.1.1.527.8160 | s2cid = 43569773 }}</ref> the Hangul Korean alphabet was adopted in official documents for the first time in 1894.<ref name="NAKL process" /> Elementary school texts began using the Korean alphabet in 1895, and ''[[Tongnip Sinmun]]'', established in 1896, was the first newspaper printed in both Korean and English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://korea.assembly.go.kr/history_html/history_07/mod_09.jsp |title=Korean History |publisher=Korea.assembly.go.kr |access-date=2012-04-13}}</ref>
+[[Hangul orthography]] experienced significant changes in the script's early history. Around the time of Hangul's promulgation, an apparent dispute between whether to use a [[Phonemic orthography|phonemic or morphophonemic orthography]] resulted in an apparent victory for the morphophonemic faction; among that faction was Sejong himself.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2005|1pp=27–30|2a1=Lee|2y=1997|2pp=19–23|3a1=Kim-Renaud|3y=1997b|3pp=179–180|4a1=Ahn|4y=2018|4pp=282–289}} [[Obsolete Hangul letters|A number of letters gradually stopped seeing significant use]] by the late 16th century, including the base letters {{Lang|ko|[[ㅿ]]}} and {{Lang|ko|[[ㆆ]]}}.{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1p=142|2a1=Ledyard|2y=1998|2p=231}} By the 17th century, the letters {{Lang|ko|[[ㅇ]]}} and {{lang|ko|[[ㆁ]]}} had merged into one.{{Sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=213–214, 245–246|2a1=Lee|2y=1997b|2pp=110–111|3a1=Sampson|3y=1985|3pp=127–128}} {{Ill|Tone markings in Hangul|lt=Tone markings|ko|방점}} for Hangul stopped being used around the 16th century.{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=255–256|2a1=Kim-Renaud|2y=1997b|2p=176|3a1=Cho|3a2=Whitman|3y=2019|3p=49}} The chaotic 1592–1598 [[Imjin War]] caused significant disruption and inconsistencies to Hangul orthography that persisted and even worsened into the late 19th century.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|pp=253–254}}
-=== Reforms and suppression under Japanese rule ===
+Hangul popular literature and ''[[sijo]]'' poetry began to flourish around the 17th century.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|pp=249–250}} The landmark novel ''[[Hong Gildong jeon]]'' was published around the beginning of the century.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=250}}
-After the Japanese annexation, which occurred in 1910, [[Japanese language|Japanese]] was made the official language of Korea. However, the Korean alphabet was still taught in Korean-established schools built after the annexation and Korean was written in a mixed Hanja-Hangul script, where most lexical roots were written in Hanja and grammatical forms in the Korean alphabet. Japan banned earlier Korean literature from public schooling, which became [[Compulsory education|mandatory]] for children.<ref>{{cite news
- | last = Park
- | first = Jung Hwan
- | script-title=ko:한글, 고종황제 드높이고 주시경 지켜내다
- | trans-title = Hangul, raise the status of Emperor Gojong and protect Ju Si-geong
- | newspaper = news1
- | date = 29 September 2019
- | language = ko
- | url = https://www.news1.kr/articles/?3731243
- | access-date = 29 September 2019 }}</ref>
-The [[Hangul orthography|orthography of the Korean alphabet]] was partially standardized in 1912, when the vowel ''arae-a'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}})—which has now disappeared from Korean—was restricted to [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean]] roots: the [[emphatic consonant]]s were standardized to {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅺ, ㅼ, ㅽ, ㅆ, ㅾ}} and final consonants restricted to {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ}}. [[Long vowels]] were marked by a diacritic dot to the left of the syllable, but this was dropped in 1921.<ref name="Pratt" />
+=== Enlightenment and Korean Empire periods ===
+[[File:독립신문 1897.04.07 금요일자.gif|thumb|''[[Tongnip sinmun]]'', the first modern Korean newspaper and the first to use pure Hangul]]
+With the end of Korea's [[isolationism]] in the 1870s, an influx of foreign ideas arrived in Korea. Around this time, Hangul began to be seen as a symbol of national identity and pride. Various Hangul reform movements arose, with many persisting into the late 20th century. Collectively, these efforts are referred to as the {{Ill|Hangul Movement|ko|한국어 운동의 역사}}.{{Sfn|Traulsen|2012|p=105}} Various issues became debated, such as whether to [[Debate on the use of Korean mixed script|use Hangul only or mixed script]],{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|pp=287–288}} whether to [[Hangul orthography#Moasseugi vs. pureosseugi debate|abandon the syllable block structure and write linearly]],{{Sfn|King|1997|pp=222–223}} and whether to [[Hangul orthography#Horizontal vs. vertical writing debate|write vertically or horizontally]].{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=88–90}}
-A second colonial reform occurred in 1930. The ''arae-a'' was abolished: the emphatic consonants were changed to {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ}} and more final consonants {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ, ㅈ, ㅌ, ㅊ, ㅍ, ㄲ, ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅄ}} were allowed, making the orthography more [[morphophonemic]]. The double consonant {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅆ}} was written alone (without a vowel) when it occurred between nouns, and the nominative particle {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|가}} was introduced after vowels, replacing {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|이}}.<ref name="Pratt" />
+This era saw numerous landmark firsts for Hangul. Scottish missionary [[John Ross (missionary)|John Ross]]'s landmark 1877 work ''[[Corean Primer]]'' ({{lang|ko|조선어 첫걸음}}) saw the introduction of [[Space (punctuation)|spaces]] and horizontal writing for Hangul.{{sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=88–90}} In 1888, a [[Morse code for non-Latin alphabets#Korean|Morse code specification for Hangul]] was developed for the first time by Korean scholar {{Ill|Kim Hagu|ko|김학우}}.{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=99–101}} In 1897, the first [[Korean Braille|Braille encoding for Hangul]], called [[Pyongyang Point]] ({{Lang|ko|평양점자}}), was invented by Canadian missionary [[Rosetta Sherwood Hall]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Chiu |first=Tasing |date=2024-07-03 |title=The tactile reading systems in East Asia: missionaries, colonialism, and unintended consequences |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2023.2269860 |journal=Paedagogica Historica |volume=60 |issue=4 |page=622 |doi=10.1080/00309230.2023.2269860 |issn=0030-9230}}</ref> This period also saw the [[History of newspapers in Korea|rise of newspapers in Korea]]. In 1886, the ''[[Hansŏng chubo]]'' became the first Korean newspaper to use mixed script.{{Sfn|Park|2015|p=130}} In 1896, ''[[Tongnip sinmun|The Independent]]'', one of the earliest independent modern Korean newspapers, was established. It was written in pure Hangul.{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1pp=288–289|2a1=Park|2y=2015|2p=130}}
-[[Ju Si-gyeong]], the linguist who had coined the term Hangul to replace ''Eonmun'' or Vulgar Script in 1912, established the Korean Language Research Society (later renamed the [[Hangul Society]]), which further reformed orthography with ''Standardized System of Hangul'' in 1933. The principal change was to make the Korean alphabet as morphophonemically practical as possible given the existing letters.<ref name="Pratt" /> A system for [[Transcription into Korean|transliterating foreign orthographies]] was published in 1940.
+On November 21, 1894, the Joseon government decreed pure Hangul to be the country's preferred script for administrative documents, although mixed script was also allowed.{{sfnm|1a1=Ahn|1y=2018|1pp=242–243|2a1=Kim|2y=2005|2p=35}} This edict was apparently enforced to varying degrees, as exclusive Hangul was rare in many documents even until the beginning of the colonial period.{{sfnm|1a1=Ahn|1y=2018|1p=243|2a1=Sohn|2y=2001|2pp=144–145}} Joseon was succeeded by the Korean Empire in 1897. On July 19, 1905, the Korean Empire approved the first official orthography for Hangul: the [[New Edition of National Writing]] ({{Korean|hangul=신정국문|hanja=新訂國文|labels=no}}).{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|pp=289–290}} Ultimately, this orthography proved controversial and was not put into significant practice.{{sfnm|1a1=홍윤표|1y=2019|1pp=80–82|2a1=Park|2y=2015|2pp=138–139}}
-Japan banned the Korean language from schools and public offices in 1938 and excluded Korean courses from the elementary education in 1941 as part of a policy of [[cultural genocide]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://100.daum.net/encyclopedia/view/b24h2804b012 |publisher=[[Daum (web portal)|Daum]] / [[Britannica]] |title=Hangul <span lang="ko">한글</span> |work=The modern and contemporary history of Hangul (<span lang="ko">한글의 근·현대사</span>)|date=26 June 2002 |quote=<span lang="ko">1937년 7월 중일전쟁을 도발한 일본은 한민족 말살정책을 노골적으로 드러내, 1938년 4월에는 조선어과 폐지와 조선어 금지 및 일본어 상용을 강요했다.</span>|language=ko|access-date=2008-05-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=LEE|first=Hyong Cheol|date=2016-12-28|title=植民地支配下の朝鮮語|trans-title=Korean Language under the rule of Japanese Colony|url=https://irdb.nii.ac.jp/00850/0000787965|language=ja|journal=Journal of the Faculty of Global and Media Studies|volume=1|issue=University of Nagasaki|pages=7–19|access-date=2022-08-17}}</ref>
+=== Colonial period ===
+[[File:개정한_한글_맞춤법_통일안-한글학회.jpg|thumb|307x307px|Cover of a revision of the {{Ill|Unified Hangul Orthography|ko|한글 맞춤법 통일안}}]]
+In 1910, [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea was colonized by the Empire of Japan]]. The Korean language and script saw varying degrees of repression during the colonial period.{{Sfn|King|2007|pp=206–207}} After the 1919 [[March First Movement]] protests, the Japanese colonial government temporarily eased suppression of Korean culture in a phenomenon now dubbed {{Ill|Cultural rule|lt=cultural rule|ja|文化政治|ko|문화 통치}}. Hangul use and reform significantly expanded as a result.{{Sfn|King|2007|p=207}}
-=== Further reforms ===
+This period saw significant orthographic reform efforts. The colonial [[Government-General of Chōsen]] published the first Hangul orthography to be put in common practice in 1912 (revised in 1921 and 1930).{{Sfn|King|1997|pp=239–240}} The [[Korean Language Society]] (KLS) published its landmark 1933 {{Ill|Unified Hangul Orthography|ko|한글 맞춤법 통일안}} (UHO). The orthographies of both North and South Korea are currently based on this one.{{sfnm|1a1=Ahn|1y=2018|1pp=296–299|2a1=King|2y=1997|2p=240}} These orthographies ended the use of the vowel {{Lang|ko|[[ㆍ]]}}, although that vowel's sound had long since disappeared from the language.{{sfnm|1a1=King|1y=1997|1pp=239–240|2a1=홍윤표|2y=2019|2p=74}} The KLS also established [[Hangul Day]] in 1926.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=리의도 |year=2006 |title= |script-title=ko:한글날의 유래와 발자취 |trans-title=The Origin and Footprints of Hangul Day |url=https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01071855 |journal=나라사랑 |language=ko |issue=111 |page=78 |issn=1739-7855 |via=[[DBpia]]}}</ref> With the rise of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], colonial repression of Hangul and the Korean language increased. The KLS [[Korean Language Society incident|was arrested en masse and tortured]] beginning in 1942. Hangul reform activity significantly slowed until the 1945 liberation.{{Sfn|King|2007|p=208}}
-The definitive modern Korean alphabet orthography was published in 1946, just after [[Korean independence]] from Japanese rule. In 1948, North Korea [[New Korean Orthography|attempted to make the script perfectly morphophonemic through the addition of new letters]], and in 1953, [[Syngman Rhee]] in South Korea attempted to simplify the orthography by returning to the colonial orthography of 1921, but both reforms were abandoned after only a few years.<ref name="Pratt" />
-Both [[North Korea]] and [[South Korea]] have used the Korean alphabet or [[Korean mixed script|mixed script]] as their official writing system, with ever-decreasing use of Hanja especially in the North.
+The [[Korean diaspora]] also participated in significant Hangul reform efforts. [[Koryo-saram]] (Koreans of the [[Russian Empire]] and [[Soviet Union]]) published a number of orthographic reforms,{{Sfn|King|1997|pp=240–255}} although their use of Hangul declined especially after they were subjected to [[Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union|a 1937 forced migration]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Son |first=Zhanna |year=2020 |title=Korean-language Textbooks (Hangul) Published in the USSR (1920-1930) |url=https://publications.hse.ru/en/articles/442577231 |journal=Journal of Multiculture and Education |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=32–33 |via=[[Higher School of Economics]] |archive-date=August 4, 2025 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250804061339/https://publications.hse.ru/en/articles/442577231 |url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref> The [[Wonic Leigh Hangul typewriter|first Hangul typewriter]] was invented in 1913 by Korean-American Wonic Leigh ({{Lang|ko|이원익}}; Yi Wŏnik).{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=101–102}}
-====In South Korea====
+=== Liberation and division ===
-Beginning in the 1970s, Hanja began to experience a gradual decline in commercial or unofficial writing in the South due to government intervention, with some South Korean newspapers now only using Hanja as abbreviations or disambiguation of homonyms. However, as Korean documents, history, literature and records throughout its history until the contemporary period were written primarily in [[Literary Chinese]] using Hanja as its primary script, a good working knowledge of Chinese characters especially in the academia is still important for anyone who wishes to interpret and study older texts from Korea, or anyone who wishes to read scholarly texts in the humanities.<ref name="BAS">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QP8nDwAAQBAJ&q=sino-korean+words&pg=PA4|title=Modern Korean Grammar: A Practical Guide|last=Byon|first=Andrew Sangpil|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1351741293|pages=3–18}}</ref>
+saw the [[liberation of Korea]] from colonial rule, as well as [[Division of Korea|its division]]. Soon after the liberation, use of [[North–South differences in the Korean language|Hangul began to diverge between the Koreas]]. Both Koreas continued orthographic reform efforts. North Korea's current {{Ill|Compendium of Korean Language Norms|ko|조선말규범집}} was published in 1966 and revised a number of times.{{Sfn|Song|2015|pp=487–488}} South Korea's [[Hangeul Orthography]] was published in 1989.{{Sfn|Ahn|2018|pp=301–302}} The South Korean language regulator [[National Institute of Korean Language]] was established in 1991.{{Sfn|Song|2015|pp=478–479}}
-A high proficiency in Hanja is also useful for understanding the etymology of Sino-Korean words as well as to enlarge one's Korean vocabulary.<ref name="BAS"/>
+Soon after the liberation, both North and South Korea pushed to increase literacy, which had remained low during the colonial period. Within a decade, a significant majority of Koreans in both Koreas became literate in at least Hangul.{{sfnm|1a1=Pae|1y=2025|1p=114|2a1=King|2y=2007|2pp=210–211}} The Koreas also pushed to eliminate Hanja from writing. North Korea eliminated Hanja in 1949, although it continued to be used and taught thereafter.{{Sfn|King|2007|p=211}} South Korea oscillated between the elimination and preservation of Hanja for decades afterwards.{{Sfn|King|2007|p=211}} In the 1990s, newspapers switched to using mostly Hangul.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=289}}
-====In North Korea====
+The 1960s saw the rise of computers and the [[Korean language and computers|computerization of Hangul]] in South Korea.{{sfn|Park|2016|p=44}} Such efforts lacked a standard until 1974, when KS C 5601 (predecessor to the current [[KS X 1001]]) was published.{{sfn|Park|2016|p=44}} In 1995, South Korea adopted ISO 10646-1, the [[Universal Coded Character Set]], as its standard, in KS C 5700.{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|p=113}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Korean Localization |url=https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19455-01/806-0169/6j9hsml3i/index.html |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=[[Oracle Corporation]] |archive-date=May 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521063332/https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19455-01/806-0169/6j9hsml3i/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
-North Korea instated Hangul as its exclusive writing system in 1949 on the orders of [[Kim Il Sung]] of the [[Workers' Party of Korea]], and officially banned the use of Hanja.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Miyake |first1=Marc Hideo |title=Review of Asia's Orthographic Dilemma |journal=Korean Studies |date=1998 |volume=22 |pages=114–121 |jstor=23719388 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23719388 |issn=0145-840X}}</ref>
-=== Non-Korean languages ===
+A Hangul internet slang culture has also developed. For example, single letters have been used to convey meaning, which is typically not allowed in mainstream orthographies. For example, {{Lang|ko|[[ㅋ]]}} indicates the sound of [[laughter]] and {{Lang|ko|[[ㅠ]]}} is a visual representation of [[crying]].{{Sfn|Harkness|2015|p=502}} In the late 2010s, the ''[[yaminjeongeum]]'' trend emerged. It substitutes similar looking letters and syllables in words, like substituting the nonsense word {{Korean/auto|hangul=댕댕이|rr=yes|labels=no|out=yes}} for {{Korean/auto|hangul=멍멍이|rr=yes|lit=doggy|labels=no|out=yes}}.<ref>{{Cite news |author1=고한솔 |author2=임재우 |date=2017-10-08 |script-title=ko:롬곡롬곡·댕댕이·띵곡…'야민정음' 아세요 |trans-title=Romgokromgok, daengdaengi, ttinggok... Do you know of 'yaminjeongeum'? |url=https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/813654.html |access-date=2025-11-02 |work=[[The Hankyoreh]] |language=ko |archive-date=May 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250524050925/https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/813654.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lim |first=Jae-seong |date=2022-10-07 |title=[Newsmaker] What is 'daengdaengi?' Government's use of Hangeul slang stirs controversy |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2973816 |access-date=2025-11-02 |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |archive-date=March 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324032822/https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2973816 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-[[Taiwanese Hangul|Systems]] that employed Hangul letters with modified rules were attempted by linguists such as {{ill|Hsu Tsao-te|zh|許曹德}} and [[Ang Ui-jin]] to transcribe [[Taiwanese Hokkien]], a [[Sinitic language]], but the usage of [[Chinese characters]] ultimately ended up being the most practical solution and was endorsed by the [[Ministry of Education (Taiwan)]].<ref name=IdealSMin>{{cite journal |last=洪惟仁 |date=2010 |title=閩南語書寫法的理想與現實 |trans-title=Idealism vs. Reality: Writing Systems for Taiwanese Southern Min |url=http://www.twlls.org.tw/jtll/documents/5.1-5.pdf |language=zh |journal=臺灣語文研究 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=89, 101–105}}</ref><ref name=WrittenTaiwanese>{{cite book |last1=楊允言 |last2=張學謙 |last3=呂美親 |date=2008 |title=台語文運動訪談暨史料彙編 |trans-title=Compilation of Historical Materials and Interviews on the Written Taiwanese Movement |url=http://ip194097.ntcu.edu.tw/memory/tgb/thak.asp?id=321 |language=zh |location=Taiwan |publisher=國史館 |isbn=9789860132946 |pages=284–285}}</ref><ref name=TLLS>{{citation|title=「台灣閩南語槪論」講授資料彙編|author=Dong Zhongsi (董忠司)|publisher=Taiwan Languages and Literature Society}}</ref>
-The [[Hunminjeongeum Society|Hunminjeong'eum Society]] in Seoul attempted to spread the use of Hangul to unwritten languages of Asia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Linguistics Scholar Seeks to Globalize Korean Alphabet |newspaper=Korea Times |date=2008-10-15 |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/07/178_32754.html}}</ref> In 2009, it was unofficially adopted by the town of [[Baubau]], in [[Southeast Sulawesi]], [[Indonesia]], to write the [[Cia-Cia language]].<ref name=CiaNYT>{{cite news |last=Choe |first=Sang-Hun |date=11 September 2009 |title=South Korea's Latest Export - Its Alphabet - NYTimes.com |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/world/asia/12script.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=Cia2>{{cite news |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/113_74114.html |title=Hangeul didn't become Cia Cia's official writing |newspaper=Korea Times |date=2010-10-06}}</ref><ref name=Cia>[http://www.france24.com/en/20090806-indonesian-tribe-use-korean-alphabet-scholar Indonesian tribe to use Korean alphabet] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090812024714/http://www.france24.com/en/20090806-indonesian-tribe-use-korean-alphabet-scholar |date=August 12, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=Cia3>{{cite news|last=Si-soo|first=Park|title=Indonesian Tribe Picks Hangeul as Writing System|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/117_49729.html|newspaper=Korea Times|date=2009-08-06}}</ref>
+== Distribution outside Korea ==
+{{See also|Korean as a foreign language|Korean language#Geographic distribution|Korean diaspora}}
+Hangul has remained in significant use among parts of the [[Korean Chinese|Korean diaspora in China]]. In the [[Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture]] and [[Changbai Korean Autonomous County]], it is an official writing system.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pae |first=Hye K. |date=2024 |title=Analyzing the Korean Alphabet |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-49633-2 |journal=SpringerLink |language=en |page=90 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-49633-2}}</ref> One 2004 book claimed that around 81% of the Korean population in China is literate in Hangul.{{Sfn|Brown|Yeon|2015b|p=465}} Hangul sees a moderate degree of use in Japan. In the mid 20th century, ''[[Chōsen gakkō]]'' and ''{{Ill|Kankoku gakkō|ja|韓国学校}}'', schools aligned with North and South Korea respectively, were significant centers of Hangul education in Japan. Now, a significant majority of [[Koreans in Japan|ethnic Koreans in Japan]] attend regular Japanese schools and have low Korean language ability and Hangul literacy. Otherwise, Hangul is often used for the numerous South Korean tourists, who form a significant proportion of tourists to the country. The rise of the [[Korean Wave]] around the beginning of the 21st century has corresponded with a rise in Korean language education for Japanese people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ohe |first=Hye-Gyeong |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/language-communities-in-japan-9780198856610 |title=Language Communities in Japan |date=25 April 2022 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-885661-0 |editor-last=Maher |editor-first=John C. |pages=82–90 |chapter=Korean: Transnational links of language and culture}}</ref> The Korean Wave has also impacted interest in [[Korean language education in the United States|Korean and Hangul in the United States]], with numerous universities and language learning tools like [[Duolingo]] teaching the subjects.<ref>{{Cite news |last=MacDonald |first=Joan |date=2013-12-11 |title=Interest In Learning Korean Grows With The Popularity Of The Hallyu |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2023/12/11/interest-in-learning-korean-grows-with-the-popularity-of-the-hallyu/ |access-date=2025-11-07 |work=[[Forbes]] |language=en}}</ref>
-A number of Indonesian Cia-Cia speakers who visited Seoul generated large media attention in South Korea, and they were greeted on their arrival by [[Oh Se-hoon]], the [[mayor of Seoul]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Indonesian Tribe Learns to Write with Korean Alphabet|author= Kurt Achin|newspaper= Voice of America|date= 29 January 2010|url= http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Indonesian-Tribe-Learns-to-Write-with-Korean-Alphabet-83029477.html|access-date= 29 January 2010|archive-date= 17 January 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120117004601/http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Indonesian-Tribe-Learns-to-Write-with-Korean-Alphabet-83029477.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>
+== Letters ==
+{{See also|Hangul consonant and vowel tables|List of Hangul jamo}}
+Letters in the Korean alphabet are called ''{{transliteration|ko|rr|jamo}}'' ({{Korean|자모|hanja=字母|labels=no}}).<ref name="encyko jamo" /> Hangul letters generally have more consistent pronunciations than those of other scripts.{{Sfn|Pae|2011|p=108}}
-==Letters==
+=== Letter counts ===
-{{See also|Hangul consonant and vowel tables}}
+The current mainstream Hangul orthographies for Korean use 24 basic ''jamo'': 14 basic [[Consonant|consonants]] ({{Korean/auto|hangul=자음|hanja=子音|rr=yes|lit=child sound|labels=no}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=최명옥 |script-title=ko:자음 (子音) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0048042 |access-date=2025-09-23 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=June 15, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250615143113/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0048042 |url-status=live }}</ref>) and 10 basic [[Vowel|vowels]] ({{Korean/auto|hangul=모음|hanja=母音|rr=yes|lit=mother sound|labels=no}}<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |script-title=ko:모음 (母音) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0018535 |access-date=2025-09-23 |author=최명옥 |language=ko |trans-title=Vowels |archive-date=June 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250619034905/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0018535 |url-status=live }}</ref>).<ref name="encyko jamo">{{Cite encyclopedia |author=강신항 |script-title=ko:자모 (字母) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0047911 |access-date=2025-09-23 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |author2=유창균 |archive-date=August 12, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250812055435/http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0047911 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Pae|Winskel|Kim|2025a|p=36}} The basic letters can be modified and combined to yield 51 ''jamo'' in total. Duplications result in 5 additional consonants ({{lang|ko|ㄲ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄸ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅃ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅆ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅉ}}), and modifications and combinations result in 11 additional vowels ({{lang|ko|ㅐ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅒ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅔ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅖ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅘ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅙ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅚ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅝ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅞ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅟ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅢ}}){{Sfn|Song|2006|pp=48–51}} and 11 additional heterogeneous consonant digraphs ({{lang|ko|ㄳ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄵ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄶ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄺ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄻ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄼ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄽ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄾ}}, {{lang|ko|ㄿ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅀ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅄ}}).{{efn|In general, horizontal consonant clusters are called {{Korean/auto|hangul=병서|hanja=竝書|rr=yes|labels=no|order=rhz|out=yes}}. Digraphs that are composed of duplicate consonants (e.g. {{lang|ko|ㄲ}}) are called {{korean/auto|각자병서|各自並書|rr=yes|out=yes|order=rhz|labels=no}}. Clusters where the consonants differ are called {{korean/auto|합용병서|合用竝書|rr=yes|out=yes|order=rhz|labels=no}}.{{sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=48–49}}}} South Korea considers Hangul to have 24 letters (only counting basic letters) and North Korea 40 (not counting 11 heterogeneous consonant digraphs).{{Sfnm|1a1=Taylor|1a2=Taylor|1y=2014|1p=184|2a1=최호철|2y=1988|2pp=47–48}}<ref name=":0" />
-[[File:Hangeul letter order.svg|upright=0.9|thumb|Korean alphabet letters and pronunciation]]
-Letters in the Korean alphabet are called ''[[Hangul consonant and vowel tables|jamo]]'' (자모). There are 19 [[consonant]]s (자음) and 21 [[vowel]]s (모음) used in the modern alphabet. They were first named in [[Hunmongjahoe]], a [[hanja]] textbook written by [[Choe Sejin]].
-In typography design and in IME automata, the letters that make up a block are called ''jaso'' (자소).
+Hangul uses the same letters for initial and final consonants. Some letters are not typically used as final consonants, however.{{Sfn|Park|2015|pp=62–63}}
-=== Consonants ===
+=== Consonant letters ===
-[[File:Pronounciation ㄱ.png|alt=The shape of tongue when pronouncing ㄱ|upright=0.6|thumb|The shape of tongue when pronouncing [[ㄱ]] (g)]]
+Below are the Hangul consonant letters that are in current use for Korean. They have different pronunciations as well as transcriptions in [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]] depending on whether they are in the initial or final part of a syllable block.
-[[File:Pronounciation ㄴ.png|alt=The shape of tongue when pronouncing ㄴ|upright=0.6|thumb|The shape of tongue when pronouncing  [[ㄴ]] (n)]]
-[[File:Pronounciation ㅅ.png|alt=The shape of teeth and tongue when pronouncing ㅅ|upright=0.6|thumb|The shape of teeth and tongue when pronouncing [[ㅅ]] (s)]]
-[[File:Pronounciation ㅇ.png|alt=ㅇ is the mimic of the throat hole.|upright=0.6|thumb|[[ㅇ]] (ng) is similar to the throat hole.]]
-[[File:Pronounciation ㅁ.jpg|alt=ㅁ is the mimic of mouth closed.|upright=0.6|thumb|[[ㅁ]] (m) is similar to a closed mouth.]]
-The chart below shows all 19 consonants in South Korean alphabetic order with [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]] equivalents for each letter and pronunciation in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] (see [[Korean phonology]] for more).
-{| class="wikitable"
+{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
+|+Hangul consonant letters{{sfnm|1a1=Song|1y=2006|1pp=49–51, 66|2a1=Kim-Renaud|2y=1997c|2p=282}}<ref name="natinst">{{cite web |title=Romanization of Korean |url=http://www.korean.go.kr/front_eng/roman/roman_01.do |access-date=23 September 2025 |website=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |archive-date=February 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250210183754/https://korean.go.kr/front_eng/roman/roman_01.do |url-status=live }}</ref>
 ! colspan="2" |Hangul
-|[[ㄱ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㄱ]]}}
-|ㄲ
+|{{lang|ko|ㄲ}}
-|[[ㄴ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㄴ]]}}
-|[[ㄷ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㄷ]]}}
-|ㄸ
+|{{lang|ko|ㄸ}}
-|[[ㄹ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㄹ]]}}
-|[[ㅁ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅁ]]}}
-|[[ㅂ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅂ]]}}
-|ㅃ
+|{{lang|ko|ㅃ}}
-|[[ㅅ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅅ]]}}
-|ㅆ
+|{{lang|ko|ㅆ}}
-|[[ㅇ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅇ]]}}
-|[[ㅈ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅈ]]}}
-|ㅉ
+|{{lang|ko|ㅉ}}
-|[[ㅊ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅊ]]}}
-|[[ㅋ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅋ]]}}
-|[[ㅌ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅌ]]}}
-|[[ㅍ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅍ]]}}
-|[[ㅎ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅎ]]}}
 |-
 ! rowspan="2" |Initial
-!Romanization
+![[Revised Romanization of Korean|RR]]
 |''g''
 |''kk''
@@ Line 182: / Line 164: @@
 |''s''
 |''ss''
-|' {{efn|or not written}}
+| style="background-color:darkgray;" |{{efn-ua|{{lang|ko|ㅇ}} is [[Silent letter|silent]] when used as an initial letter. It is used as a placeholder. In RR, it is typically not transcribed. In the [[Revised Romanization of Korean#Reversible variant|reversible variant of RR]], it is transcribed as a hyphen ("-").<ref name="natinst" />}}
 |''j''
 |''jj''
@@ Line 191: / Line 173: @@
 |''h''
 |-
-!IPA
+![[Help:IPA/Korean|IPA]]{{cn|date=November 2025|reason=The IPA values almost but don't 100% line up with Shin 2015.}}
 |{{IPA|/k/}}
 |{{IPA|/k͈/}}
@@ Line 203: / Line 185: @@
 |{{IPA|/s/}}
 |{{IPA|/s͈/}}
-|silent
+|{{Ipa|/[[Zero (linguistics)|∅]]/}}
 |{{IPA|/t͡ɕ/}}
 |{{IPA|/t͈͡ɕ͈/}}
@@ Line 212: / Line 194: @@
 |{{IPA|/h/}}
 |-
-! rowspan="3" |Final
+! rowspan="2" |Final
-! rowspan="2" |Romanization
+! rowspan="1" |[[Revised Romanization of Korean|RR]]
 |''k''
 |''k''
 |''n''
 |''t''
-| rowspan="2" |–
+|rowspan="2" style="background-color:darkgray;" |{{efn-ua|name="final"|This letter is not used as a final.}}
 |''l''
 |''m''
 |''p''
-| rowspan="2" |–
+|rowspan="2" style="background-color:darkgray;" |{{efn-ua|name="final"}}
 |''t''
 |''t''
 |''ng''
 |''t''
-| rowspan="2" |–
+|rowspan="2" style="background-color:darkgray;" |{{efn-ua|name="final"}}
 |''t''
 |''k''
@@ Line 234: / Line 216: @@
 |''t''
 |-
-|g
+![[Help:IPA/Korean|IPA]]{{cn|date=November 2025|reason=The IPA values almost but don't 100% line up with Shin 2015.}}
-|kk
-|n
-|d
-|l
-|m
-|b
-|s
-|ss
-|ng
-|j
-|ch
-|k
-|t
-|p
-|h
-|-
-!IPA
 | colspan="2" |{{IPA|/k̚/}}
 |{{IPA|/n/}}
 |{{IPA|/t̚/}}
-|''–''
 |{{IPA|/ɭ/}}
 |{{IPA|/m/}}
 |{{IPA|/p̚/}}
-|–
 | colspan="2" |{{IPA|/t̚/}}
 |{{IPA|/ŋ/}}
 |{{IPA|/t̚/}}
-|''–''
 |{{IPA|/t̚/}}
 |{{IPA|/k̚/}}
@@ Line 269: / Line 231: @@
 |{{IPA|/p̚/}}
 |{{IPA|/t̚/}}
+|-
+| colspan="21" style="font-size:85%" |
+{{notelist-ua}}
 |}
-ㅇ is [[Silent letter|silent]] syllable-initially and is used as a placeholder when the syllable starts with a vowel. ㄸ, ㅃ, and ㅉ are never used syllable-finally.
+Korean consonants are broadly categorized into two categories:{{Sfn|Kim-Renaud|2009|pp=16–17}}
+* [[Obstruent|obstruents]]: sounds produced when airflow either completely stops (i.e., a [[Stop consonant|plosive]] consonant) or passes through a narrow opening (i.e., a [[Fricative consonant|fricative]]).
+* [[Sonorant|sonorants]]: sounds produced when air flows out with little to no obstruction through the mouth, nose, or both.
-Consonants are broadly categorized into either obstruents (sounds produced when airflow either completely stops (i.e., a [[Stop consonant|plosive]] consonant) or passes through a narrow opening (i.e., a [[Fricative consonant|fricative]])) or sonorants (sounds produced when air flows out with little to no obstruction through the mouth, nose, or both).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Kim-Renaud, Young-Key.|title=Korean : an essential grammar|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-38513-8|location=London|oclc=245598979}}</ref> The chart below lists the Korean consonants by their respective categories and subcategories.
+{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
-{| class="wikitable"
+|+Consonants in standard Hangul orthography{{Sfn|Shin|2015|p=7}}{{nobold|{{cn|date=November 2025|reason=The IPA values almost but don't 100% line up with Shin 2015.}}}}
-|+Consonants in Standard Korean (orthography)<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Shin|first=Jiyoung|title=The Handbook of Korean Linguistics: Brown/The Handbook of Korean Linguistics|date=2015-06-15|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc|isbn=978-1-118-37100-8|editor-last=Brown|editor-first=Lucien|location=Hoboken, NJ|language=en|chapter=Vowels and Consonants|doi=10.1002/9781118371008|editor-last2=Yeon|editor-first2=Jaehoon}}</ref>
 !
 !
 !
-!''Bilabial''
+!Bilabial
-!''Alveolar''
+!Alveolar
-!''Alveolo-palatal''
+!Alveolo-palatal
-!''Velar''
+!Velar
-!''Glottal''
+!Glottal
 |-
 ! rowspan="8" |Obstruent
-! rowspan="3" |[[Stop consonant|Stop (plosive)]]
+! rowspan="3" |[[Plosive]]
 !Lax
 |{{IPA|p}} (ㅂ)
@@ Line 303: / Line 270: @@
 !Aspirated
 |{{IPA|pʰ}} (ㅍ)
-|{{IPA|tʰ}} <small>(ㅌ)</small>
+|{{IPA|tʰ}} (ㅌ)
 |
 |{{IPA|kʰ}} (ㅋ)
@@ Line 345: / Line 312: @@
 |
 |-
-!rowspan="2" |'''Sonorant'''
+! rowspan="2" |Sonorant
-! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
+! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
 |{{IPA|m}} (ㅁ)
 |{{IPA|n}} (ㄴ)
@@ Line 353: / Line 320: @@
 |
 |-
-! colspan="2" |[[Liquid consonant|Liquid (lateral approximant)]]
+! colspan="2" |[[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
-|
-|{{IPA|l}} (ㄹ)
-|
-|
-|
-|}
-All Korean obstruents are [[Voicelessness|voiceless]] in that the larynx does not vibrate when producing those sounds and are further distinguished by degree of aspiration and tenseness. The tensed consonants are produced by constricting the vocal chords while heavily aspirated consonants (such as the Korean ㅍ, {{IPA|/pʰ/}}) are produced by opening them.<ref name=":0" />
-Korean sonorants are voiced.
-=== Consonant assimilation ===
-{{See also|Korean phonology#Consonant assimilation}}
-The pronunciation of a syllable-final consonant (which may already differ from its syllable-initial sound) may be affected by the following letter, and vice-versa. The table below describes these [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]] rules.<!-- We could likely simplify this table by grouping together similar consonants like g, k, kk: see https://mekoreanfindings.tumblr.com/post/159388968567/consonant-assimilation for an example --> Spaces are left blank when no modification is made to the normal syllable-final sound.
-{| class="wikitable"
-|+Assimilation: pronunciation of the combination between a preceding syllable block's final letter-sound and a subsequent syllable blocks initial letter-sound{{Clarify|reason=Cells do not make consistent sense.|date=January 2021}}
-(e.g. 강루 – kang+ru = kang+<u>''nu''</u>{{Clarify|reason=Is the first letter of this word normally represented by English g, not k?|date=December 2022}}, 있어 – it+eo = ''<u>iss</u>''+eo, 합니다 – hap+ni+da = ''<u>ham</u>''-ni-da)
-! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | !! colspan=16 | Preceding syllable block's final letter-''sound''
-|-
-![[ㄱ]]
-(''k'')
-!ㄲ
-(''k'')
-![[ㄴ]]
-(n)
-![[ㄷ]]
-(''t'')
-![[ㄹ]]
-(l)
-![[ㅁ]]
-(m)
-![[ㅂ]]
-(''p'')
-![[ㅅ]]
-(''t'')
-!ㅆ
-(''t'')
-![[ㅇ]]
-(ng)
-![[ㅈ]]
-(''t'')
-![[ㅊ]]
-(''t'')
-![[ㅋ]]
-(k)
-![[ㅌ]]
-(t)
-![[ㅍ]]
-(p)
-![[ㅎ]]
-(''t'')
-|-
-! rowspan="10" |Subsequent syllable block's initial letter
-![[ㄱ]](g)
-|''k+k''
-|
-|''n+g''
-|''t+g''
-|''l+g''
-|''m+g''
-|''b+g''
-|''t+g''
-|''-''
-|
-|''t+g''
-|''t+g''
-|
-|''t+g''
-|''p+g''
-|''h+k''
-|-
-![[ㄴ]](n)
-|''ng+n''
-|
-|''n+n''
-|
-|''l+n''
-|''m+n''
-|''m+n''
-|''t+n''
-|''n+t''
-|
-|''t+n''
-|''t+n''
-|
-|''t+n''
-|''p+n''
-|''h+n''
-|-
-![[ㄷ]](d)
-|''k+d''
-|
-|''n+d''
-|''t+t''
-|''l+d''
-|''m+d''
-|''p+d''
-|''t+t''
-|''t+t''
-|
-|''t+t''
-|''t+t''
-|''k+d''
-|''t+t''
-|''p+d''
-|''h+t''
-|-
-![[ㄹ]](r)
-|''g+n''
-|
-|''n+n''
-|
-|''l+l''
-|''m+n''
-|''m+n''
-|
-|''-''
-|''ng+n''
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|''r''
-|-
-![[ㅁ]](m)
-|''g+m''
-|
-|''n+m''
-|''t+m''
-|''l+m''
-|''m+m''
-|''m+m''
-|''t+m''
-|''-''
-|''ng+m''
-|''t+m''
-|''t+m''
-|''k+d''
-|''t+m''
-|''p+m''
-|''h+m''
-|-
-![[ㅂ]](b)
-|''g+b''
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|''p+p''
-|''t+b''
-|''-''
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|-
-![[ㅅ]] (s)
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|''ss+s''
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|-
-![[ㅇ]](∅)
-|''g''
-|''kk+h''
-|''n''
-|''t''
-|''r''
-|''m''
-|''p''
-|''s''
-|''ss''
-|''ng+h''
-|''t+ch''
-|''t+ch''
-|''k+h''
-|''t+ch''
-|''p+h''
-|''h''
-|-
-![[ㅈ]](j)
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|''t+ch''
-|
-|
-|
-|
 |
+|l (ㄹ)
 |
 |
-|-
-![[ㅎ]](h)
-|''k''
-|''kk+h''
-|''n+h''
-|''t''
-|''r''/
-''l+h''
-|''m+h''
-|''p''
-|''t''
-|''-''
 |
-|''t+ch''
-|''t+ch''
-|''k''
-|''t''
-|''p''
-|''-''
 |}
-Consonant assimilation occurs as a result of ''intervocalic voicing''. When surrounded by vowels or sonorant consonants such as ㅁ or ㄴ, a stop will take on the characteristics of its surrounding sound. Since plain stops (like ㄱ /k/) are produced with relaxed vocal chords that are not tensed, they are more likely to be affected by surrounding voiced sounds (which are produced by vocal chords that are vibrating).<ref name=":0" />
+=== Vowel letters ===
+Below are the basic Hangul vowel letters, digraphs and sequences currently in use for Korean.
-Below are examples of how lax consonants (ㅂ /p/, ㄷ /t/, ㅈ {{IPA|/t͡ɕ/}}, ㄱ /k/) change due to location in a word. Letters in bolded interface show intervocalic weakening, or the softening of the lax consonants to their sonorous counterparts.<ref name=":0" />
-ㅂ
-* 밥 [pap̚] – 'rice'
-* 보리밥 [poɾi'''b'''ap̚] – 'barley mixed with rice'
-ㄷ
-* 다 [ta] – 'all'
-* 맏 [mat̚] – 'oldest'
-* 맏아들 [ma'''d'''a'''d'''ɯɭ] – 'oldest son'
-ㅈ
-* 죽 [t͡ɕuk] – 'porridge'
-* 콩죽 [kʰoŋ'''d͡ʑ'''uk̚] – 'bean porridge'
-ㄱ
-* 공 [koŋ] – 'ball'
-* 새 공 [sɛ'''g'''oŋ] – 'new ball'
-The consonants ㄹ and ㅎ also experience weakening. The liquid ㄹ, when in an intervocalic position, will be weakened to a [ɾ]. For example, the final ㄹ in the word 말 ([maɭ], 'word') changes when followed by the subject marker 이 (ㅇ being a sonorant consonant), and changes to a [ɾ] to become [maɾi].
+{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
+|+Hangul vowel letters
-ㅎ /h/ is very weak and is usually deleted in Korean words, as seen in words like 괜찮아요 /kwɛnt͡ɕʰan'''h'''ajo/ [kwɛnt͡ɕʰanajo]. However, instead of being completely deleted, it leaves remnants by devoicing the following sound or by acting as a glottal stop.<ref name=":0" />
-Lax consonants are tensed when following other obstruents due to the fact that the first obstruent's articulation is not released. Tensing can be seen in words like 입구 ('entrance') /ipku/ which is pronounced as [ip̚k͈u].
-Consonants in the Korean alphabet can be combined into one of 11 [[consonant cluster]]s, which always appear in the final position in a syllable block. They are: ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅀ, and ㅄ.
-{| class="wikitable"
-! colspan="13" |Consonant cluster combinations
-(e.g. [in isolation] 닭 ''da<u>g</u>''; [preceding another syllable block] 없다 – ''eo<u>p</u>-ta'', 앉아 ''an-ja'')
-|-
-!colspan="2" |'''Preceding syllable block's final letter*'''
-|<big>'''[[ㄳ]]'''</big>
-'''<big>(gs)</big>'''
-|<big>'''ㄵ'''</big>
-'''<big>(nj)</big>'''
-|'''<big>ㄶ</big>'''
-'''<big>(nh)</big>'''
-|<big>'''ㄺ'''</big>
-'''<big>(lg)</big>'''
-|'''<big>ㄻ</big>'''
-'''<big>(lm)</big>'''
-|<big>'''ㄼ'''</big>
-'''<big>(lb)</big>'''
-|<big>'''ㄽ'''</big>
-'''<big>(ls)</big>'''
-|'''<big>ㄾ</big>'''
-'''<big>(lt)</big>'''
-|<big>'''ㄿ'''</big>
-'''<big>(lp)</big>'''
-|<big>'''ㅀ'''</big>
-<big>'''(lh)'''</big>
-|<big>'''ㅄ'''</big>
-<big>'''(ps)'''</big>
-|-
-!colspan="2" |'''(pronunciation in isolation)'''
-|''g''
-|''nj''
-|''nh''
-|''g''
-|''m''
-|''b''
-|''s''
-|''t''
-|''p''
-|''h''
-|''p''
-|-
-! rowspan="2" |Subsequent block's initial letter**
-![[ㅇ]](∅)
-|''g+s''
-|''n+j''
-|''l+h''
-|''l+g''
-|''l+m''
-|''l+b''
-|''l+s''
-|''l+t''
-|''l+p''
-|''l+h''
-|''p+s''
-|-
-![[ㄷ]](d)
-|''g+t''
-|''nj+d/''
-''nt+ch''
-|''n+t''
-|''g+d''
-|''m+d''
-|''b+d''
-|''l+t''
-|''l+t''
-|''p+d''
-|''l+t''
-|''p+t''
-|}
-In cases where consonant clusters are followed by words beginning with ㅇ or ㄷ, the consonant cluster is resyllabified through a phonological phenomenon called [[Liaison (French)|liaison]]. In words where the first consonant of the consonant cluster is ㅂ,ㄱ, or ㄴ (the stop consonants), articulation stops and the second consonant cannot be pronounced without releasing the articulation of the first once. Hence, in words like 값 /kaps/ ('price'), the ㅅ cannot be articulated and the word is thus pronounced as [kap̚]. The second consonant is usually revived when followed by a word with initial ㅇ (값이 → [kap̚.si]. Other examples include 삶 (/salm/ [sam], 'life'). The ㄹ in the final consonant cluster is generally lost in pronunciation, however when followed by the subject marker 이, the ㄹ is revived and the ㅁ takes the place of the blank consonant ㅇ. Thus, 삶이 is pronounced as [sal.mi].
-=== Vowels ===
-The chart below shows the 21 vowels used in the modern Korean alphabet in South Korean alphabetic order with [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]] equivalents for each letter and pronunciation in [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] (see [[Korean phonology]] for more).
-{| class="wikitable"
 !Hangul
-|[[ㅏ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅏ]]}}
-|[[ㅐ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅐ]]}}
-|[[ㅑ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅑ]]}}
-|[[ㅒ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅒ]]}}
-|[[ㅓ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅓ]]}}
-|[[ㅔ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅔ]]}}
-|[[ㅕ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅕ]]}}
-|[[ㅖ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅖ]]}}
-|[[ㅗ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅗ]]}}
-|[[ㅘ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅘ]]}}
-|[[ㅙ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅙ]]}}
-|[[ㅚ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅚ]]}}
-|[[ㅛ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅛ]]}}
-|[[ㅜ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅜ]]}}
-|[[ㅝ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅝ]]}}
-|[[ㅞ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅞ]]}}
-|[[ㅟ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅟ]]}}
-|[[ㅠ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅠ]]}}
-|[[ㅡ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅡ]]}}
-|[[ㅢ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅢ]]}}
-|[[ㅣ]]
+|{{lang|ko|[[ㅣ]]}}
 |-
-!Revised Romanization
+![[Revised Romanization of Korean|RR]]<ref name="natinst" />
 |''a''
 |''ae''
@@ Line 739: / Line 376: @@
 |''yu''
 |''eu''
-|''ui/''
+|''ui''
-''yi''
 |''i''
 |-
-!IPA
+![[Help:IPA/Korean|IPA]]{{Cn|date=November 2025|reason=These values almost but don't 100% line up with Shin 2015}}{{Efn-ua|IPA values here are for traditional Standard Korean ([[Gyeonggi dialect|Seoul dialect]]). Current Standard South Korean has diverged from these practices.{{sfnm|1a1=Shin|1y=2015|1p=6|2a1=Qian|2y=2018|2p=34}}}}
-|{{IPA|/a/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[open front unrounded vowel|a]]/}}
-|{{IPA|/ɛ/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[open-mid front unrounded vowel|ɛ]]/}}{{Efn-ua|name="eye"|text=Recent speakers pronounce both {{lang|ko|ㅐ}} and {{lang|ko|ㅔ}} as {{ipa|/ɛ/}} and {{lang|ko|ㅒ}} and {{lang|ko|ㅖ}} as {{ipa|/jɛ/}}.{{sfnm|1a1=Shin|1y=2015|1pp=4–5|2a1=Qian|2y=2018|2p=34}}}}
-|{{IPA|/ja/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[voiced palatal approximant|j]]a/}}
-|{{IPA|/jɛ/}}
+|{{IPA|/jɛ/}}{{Efn-ua|name="eye"}}
-|{{IPA|/ʌ/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[open-mid back unrounded vowel|ʌ]]/}}
-|{{IPA|/e/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close-mid front unrounded vowel|e]]/}}{{Efn-ua|name="eye"}}
 |{{IPA|/jʌ/}}
-|{{IPA|/je/}}
+|{{IPA|/je/}}{{Efn-ua|name="eye"}}
-|{{IPA|/o/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close-mid back rounded vowel|o]]/}}
-|{{IPA|/wa/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[voiced labial–velar approximant|w]]a/}}
 |{{IPA|/wɛ/}}
-|{{IPA|/ø/ ~ [we]}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close-mid front rounded vowel|ø]]/}}{{efn-ua|name="we"|Recent speakers pronounce {{lang|ko|ㅚ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅞ}}, and {{lang|ko|ㅙ}} as {{ipa|/wɛ/}}.{{sfn|Shin|2015|p=5}}}}
 |{{IPA|/jo/}}
-|{{IPA|/u/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close back rounded vowel|u]]/}}
 |{{IPA|/wʌ/}}
 |{{IPA|/we/}}
-|{{IPA|/y/ ~ [ɥi]}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close front rounded vowel|y]]/}}{{efn-ua|{{lang|ko|ㅟ}} is now commonly pronounced {{ipa|/wi/}}.{{sfn|Shin|2015|pp=3–5}}}}
 |{{IPA|/ju/}}
-|{{IPA|/ɯ/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close back unrounded vowel|ɯ]]/}}
-|{{IPA|/ɰi/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[voiced velar approximant|ɰ]]i/}}
-|{{IPA|/i/}}
+|{{IPA|/[[close front unrounded vowel|i]]/}}
 |-
+| colspan="22" style="font-size:85%" |
+{{notelist-ua}}
 |}
-The vowels are generally separated into two categories: monophthongs and diphthongs. Monophthongs are produced with a single articulatory movement (hence the prefix mono), while diphthongs feature an articulatory change. Diphthongs have two constituents: a glide (or a semivowel) and a monophthong. There is some disagreement about exactly how many vowels are considered Korean's monophthongs; the largest inventory features ten, while some scholars have proposed eight or nine.{{who |date=November 2020 }} This divergence reveals two issues: whether Korean has two front rounded vowels (i.e. /ø/ and /y/); and, secondly, whether Korean has three levels of front vowels in terms of vowel height (i.e. whether /e/ and /ɛ/ are distinctive).<ref name=":4" /> Actual phonological studies done by studying formant data show that current speakers of Standard Korean do not differentiate between the vowels ㅔ and ㅐ in pronunciation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 28, 2017|title=한글 맞춤법[시행 2017. 3. 28.] 문화체육관광부 고시 제2017-12호(2017. 3. 28.)  |trans-title=Hangul Spelling [Enforcement 2017. 3. 28.] Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Notice No. 2017-12 (2017. 3. 28.) |url=https://kornorms.korean.go.kr//regltn/regltnView.do#a//  |access-date=April 5, 2021 |website=ko: 국립국어원, (The National Institute of the Korean Language)}}</ref>
-==Alphabetic order==
+Even though [[vowel length]] has been a feature of many historical and current [[dialects of Korean]] since the invention of Hangul, mainstream forms of Hangul have never indicated vowel length.{{sfn|Sampson|1985|pp=132–133}}
-[[Alphabetical order|Alphabetic order]] in the Korean alphabet is called the ''ganada'' order, ({{lang|ko|가나다순|nocat=yes}}) after the first three letters of the alphabet. The alphabetical order of the Korean alphabet does not mix consonants and vowels. Rather, first are [[velar consonant]]s, then [[Coronal consonant|coronals]], [[Labial consonant|labials]], [[sibilant]]s, etc. The vowels come after the consonants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-05-25|title=A Quick Guide to Hangul, the Korean Alphabet – Pronunciation and Rules|url=https://www.mondly.com/blog/2020/05/25/hangul-korean-alphabet-pronunciation/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=Mondly Blog|language=en-US}}</ref>
-The [[collation]] order of Korean in Unicode is based on the South Korean order.
+=== Letter names ===
+{{Main|Hangul letter names}}
-=== Historical orders ===
+Hangul vowels have been consistently named after the sound they produce, for example {{lang|ko|ㅑ}} is named ''ya''.{{sfnm|1a1=안경상|1y=2020|1p=46|2a1=Sohn|2y=2001|2pp=140–141|3a1=Martin|3y=1992|3p=22}}
-The order from the ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'' in 1446 was:<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Hunmin Chongum Manuscript {{!}} United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-8/the-hunmin-chongum-manuscript/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=www.unesco.org}}</ref>
-:{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ ㄲ ㅋ ㆁ ㄷ ㄸ ㅌ ㄴ ㅂ ㅃ ㅍ ㅁ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅅ ㅆ ㆆ ㅎ ㆅ ㅇ ㄹ ㅿ}}
+The names of the consonants have varied across time and now between North and South Korea.{{Sfn|Sohn|2001|pp=138–139}}
-:{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ ㅡ ㅣ ㅗ ㅏ ㅜ ㅓ ㅛ ㅑ ㅠ ㅕ}}
-This is the basis of the modern alphabetic orders. It was before the development of the Korean tense consonants and the double letters that represent them, and before the conflation of the letters {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} (null) and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}} (ng). Thus, when the [[North Korea]]n and [[South Korea]]n governments implemented full use of the Korean alphabet, they ordered these letters differently, with North Korea placing new letters at the end of the alphabet and South Korea grouping similar letters together.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2018-05-01|title=Korean Language in North and South Korea: The Differences|url=https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/korean-languages/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=Day Translations Blog|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-03-16|title=The Korean Language: The Key Differences Between North and South|url=https://legal-translations.com.au/korean-language-key-differences-north-south/|access-date=2021-09-17|website=Legal Translations|language=en-US}}</ref>
+In South Korea, most consonant names follow a {{lang|ko|ㅣ으}} spelling pattern, where the consonant being named appears in the beginning of the first syllable and end of the second. For example, {{Lang|ko|ㅂ}} is named ''bieup'' ({{lang|ko|비읍}}). There are three exceptions: {{lang|ko|ㄱ}} is named ''giyeok'' ({{lang|ko|기역}}), {{lang|ko|ㄷ}} is named ''digeut'' ({{lang|ko|디귿}}), and {{lang|ko|ㅅ}} is named ''siot'' ({{lang|ko|시옷}}). These inconsistencies are the result of approximate Hanja transcriptions of these names in the 16th century. South Korea decided to keep these traditional spellings; these spellings had been used for centuries and had become a part of Korean culture. Doubled consonants have the prefix ''ssang'' ({{lang|ko|쌍}}) attached to the name of the letter being doubled. For example, {{lang|ko|ㅆ}} is named ''ssangsiot'' ({{lang|ko|쌍시옷}}).<ref name="NIKLQA">{{cite web |script-title=ko:한글 자모의 수는 스물넉 자로 하고, 그 순서와 이름은 다음과 같이 정한다. |trans-title=The number of Hangul letters is 24, and their order and names are as follows |url=https://korean.go.kr/kornorms/regltn/regltnView.do#a224 |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=한국어 어문규범 |publisher=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |language=ko |archive-date=May 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250524190953/https://korean.go.kr/kornorms/regltn/regltnView.do#a224 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|이관규|2024|p=43}}
-=== North Korean order ===
+North Korea decided to regularize the inconsistencies to all fit the {{lang|ko|ㅣ으}} spelling pattern. For doubled consonants, North Korea uses ''toen'' ({{Korean|hangul=된|labels=no|lit=hard}}, referring to the harder pronunciation) instead of ''ssang'' ({{Korean|hangul=쌍|hanja=雙|labels=no|lit=double}}, referring to letter shapes) for the duplicated consonants (e.g. the name of {{lang|ko|ㄲ}} is {{Korean/auto|hangul=된기윽|mr=yes|labels=no}}).<ref name=":0" />{{sfnm|1a1=최호철|1y=1988|1p=37|2a1=Martin|2y=1992|2p=22}} One reason for doing this was that ''ssang'' is a [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean word]], which North Korea sometimes discourages in favor of native Korean vocabulary.<ref name=":0" />
-The double letters are placed after all the single letters (except the null initial {{lang|ko|ㅇ|nocat=yes}}, which goes at the end).
-: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ<!-- ㅇ does NOT go here --> ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ ㅇ<!-- yes, ㅇ goes at the end -->}}
+=== Design ===
-: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ}}
+{{See also|Origin of Hangul#Official narrative for letter design}}
+[[File:Pronounciation ㄱ.png|thumb|The shape of {{lang|ko|ㄱ}} resembles the shape of the tongue (red line) when pronouncing the letter's sound.]]
+<!--The image Pronounciation ㅅ.png is incorrect; ㅅ is just supposed to be the incisor and not the tongue meeting the incisor. Do not use that image. Perhaps better to just use this one image for brevity's sake. -->
+Hangul letters were designed to be graphically simple, and originally consisted of only straight lines, dots, and circles.{{Sfn|Kim|1983|p=85}} The ''Hunminjeongeum Haerye'' provides explanations of how the shapes of Hangul letters were derived. The shapes of 5 basic consonants are based on those of [[Place of articulation|human speech organs]] during the production of the letter's sound:{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1pp=116–117|2a1=Ledyard|2y=1998|2pp=243–246}}
-All digraphs and [[trigraph (orthography)|trigraph]]s, including the old diphthongs {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅐ}} and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅔ}}, are placed after the simple vowels, again maintaining Choe's alphabetic order.
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㄱ]]}} depicts the root of the [[tongue]] blocking the upper [[palate]]
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㄴ]]}} depicts the tongue touching the upper palate
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㅁ]]}} depicts the [[mouth]]
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㅅ]]}} depicts the [[incisor]]
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㅇ]]}} depicts the [[throat]]
-The order of the final letters ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|받침}}) is:
+From these five, most of the other consonant shapes are derived. In most cases, lines are added to the letters to represent related sounds that are considered more "severe" or "harsh". For example, {{Lang|ko|ㄱ}} ({{IPA|/k/}}) {{Arrow|r}} {{Lang|ko|[[ㅋ]]}} ({{IPA|/kʰ/}}).{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1pp=116–117|2a1=Ledyard|2y=1998|2pp=243–246|3a1=Kim-Renaud|3y=1997b|3p=164}}
-:(none) {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㅆ}}
+The vowels are claimed to be designed based on concepts in [[Chinese philosophy]]:{{Sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=204–206, 242–243, 248–249|2a1=Lee|2a2=Ramsey|2y=2011|2pp=120–121}}
-(None means there is no final letter.)
-Unlike when it is initial, this {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} is pronounced, as the nasal {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} ''ng,'' which occurs only as a final in the modern language. The double letters are placed to the very end, as in the initial order, but the combined consonants are ordered immediately after their first element.<ref name=":1" />
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㆍ]]}}, an archaic vowel, represents [[Yin and yang|yin]] and earth
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㅡ]]}} represents yang and the sun
+* {{Lang|ko|[[ㅣ]]}} represents man
-=== South Korean order ===
+The rest of the vowels are derived from these three letters, for example {{Lang|ko|ㅏ}} is a combination of {{Lang|ko|ㅣ}} and {{Lang|ko|ㆍ}} (the dot was originally drawn detached from the line, but has since become an attached short line).{{Sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=204–206, 242–243, 248–249|2a1=Lee|2a2=Ramsey|2y=2011|2pp=120–121|3a1=Kim|3y=1983|3p=85}} Other philosophical concepts are linked to the vowels and consonants, although modern scholars have expressed skepticism of the concepts, and by proxy, their link to Hangul.{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=285–286|2a1=Taylor|2a2=Taylor|2y=2014|2pp=185–186}}
-In the Southern order, double letters are placed immediately after their single counterparts:
-: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ}}
+Since Hangul's creation, scholars have also argued that perhaps other scripts may have influenced Hangul as well, although this is still debated.{{sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|p=194}} Chinese characters almost certainly had some influence on Hangul's design, for example in the syllable block format.{{sfnm|1a1=Pae|1y=2011|1p=107|2a1=Meletis|2y=2025|2pp=531–532}} There are a [[Origin of Hangul#Hypothesized inspirations for Hangul|variety of hypotheses]], with the [[ʼPhags-pa inspiration for Hangul hypothesis|ʼPhags-pa hypothesis]] in particular having some traction among modern scholars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tranter |first=Nicolas |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315028521/language-change-east-asia-mcauley |title=Language Change in East Asia |date= |publisher=Curzon Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-7007-1377-8 |editor-last=McAuley |editor-first=Thomas E. |edition=1st |pages=200–202 |language=en |chapter=Script 'Borrowing', Cultural Influence, and the Development of the Written Vernacular in East Asia |doi=10.4324/9781315028521 |via=[[Taylor & Francis]] |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |access-date=November 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606102119/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315028521/language-change-east-asia-mcauley |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Kim |first=Chin-Woo |title=Korean Script: History and Description |date=2006-01-01 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics]] |pages=239–243 |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=Keith |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080448542045685 |access-date=2025-08-09 |edition=2nd |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-044854-1 |author-link=Chin-Woo Kim |archive-date=March 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313094539/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080448542045685 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ}}
-The modern [[monophthong]]al vowels come first, with the derived forms interspersed according to their form: ''i'' is added first, then [[Iotization|iotized]], then iotized with added ''i''. [[Diphthong]]s beginning with ''w'' are ordered according to their spelling, as {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}} or {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} plus a second vowel, not as separate [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s.
+=== Alphabetic order ===
+{{Main|Hangul alphabetical order}}
-The order of the final letters is:
+The ordering of the letters has varied across time and now between North and South Korea.
-: (none) {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ ㄲ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ}}
-Every syllable begins with a consonant (or the silent ㅇ) that is followed by a vowel (e.g. {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}} = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|다}}). Some syllables such as {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|달}} and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|닭}} have a final consonant or final consonant cluster ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|받침}}). Then, 399 combinations are possible for two-letter syllables and 10,773 possible combinations for syllables with more than two letters (27 possible final endings), for a total of 11,172 possible combinations of Korean alphabet letters to form syllables.<ref name=":1" />
+The 11,172 characters in the [[Hangul Syllables]] Unicode character block follow [[Hangul alphabetical order#KS X 1026-1|a sort order]] specified in the South Korean national standard {{ill|KS X 1026-1|ko|KS X 1026-1}}. That order accounts for the various Hangul Unicode code points, including obsolete letters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=An introduction to Korean Standard KS X 1026-1:2007, Hangul processing guide for information interchange |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2008/08225-n3422.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921132517/http://unicode.org/L2/L2008/08225-n3422.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2021 |access-date=17 September 2021 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>
-The sort order including archaic Hangul letters defined in the South Korean national standard [[KS X 1026-1]] is:<ref>{{Cite web|date=2008|title=An introduction to Korean Standard KS X 1026-1:2007, Hangul processing guide for information interchange |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2008/08225-n3422.pdf  |access-date=17 Sep 2021 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>
-* Initial consonants: ᄀ, ᄁ, ᅚ, ᄂ, ᄓ, ᄔ, ᄕ, ᄖ, ᅛ, ᅜ, ᅝ, ᄃ, ᄗ, ᄄ, ᅞ, ꥠ, ꥡ, ꥢ, ꥣ, ᄅ, ꥤ, ꥥ, ᄘ, ꥦ, ꥧ, ᄙ, ꥨ, ꥩ, ꥪ, ꥫ, ꥬ, ꥭ, ꥮ, ᄚ, ᄛ, ᄆ, ꥯ, ꥰ, ᄜ, ꥱ, ᄝ, ᄇ, ᄞ, ᄟ, ᄠ, ᄈ, ᄡ, ᄢ, ᄣ, ᄤ, ᄥ, ᄦ, ꥲ, ᄧ, ᄨ, ꥳ, ᄩ, ᄪ, ꥴ, ᄫ, ᄬ, ᄉ, ᄭ, ᄮ, ᄯ, ᄰ, ᄱ, ᄲ, ᄳ, ᄊ, ꥵ, ᄴ, ᄵ, ᄶ, ᄷ, ᄸ, ᄹ, ᄺ, ᄻ, ᄼ, ᄽ, ᄾ, ᄿ, ᅀ, ᄋ, ᅁ, ᅂ, ꥶ, ᅃ, ᅄ, ᅅ, ᅆ, ᅇ, ᅈ, ᅉ, ᅊ, ᅋ, ꥷ, ᅌ, ᄌ, ᅍ, ᄍ, ꥸ, ᅎ, ᅏ, ᅐ, ᅑ, ᄎ, ᅒ, ᅓ, ᅔ, ᅕ, ᄏ, ᄐ, ꥹ, ᄑ, ᅖ, ꥺ, ᅗ, ᄒ, ꥻ, ᅘ, ᅙ, ꥼ, (filler; <code>U+115F</code>)
-* Medial vowels: (filler; <code>U+1160</code>), ᅡ, ᅶ, ᅷ, ᆣ, ᅢ, ᅣ, ᅸ, ᅹ, ᆤ, ᅤ, ᅥ, ᅺ, ᅻ, ᅼ, ᅦ, ᅧ, ᆥ, ᅽ, ᅾ, ᅨ, ᅩ, ᅪ, ᅫ, ᆦ, ᆧ, ᅿ, ᆀ, ힰ, ᆁ, ᆂ, ힱ, ᆃ, ᅬ, ᅭ, ힲ, ힳ, ᆄ, ᆅ, ힴ, ᆆ, ᆇ, ᆈ, ᅮ, ᆉ, ᆊ, ᅯ, ᆋ, ᅰ, ힵ, ᆌ, ᆍ, ᅱ, ힶ, ᅲ, ᆎ, ힷ, ᆏ, ᆐ, ᆑ, ᆒ, ힸ, ᆓ, ᆔ, ᅳ, ힹ, ힺ, ힻ, ힼ, ᆕ, ᆖ, ᅴ, ᆗ, ᅵ, ᆘ, ᆙ, ힽ, ힾ, ힿ, ퟀ, ᆚ, ퟁ, ퟂ, ᆛ, ퟃ, ᆜ, ퟄ, ᆝ, ᆞ, ퟅ, ᆟ, ퟆ, ᆠ, ᆡ, ᆢ
-* Final consonants: (none), ᆨ, ᆩ, ᇺ, ᇃ, ᇻ, ᆪ, ᇄ, ᇼ, ᇽ, ᇾ, ᆫ, ᇅ, ᇿ, ᇆ, ퟋ, ᇇ, ᇈ, ᆬ, ퟌ, ᇉ, ᆭ, ᆮ, ᇊ, ퟍ, ퟎ, ᇋ, ퟏ, ퟐ, ퟑ, ퟒ, ퟓ, ퟔ, ᆯ, ᆰ, ퟕ, ᇌ, ퟖ, ᇍ, ᇎ, ᇏ, ᇐ, ퟗ, ᆱ, ᇑ, ᇒ, ퟘ, ᆲ, ퟙ, ᇓ, ퟚ, ᇔ, ᇕ, ᆳ, ᇖ, ᇗ, ퟛ, ᇘ, ᆴ, ᆵ, ᆶ, ᇙ, ퟜ, ퟝ, ᆷ, ᇚ, ퟞ, ퟟ, ᇛ, ퟠ, ᇜ, ퟡ, ᇝ, ᇞ, ᇟ, ퟢ, ᇠ, ᇡ, ᇢ, ᆸ, ퟣ, ᇣ, ퟤ, ퟥ, ퟦ, ᆹ, ퟧ, ퟨ, ퟩ, ᇤ, ᇥ, ᇦ, ᆺ, ᇧ, ᇨ, ᇩ, ퟪ, ᇪ, ퟫ, ᆻ, ퟬ, ퟭ, ퟮ, ퟯ, ퟰ, ퟱ, ퟲ, ᇫ, ퟳ, ퟴ, ᆼ, ᇰ, ᇬ, ᇭ, ퟵ, ᇱ, ᇲ, ᇮ, ᇯ, ퟶ, ᆽ, ퟷ, ퟸ, ퟹ, ᆾ, ᆿ, ᇀ, ᇁ, ᇳ, ퟺ, ퟻ, ᇴ, ᇂ, ᇵ, ᇶ, ᇷ, ᇸ, ᇹ
-<gallery>
-Hangul consonant sort order.svg|Sort order of Hangul consonants defined in the South Korean national standard KS X 1026-1
-Hangul vowel sort order.svg|Sort order of Hangul vowels defined in the South Korean national standard KS X 1026-1
-</gallery>
-==Letter names==
-{{More citations needed section|date=November 2021}}
-{{Listen
-|filename=Giyuk.ogg|title=Korean consonants|description=names of the Korean consonant letters (South Korean)
-|filename2=Korean vowels.ogg|title2=Korean vowels|description2=names of the Korean vowel letters
-}}
-Letters in the Korean alphabet were named by Korean linguist [[Choe Sejin]] in 1527. South Korea uses Choe's traditional names, most of which follow the format of ''letter'' + ''i'' + ''eu'' + ''letter''. Choe described these names by listing Hanja characters with similar pronunciations. However, as the syllables {{lang|ko|윽}} ''euk'', {{lang|ko|읃}} ''eut'', and {{lang|ko|읏}} ''eut'' did not occur in Hanja, Choe gave those letters the modified names {{lang|ko|기역}} ''gi'''yeok''''', {{lang|ko|디귿}} ''di'''geut''''', and {{lang|ko|시옷}} ''si'''ot''''', using Hanja that did not fit the pattern (for 기역) or native Korean syllables (for 디귿 and 시옷).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Letter Names (Hangul 한글) {{!}} Taekwondo Preschool|url=https://www.taekwondopreschool.com/hangul-letternames.html|access-date=2021-09-17|website=www.taekwondopreschool.com}}</ref>
-Originally, Choe gave {{lang|ko|ㅈ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅊ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅋ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅌ}}, {{lang|ko|ㅍ}}, and {{lang|ko|ㅎ}} the irregular one-syllable names of ''ji'', ''chi'', ''ḳi'', ''ṭi'', ''p̣i'', and ''hi'', because they should not be used as final consonants, as specified in ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]''. However, after establishment of the new orthography in 1933, which let all consonants be used as finals, the names changed to the present forms.
-=== In North Korea ===
-The chart below shows names used in North Korea for consonants in the Korean alphabet. The letters are arranged in North Korean alphabetic order, and the letter names are romanised with the [[McCune–Reischauer]] system, which is widely used in North Korea. The tense consonants are described with the word {{lang|ko|된}} ''toen'' meaning hard.
-{| class="wikitable"
-!Consonant
-|[[ㄱ]]
-|[[ㄴ]]
-|[[ㄷ]]
-|[[ㄹ]]
-|[[ㅁ]]
-|[[ㅂ]]
-|[[ㅅ]]
-|[[ㅈ]]
-|[[ㅊ]]
-|[[ㅋ]]
-|[[ㅌ]]
-|[[ㅍ]]
-|[[ㅎ]]
-|ㄲ
-|ㄸ
-|ㅃ
-|ㅆ
-|[[ㅇ]]
-|ㅉ
-|-
-!Name
-|기윽
-|니은
-|디읃
-|리을
-|미음
-|비읍
-|시읏
-|지읒
-|치읓
-|키읔
-|티읕
-|피읖
-|히읗
-|된기윽
-|된디읃
-|된비읍
-|된시읏
-|이응
-|된지읒
-|-
-![[McCune–Reischauer|McCR]]
-|''kiŭk''
-|''niŭn''
-|''diŭt''
-|''riŭl''
-|''miŭm''
-|''piŭp''
-|''siŭt''
-|''jiŭt''
-|''chiŭt''
-|''ḳiŭk''
-|''ṭiŭt''
-|''p̣iŭp''
-|''hiŭt''
-|''toen'giŭk''
-|''toendiŭt''
-|''toenbiŭp''
-|''toensiŭt''
-|''<nowiki/>'iŭng''
-|''toenjiŭt''
-|}
-In North Korea, an alternative way to refer to a consonant is ''letter'' + ''ŭ'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}}), for example, gŭ ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|그}}) for the letter {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}}, and ''ssŭ'' ({{lang|ko|쓰|nocat=yes}}) for the letter {{lang|ko|ㅆ|nocat=yes}}.
-As in South Korea, the names of vowels in the Korean alphabet are the same as the sound of each vowel.
+==== North Korean order ====
+North Korea uses the following orders:
-=== In South Korea ===
+: Initial consonants: {{lang|ko|ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ ㅇ}}{{efn|The initial {{lang|ko|ㅇ}} is introduced in North Korea's official {{ill|Compendium of Korean Language Norms|ko|조선말규범집}} after {{lang|ko|ㅅ}}.{{sfn|North Korea|2010|pp=4–6}} Some non–North Korean scholarly sources also use that ordering.{{sfnm|1a1=Sohn|1y=2001|1pp=146–147|2a1=Martin|2y=1992|2p=21}} This ordering places {{lang|ko|ㅇ}} at the end because, when it is an initial, it does not produce its own sound.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Martin|1992|pp=21–22}} In 1999, North Korea submitted a proposal to [[Unicode]] and [[ISO]] (that was eventually rejected) that places {{lang|ko|ㅇ}} at the end of the order for initial consonants.<ref name="N5999">{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/L2/L1999/99380.htm |title=New Work item proposal (NP) for an amendment of the Korean part of ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993 |date=1999-12-07 |id=[[NCITS|L2]]/99-380, [[ISO/IEC JTC 1]] N5999 |website=[[Unicode Consortium]] |access-date=October 27, 2025 |archive-date=January 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114193636/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L1999/99380.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
-The chart below shows names used in South Korea for consonants of the Korean alphabet. The letters are arranged in the South Korean alphabetic order, and the letter names are romanised in the [[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanization]] system, which is the official [[romanization]] system of South Korea. The tense consonants are described with the word {{lang|ko|쌍}} ''ssang'' meaning double.
+: Vowels: {{lang|ko|ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ}}{{sfn|Sohn|2001|pp=146–147}}
-{| class="wikitable"
+: Final consonants: [[Zero (linguistics)|∅]]<!--Explicitly shown because it matters for sorting--> {{lang|ko|ㄱ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㄲ ㅆ}}{{sfnm|1a1=Sohn|1y=1997|1p=197|2a1=North Korea|2y=2010|2pp=4–6}}
-!Consonant
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㄱ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|ㄲ}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㄴ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㄷ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|ㄸ}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㄹ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅁ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅂ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|ㅃ}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅅ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|ㅆ}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅇ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅈ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|ㅉ}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅊ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅋ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅌ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅍ]]}}
-|{{lang|ko|[[ㅎ]]}}
-|-
-!Name (Hangul)
-|{{lang|ko|기역}}
-|{{lang|ko|쌍기역}}
-|{{lang|ko|니은}}
-|{{lang|ko|디귿}}
-|{{lang|ko|쌍디귿}}
-|{{lang|ko|리을}}
-|{{lang|ko|미음}}
-|{{lang|ko|비읍}}
-|{{lang|ko|쌍비읍}}
-|{{lang|ko|시옷}}
-|{{lang|ko|쌍시옷}}
-|{{lang|ko|이응}}
-|{{lang|ko|지읒}}
-|{{lang|ko|쌍지읒}}
-|{{lang|ko|치읓}}
-|{{lang|ko|키읔}}
-|{{lang|ko|티읕}}
-|{{lang|ko|피읖}}
-|{{lang|ko|히읗}}
-|-
-!Name (romanised)
-|''gi-yeok''
-|''ssang-giyeok''
-|''ni-eun''
-|''digeut''
-|''ssang-digeut''
-|''ri-eul''
-|''mi-eum''
-|''bi-eup''
-|''ssang-bi-eup''
-|''si-ot (shi-ot)''
-|''ssang-si-ot (ssang-shi-ot)''
-|''<nowiki/>'i-eung''
-|''ji-eut''
-|''ssang-ji-eut''
-|''chi-eut''
-|''ḳi-euk''
-|''ṭi-eut''
-|''p̣i-eup''
-|''hi-eut''
-|}
-==Stroke order==
+Modifications and combinations of initial consonants and vowels are placed at the end of the order. Final consonants follow the same order as initial, but combinations of consonants are inserted into that order and are sorted by the second consonant.<ref name="NIKL1999">{{Cite news |url=https://korean.go.kr/nkview/nknews/d_199901.html |volume=6 |script-title=ko:옛 글자의 배열 순서와 북한의 자모 배열 순서 |author=이승재 |language=ko |trans-title=Ordering archaic Hangul and North Korea's order |newspaper=새국어 소식 |publisher=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |year=1999 |archive-date=August 14, 2025 |access-date=October 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250814055500/https://korean.go.kr/nkview/nknews/d_199901.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Letters in the Korean alphabet have adopted certain rules of [[Chinese calligraphy]], although {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎ}} use a circle, which is not used in printed Chinese characters.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Korean Alphabet|url=https://thinkzone.wlonk.com/Language/Korean.htm|access-date=2021-09-17|website=thinkzone.wlonk.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Korean alphabet, pronunciation and language|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm|access-date=2021-09-17|website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref>
-<gallery widths="160" heights="36" perrow="7">
-File:ㄱ (giyeok) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄱ|nocat=yes}} (giyeok {{lang|ko|기역|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㄴ stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄴ|nocat=yes}} (nieun {{lang|ko|니은|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㄷ (digeut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄷ|nocat=yes}} (digeut {{lang|ko|디귿|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㄹ (rieul) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄹ|nocat=yes}} (rieul {{lang|ko|리을|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅁ (mieum) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅁ|nocat=yes}} (mieum {{lang|ko|미음|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅂ (bieup) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅂ|nocat=yes}} (bieup {{lang|ko|비읍|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅅ (siot) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅅ|nocat=yes}} (siot {{lang|ko|시옷|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅇ (ieung) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅇ|nocat=yes}} (ieung {{lang|ko|이응|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅈ (jieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅈ|nocat=yes}} (jieut {{lang|ko|지읒|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅊ (chieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅊ|nocat=yes}} (chieut {{lang|ko|치읓|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅋ (kieuk) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅋ|nocat=yes}} (ḳieuk {{lang|ko|키읔|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅌ (tieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅌ|nocat=yes}} (ṭieut {{lang|ko|티읕|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅍ (pieup) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅍ|nocat=yes}} (p̣ieup {{lang|ko|피읖|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅎ (hieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅎ|nocat=yes}} (hieuh {{lang|ko|히읗|nocat=yes}})
-File:ㅏ (a) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅏ|nocat=yes}} (a)
-File:ㅐ (ae) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅐ|nocat=yes}} (ae)
-File:ㅓ (eo) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅓ|nocat=yes}} (eo)
-File:ㅔ (e) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅔ|nocat=yes}} (e)
-File:ㅗ (o) stroke order-2.png|{{lang|ko|ㅗ|nocat=yes}} (o)
-File:ㅜ (u) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅜ|nocat=yes}} (u)
-File:一 (eu) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅡ|nocat=yes}} (eu)
-</gallery>
-For the iotized vowels, which are not shown, the short stroke is simply doubled.
+==== South Korean order ====
+South Korea uses the following orders:<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/news/12/128.htm |volume=5 |script-title=ko:한글 자모의 배열 순서 |author=이승재 |language=ko |trans-title=Alphabetical order for Hangul |newspaper=새국어 소식 |publisher=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |year=1998 |access-date=2025-10-15 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226161705/https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/news/12/128.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Yeon|Brown|2011|pp=9–10}}
+: Initial consonants: {{lang|ko|ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ}}
+: Vowels: {{lang|ko|ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ}}
+: Final consonants: ∅<!--See above for why this is shown--> {{lang|ko|ㄱ ㄲ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ}}
-==Letter design==
+Modifications and combinations of letters are placed just after the primary or initial parent letter. Such modifications and combinations are then sorted according to the previously established orderings. E.g. {{lang|ko|ㄱ}} is followed by {{lang|ko|ㄲ}} and {{lang|ko|ㅘ}} by {{lang|ko|ㅙ}}.<ref name="NIKL1999" />
-{{Calligraphy}}
-Scripts typically transcribe languages at the level of [[morpheme]]s ([[logogram|logographic scripts]] like Hanja), of [[syllable]]s ([[Syllabary|syllabaries]] like ''[[kana]]''), of [[segment (linguistics)|segment]]s ([[alphabet]]ic scripts like the [[Latin script]] used to write English and many other languages), or, on occasion, of [[distinctive features]]. The Korean alphabet incorporates aspects of the latter three, grouping sounds into [[syllable]]s, using distinct symbols for [[Segment (linguistics)|segments]], and in some cases using distinct strokes to indicate [[distinctive feature]]s such as [[place of articulation]] ([[labial consonant|labial]], [[coronal consonant|coronal]], [[velar consonant|velar]], or [[glottal consonant|glottal]]) and [[manner of articulation]] ([[plosive]], [[nasal stop|nasal]], [[sibilant consonant|sibilant]], [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspiration]]) for consonants, and [[iotization]] (a preceding ''i-''sound), [[Vowel harmony|harmonic class]] and [[i-mutation]] for vowels.
-For instance, the consonant {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} ṭ {{IPA|[tʰ]}} is composed of three strokes, each one meaningful: the top stroke indicates {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} is a plosive, like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆆ}} ''ʔ'', {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} ''g'', {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} ''d'', {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}} ''j'', which have the same stroke (the last is an [[Affricate consonant|affricate]], a plosive–fricative sequence); the middle stroke indicates that {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} is aspirated, like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎ}} ''h'', {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅋ}} ''ḳ'', {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅊ}} ''ch'', which also have this stroke; and the bottom stroke indicates that {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} is alveolar, like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄴ}} ''n'', {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} ''d'', and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄹ}} ''l''. (It is said to represent the shape of the tongue when pronouncing coronal consonants, though this is not certain.) Two obsolete consonants, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}} and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅱ}}, have dual pronunciations, and appear to be composed of two elements corresponding to these two pronunciations: {{IPA|[ŋ]}}~silence for {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}} and {{IPA|[m]}}~{{IPA|[w]}} for {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅱ}}.
+=== Obsolete letters ===
+{{Main|Obsolete Hangul jamo}}
+{{Contains special characters|Old Hangul|section=section}}
-With vowel letters, a short stroke connected to the main line of the letter indicates that this is one of the vowels that ''can'' be iotized; this stroke is then doubled when the vowel ''is'' iotized. The position of the stroke indicates which harmonic class the vowel belongs to, [[yin and yang|light]] (top or right) or [[yin and yang|dark]] (bottom or left). In the modern alphabet, an additional vertical stroke indicates [[i-mutation|i mutation]], deriving {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅐ}} {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅚ}} {{IPA|[ø]}}, and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅟ}} {{IPA|[y]}} from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}} {{IPA|[a]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}} {{IPA|[o]}}, and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} {{IPA|[u]}}. However, this is not part of the intentional design of the script, but rather a natural development from what were originally [[diphthong]]s ending in the vowel {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} {{IPA|[i]}}. Indeed, in many [[Dialects of Korean|Korean dialects]],{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}} including the standard [[Seoul Dialect|dialect of Seoul]], some of these may still be diphthongs. For example, in the Seoul dialect, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅚ}} may alternatively be pronounced {{IPA|[we̞]}}, and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅟ}} {{IPA|[ɥi]}}. Note: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅔ}} {{IPA|[e]}} as a morpheme is ㅓ combined with ㅣ as a vertical stroke. As a phoneme, its sound is not by i mutation of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}} {{IPA|[ʌ]}}.
+A number of letters and letter combinations are no longer in use for transcribing Korean, although some are still actively used for transcribing other languages.{{Sfn|Cho|Whitman|2019|p=54}} This includes the base consonants {{lang|ko|[[ㆁ]]}}, {{Lang|ko|[[ㅿ]]}}, and {{Lang|ko|[[ㆆ]]}}, as well as the base vowel {{Lang|ko|[[ㆍ]]}},{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|pp=116–119, 156}} although that last letter is still used for the [[Jeju language]].{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=156}} Examples of obsolete doubled letters include {{Lang|ko|[[ㆀ]]}},{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=130}} {{Lang|ko|[[ㆅ]]}},{{Sfn|Ledyard|1998|pp=226–227}} and the doubled vowel {{Lang|ko|[[ᆢ]]}}.{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=76–77}} A number of now obsolete letters were virtually exclusively used for transcribing Chinese, like the {{Ill|pure dental and palatal-supradental sibilants in Hunminjeongeum|lt=pure dental and palatal-supradental sibilants|ko|훈민정음의 치두음과 정치음}} ({{Lang|ko|ᄼ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᄽ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᅎ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᅏ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᅔ}} and {{Lang|ko|ᄾ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᄿ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᅐ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᅑ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᅕ}}){{Sfn|Osterkamp|2012|p=90}} and most of the [[Obsolete Hangul jamo#Light labial letters|light labial letters]] (e.g. {{Lang|ko|ㆄ}}, {{Lang|ko|ᄛ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅱ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅹ}}), although {{lang|ko|ㅸ}} was used for Korean.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=119}} Clustered consonants have also changed. Clusters mixing different letters were once acceptable for initial consonants, with some clusters even including up to three letters, like {{Lang|ko|ㅴ}}, which was used in {{Lang|ko|ᄢᅳᆷ}} ({{Lit|crack, opening}}).{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2011|p=119}} A number of letters were invented in the centuries following Hangul's invention, for example {{Lang|ko|[[ᆖ]]}} (a doubled form of {{Lang|ko|ㅡ}}) was invented in the 1900s.{{Sfn|King|1997|p=221}}
-Beside the letters, the Korean alphabet originally employed [[diacritic mark]]s to indicate [[pitch accent]]. A syllable with a high pitch ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|거성}}) was marked with a dot (<span style="font-family:'Malgun Gothic', 'Source Han Sans', 'Noto Sans CJK', serif">〮</span>) to the left of it (when writing vertically); a syllable with a rising pitch ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|상성}}) was marked with a double dot, like a colon (<span style="font-family:'Malgun Gothic', 'Source Han Serif', 'Noto Serif CJK', serif">〯</span>). These are no longer used, as modern Seoul Korean has lost tonality. [[Vowel length]] has also been neutralized in Modern Korean<ref name="Kim-Renaud_Tranter">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7PTXPq_nSAC&pg=PA127|title=The Languages of Japan and Korea|last=Kim-Renaud|first=Young-Key|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2012|isbn=9780415462877|editor-last=Tranter|editor-first=Nicolas|location=Oxon, UK|pages=127}}</ref> and is no longer written.
+== Orthography ==
+{{Main|Hangul orthography}}
-=== Consonant design ===
+[[File:자귀나무 sign.jpg|thumb|A sample of Hangul writing using the South Korean orthography. Letters are arranged in syllable blocks, spacing is used, and most punctuation used is similar to that of the West, with the exception of the [[tilde]] (~) for number ranges.]]
-{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
+Hangul orthography has changed over time. Since 1948, [[North–South differences in the Korean language|North and South Korea have used different orthographies]]. However, because their current orthographies are based on the 1933 {{Ill|Unified Hangul Orthography|ko|한글 맞춤법 통일안}}, they are still relatively similar. North Korea now uses the {{Ill|Compendium of Korean Language Norms|ko|조선말규범집}}{{Sfn|Song|2015|pp=487–488}} and South Korea the Hangeul Orthography.{{sfnm|1a1=Ahn|1y=2018|1pp=301–302|2a1=Song|2y=2006|2p=168}}
-The consonant letters fall into five [[wiktionary:homorganic|homorganic]] groups, each with a basic shape, and one or more letters derived from this shape by means of additional strokes. In the ''Hunmin Jeong-eum Haerye'' account, the basic shapes iconically represent the articulations the [[tongue]], [[palate]], [[teeth]], and [[throat]] take when making these sounds.
-{|class="infobox wikitable" style="width:120px;"
+The [[Orthographic depth|depth of current Hangul orthographies]] is a subject of some disagreement. Many scholars argue current orthographies have a relatively [[Shallow orthographies|shallow or transparent orthography]], in that pronunciation generally closely corresponds to what is written. Their complexities are often the product of sound changes in the Korean language over time as well as [[Morphophonemic orthography|morphophonemic orthographic]] practices (changing some spellings to reflect the function or meaning of some words).{{Sfn|Kim|2025|p=377}} Some have described current orthographies as deep because of the morphophonemic practices.{{Sfn|Yang|Yang|O'Grady|2019|p=22}}
-!
-!Simple
-!Aspirated
-!Tense
-|-
-!velar
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅋ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄲ}}
-|-
-!fricatives
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}}
-|
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅆ}}
-|-
-!palatal
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅊ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅉ}}
-|-
-!coronal
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄸ}}
-|-
-!bilabial
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅍ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅃ}}
-|}
-* [[Velar consonant]]s ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|아음, 牙音}} ''a'eum'' "molar sounds")
+=== Syllable blocks ===
-**{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} ''g'' {{IPA|[k]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅋ}} ḳ {{IPA|[kʰ]}}
+Hangul letters are arranged into syllable blocks in a principle called ''moasseugi'' ({{Korean|hangul=모아쓰기|labels=no|lit=gathering together and writing}}).{{Sfn|King|1997|p=222}} Each syllable block is broadly divided into two or three components: an initial consonant ({{Korean/auto|hangul=초성|hanja=初聲|rr=yes|labels=no}}), vowel ({{Korean/auto|hangul=중성|hanja=中聲|rr=yes|labels=no}}; also called "medial"), and optional final consonant ({{Korean/auto|hangul=종성|hanja=終聲|rr=yes|labels=no}}; also called {{Korean/auto|hangul=받침|rr=yes|lit=pedestal|labels=no}}).{{Sfnm|1a1=Cho|1a2=Whitman|1y=2019|1p=33|2a1=Lee|2a2=Ramsey|2y=2000|2pp=17–18|3a1=Martin|3y=1992|3p=6}} Final heterogenous [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] consonant clusters are orthographically considered to be two different letters combined, but phonologically considered to be a single letter.{{Sfn|Pae|Winskel|Kim|2025a|pp=36–37}} When no initial consonant sound is needed, the [[Zero consonant|zero initial consonant]] {{Lang|ko|ㅇ}} is used.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2000|pp=17–18}}
-** Basic shape: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} is a side view of the back of the tongue raised toward the velum (soft palate). (For illustration, access the external link below.) {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅋ}} is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} with a stroke for the burst of aspiration.
-* [[Sibilant consonant]]s (fricative or palatal) ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|치음, 齒音}} ''chieum'' "dental sounds"):
-**{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}} s {{IPA|[s]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}} j {{IPA|[tɕ]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅊ}} ch {{IPA|[tɕʰ]}}
-** Basic shape: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}} was originally shaped like a wedge ∧, without the [[serif]] on top. It represents a side view of the teeth.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}} The line topping {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}} represents firm contact with the roof of the mouth. The stroke topping {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅊ}} represents an additional burst of aspiration.
-* [[Coronal consonant]]s ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|설음, 舌音}} ''seoreum'' "lingual sounds"):
-**{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄴ}} ''n'' {{IPA|[n]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} ''d'' {{IPA|[t]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} ṭ {{IPA|[tʰ]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄹ}} ''r'' {{IPA|[ɾ, ɭ]}}
-** Basic shape: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄴ}} is a side view of the tip of the tongue raised toward the [[alveolar ridge]] (gum ridge). The letters derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄴ}} are pronounced with the same basic articulation. The line topping {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} represents firm contact with the roof of the mouth. The middle stroke of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} represents the burst of aspiration. The top of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄹ}} represents a [[flap consonant|flap]] of the tongue.
-* [[Bilabial consonant]]s ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|순음, 唇音}} ''suneum'' "labial sounds"):
-**{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} ''m'' {{IPA|[m]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} ''b'' {{IPA|[p]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅍ}} ''p̣'' {{IPA|[pʰ]}}
-** Basic shape: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} represents the outline of the lips in contact with each other. The top of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} represents the release burst of the ''b''. The top stroke of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅍ}} is for the burst of aspiration.
-* [[Dorsal consonant]]s ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|후음, 喉音}} ''hueum'' "throat sounds"):
-**{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} '/''ng'' {{IPA|[ŋ]}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎ}} ''h'' {{IPA|[h]}}
-** Basic shape: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} is an outline of the throat. Originally {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} was two letters, a simple circle for silence (null consonant), and a circle topped by a vertical line, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}}, for the nasal ''ng''. A now obsolete letter, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆆ}}, represented a [[glottal stop]], which is pronounced in the throat and had closure represented by the top line, like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱㄷㅈ}}. Derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆆ}} is {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎ}}, in which the extra stroke represents a burst of aspiration.
-=== Vowel design ===
+In modern orthographies, to construct a syllable block, the following rules are applied in order:{{sfnm|1a1=Kim-Renaud|1y=1997c|1pp=283–284|2a1=Kim-Renaud|2y=2009|2pp=10–12}}
-{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
-[[File:Hangul Vowel Diag.svg|thumb|450px|A diagram showing the derivation of vowels in the Korean alphabet.]]
-Vowel letters are based on three elements:
+# Write the initial consonant.
+# Place the vowel depending on the appropriate condition below:
+#* If the vowel has a long vertical stroke ({{Lang|ko|ㅏ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅑ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅓ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅕ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅐ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅒ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅔ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅖ}}, or {{Lang|ko|ㅣ}}), write it to the right of the initial.
+#* If the vowel has a long horizontal stroke ({{Lang|ko|ㅗ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅛ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅜ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅠ}}, {{Lang|ko|ㅡ}}), write it below the initial.
+#* If the vowel is a combination and begins with a long horizontal stroke followed by a long vertical stroke (e.g. {{Lang|ko|ㅢ}}), place the initial above the horizontal stroke.
+# If there is a non-[[Zero (linguistics)|zero]] final consonant, it is written at the bottom. If the final consonant is a combination, place the letters side by side.
-* A horizontal line representing the flat Earth, the essence of ''[[yin and yang|yin]]''.
+Assuming consonant clusters are treated as single letters, following the above steps yields the following possible consonant blocks:{{sfn|Lunde|2009|p=59}}
-* A point for the Sun in the heavens, the essence of ''[[yin and yang|yang]]''. (This becomes a short stroke when written with a brush.)
-* A vertical line for the upright Human, the neutral mediator between the Heaven and Earth.
-Short strokes (dots in the earliest documents) were added to these three basic elements to derive the vowel letter:
-====Simple vowels====
-* Horizontal letters: these are mid-high back vowels.
-** bright {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}} ''o''
-** dark {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} ''u''
-** dark {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}} ''eu'' (''ŭ'')
-* Vertical letters: these were once low vowels.
-** bright {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}} ''a''
-** dark {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}} ''eo'' (''ŏ'')
-** bright {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}}
-** neutral {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} ''i''
-====Compound vowels====
-The Korean alphabet does not have a letter for ''w'' sound. Since an ''o'' or ''u'' before an ''a'' or ''eo'' became a {{IPA|[w]}} sound, and {{IPA|[w]}} occurred nowhere else, {{IPA|[w]}} could always be analyzed as a [[phoneme|phonemic]] ''o'' or ''u'', and no letter for {{IPA|[w]}} was needed. However, vowel harmony is observed: dark {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}}&nbsp;''u'' with dark {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}}&nbsp;''eo'' for {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅝ}} ''wo;'' bright {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}}&nbsp;''o'' with bright {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}}&nbsp;''a'' for {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅘ}} ''wa'':
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅘ}}&nbsp;<small>''wa''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}}&nbsp;<small>''o''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}}&nbsp;<small>''a''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅝ}}&nbsp;<small>''wo''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}}&nbsp;<small>''u''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}}&nbsp;<small>''eo''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅙ}}&nbsp;<small>''wae''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}}&nbsp;<small>''o''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅐ}}&nbsp;<small>''ae''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅞ}}&nbsp;<small>''we''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}}&nbsp;<small>''u''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅔ}}&nbsp;<small>''e''</small>
-The compound vowels ending in {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} ''i'' were originally [[diphthong]]s. However, several have since evolved into pure vowels:
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅐ}}&nbsp;<small>''ae''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}}&nbsp;<small>''a''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small> (pronounced {{IPA|[ɛ]}})
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅔ}}&nbsp;<small>''e''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}}&nbsp;<small>''eo''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small> (pronounced {{IPA|[e]}})
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅙ}}&nbsp;<small>''wae''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅘ}}&nbsp;<small>''wa''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅚ}}&nbsp;<small>''oe''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}}&nbsp;<small>''o''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small> (formerly pronounced {{IPA|[ø]}}, see [[Korean phonology#Monophtongs|Korean phonology]])
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅞ}}&nbsp;<small>''we''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅝ}}&nbsp;<small>''wo''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅟ}}&nbsp;<small>''wi''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}}&nbsp;<small>''u''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small> (formerly pronounced {{IPA|[y]}}, see [[Korean phonology#Monophtongs|Korean phonology]])
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅢ}}&nbsp;<small>''ui''</small> = {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}}&nbsp;<small>''eu''</small> + {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}&nbsp;<small>''i''</small>
-====Iotized vowels====
-There is no letter for ''y''. Instead, this sound is indicated by doubling the stroke attached to the baseline of the vowel letter. Of the seven basic vowels, four could be preceded by a ''y'' sound, and these four were written as a dot next to a line. (Through the influence of Chinese calligraphy, the dots soon became connected to the line: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓㅏㅜㅗ}}.) A preceding ''y'' sound, called iotization, was indicated by doubling this dot: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅕㅑㅠㅛ}} <small>''yeo, ya, yu, yo''</small>. The three vowels that could not be iotized were written with a single stroke: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡㆍㅣ}} <small>''eu, (arae a), i''</small>.
-{|class="infobox wikitable" style="width:120px;"
-|-
-!Simple
-!Iotized
-|-
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅑ}}
-|-
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅕ}}
-|-
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅛ}}
-|-
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}}
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅠ}}
-|-
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}}
-|
-|-
-|{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}}
-|
-|}
-The simple iotized vowels are:
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅑ}}&nbsp;<small>''ya''</small> from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}} &nbsp;<small>''a''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅕ}}&nbsp;<small>''yeo''</small> from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}} &nbsp;<small>''eo''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅛ}}&nbsp;<small>''yo''</small> from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}} &nbsp;<small>''o''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅠ}}&nbsp;<small>''yu''</small> from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} &nbsp;<small>''u''</small>
-There are also two iotized diphthongs:
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅒ}}&nbsp;<small>''yae''</small> from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅐ}} &nbsp;<small>''ae''</small>
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅖ}}&nbsp;<small>''ye''</small> from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅔ}} &nbsp;<small>''e''</small>
-The Korean language of the 15th century had [[vowel harmony]] to a greater extent than it does today. Vowels in grammatical [[morpheme]]s changed according to their environment, falling into groups that "harmonized" with each other. This affected the [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] of the language, and Korean phonology described it in terms of ''yin'' and ''yang'': If a root word had ''yang'' ('bright') vowels, then most suffixes attached to it also had to have ''yang'' vowels; conversely, if the root had ''yin'' ('dark') vowels, the suffixes had to be ''yin'' as well. There was a third harmonic group called mediating (neutral in Western terminology) that could coexist with either ''yin'' or ''yang'' vowels.
-The Korean neutral vowel was {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} ''i''. The ''yin'' vowels were {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡㅜㅓ}} ''eu, u, eo''; the dots are in the ''yin'' directions of down and left. The ''yang'' vowels were {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍㅗㅏ}} ''ə, o, a,'' with the dots in the ''yang'' directions of up and right. The ''Hunmin Jeong-eum Haerye'' states that the shapes of the non-dotted letters {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡㆍㅣ}} were chosen to represent the concepts of ''yin'', ''yang'', and mediation: Earth, Heaven, and Human. (The letter {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}} ''ə'' is now obsolete except in the Jeju language.)
-The third parameter in designing the vowel letters was choosing {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}} as the graphic base of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}}, and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} as the graphic base of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}} and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}}. A full understanding of what these horizontal and vertical groups had in common would require knowing the exact sound values these vowels had in the 15th century.
-The uncertainty is primarily with the three letters {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍㅓㅏ}}. Some linguists reconstruct these as {{IPA|*a, *ɤ, *e}}, respectively; others as {{IPA|*ə, *e, *a}}. A third reconstruction is to make them all middle vowels as {{IPA|*ʌ, *ɤ, *a}}.<ref>[http://conf.ling.cornell.edu/whitman/FrellWhitman.pdf The Japanese/Korean Vowel Correspondences] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102073449/http://conf.ling.cornell.edu/whitman/FrellWhitman.pdf |date=2 January 2018 }} by Bjarke Frellesvig and John Whitman. Section 3 deals with Middle Korean vowels.</ref> With the third reconstruction, Middle Korean vowels actually line up in a vowel harmony pattern, albeit with only one front vowel and four middle vowels:
-{|class="wikitable"
-|- style="vertical-align:top;"
-|rowspan="4"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} {{IPA|*i}}
-|style="color:blue;"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}} {{IPA|*ɯ}}
-|rowspan="2" style="color:blue;"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} {{IPA|*u}}
-|- style="vertical-align:top;"
-|style="color:blue;"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}} {{IPA|*ɤ}}
-|- style="vertical-align:top;"
-|style="color:red;"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}} {{IPA|*ʌ}}
-|rowspan="2" style="color:red;"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ}} {{IPA|*o}}
-|- style="vertical-align:top;"
-|style="color:red;"|&nbsp;{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅏ}} {{IPA|*a}}
-|}
-However, the horizontal letters {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡㅜㅗ}} <small>''eu,&nbsp;u,&nbsp;o''</small> do all appear to have been mid to high [[back vowel]]s, {{IPA|[*ɯ, *u, *o]}}, and thus to have formed a coherent group phonetically in every reconstruction.
-==== Traditional account ====
-{{See also|Origin of Hangul}}
-The traditionally accepted account{{efn|The explanation of the origin of the shapes of the letters is provided within a section of [[Hunminjeongeum]] itself, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|훈민정음 해례본 제자해}} (Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon Jajahae ''or'' Hunminjeongeum, Chapter: Paraphrases and Examples, Section: Making of Letters), which states: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|牙音ㄱ 象舌根閉喉之形. (아음(어금니 소리) ㄱ은 혀뿌리가 목구멍을 막는 모양을 본뜨고), 舌音ㄴ 象舌附上腭之形 ( 설음(혓 소리) ㄴ은 혀(끝)가 윗 잇몸에 붙는 모양을 본뜨고), 脣音ㅁ 象口形. ( 순음(입술소리) ㅁ은 입모양을 본뜨고), 齒音ㅅ 象齒形. ( 치음(잇 소리) ㅅ은 이빨 모양을 본뜨고) 象齒形. 喉音ㅇ. 象喉形 (목구멍 소리ㅇ은 목구멍의 꼴을 본뜬 것이다). ㅋ比ㄱ. 聲出稍 . 故加 . ㄴ而ㄷ. ㄷ而ㅌ. ㅁ而ㅂ. ㅂ而ㅍ. ㅅ而ㅈ. ㅈ而ㅊ. ㅇ而ㅡ. ㅡ而ㅎ. 其因聲加 之義皆同. 而唯　爲異 (ㅋ은ㄱ에 견주어 소리 남이 조금 세므로 획을 더한 것이고, ㄴ에서 ㄷ으로, ㄷ에서 ㅌ으로 함과, ㅁ에서 ㅂ으로 ㅂ에서 ㅍ으로 함과, ㅅ에서 ㅈ으로 ㅈ에서 ㅊ으로 함과, ㅇ에서 ㅡ으로 ㅡ에서 ㅎ으로 함도, 그 소리를 따라 획을 더한 뜻이 같다 . 오직 ㅇ자는 다르다.) 半舌音ㄹ. 半齒音. 亦象舌齒之形而異其體. (반혓소리ㄹ과, 반잇소리 '세모자'는 또한 혀와 이의 꼴을 본뜨되, 그 본을 달리하여 획을 더하는 뜻이 없다.}}) ...}}<ref>[http://blog.paran.com/blog/detail/postBoard.kth?pmcId=sookoeun2145&blogDataId=26450475 Korean orthography rules] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718173123/http://blog.paran.com/blog/detail/postBoard.kth?pmcId=sookoeun2145&blogDataId=26450475 |date=2011-07-18 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=January 2009 }} on the design of the letters is that the vowels are derived from various combinations of the following three components: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ ㅡ ㅣ}}. Here, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}} symbolically stands for the (sun in) heaven, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}} stands for the (flat) earth, and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} stands for an (upright) human. The original sequence of the Korean vowels, as stated in [[Hunminjeongeum]], listed these three vowels first, followed by various combinations. Thus, the original order of the vowels was: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ ㅡ ㅣ ㅗ ㅏ ㅜ ㅓ ㅛ ㅑ ㅠ ㅕ}}. Two positive vowels ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅗ ㅏ}}) including one {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}} are followed by two negative vowels including one {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}}, then by two positive vowels each including two of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}}, and then by two negative vowels each including two of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆍ}}.
-The same theory provides the most simple explanation of the shapes of the consonants as an approximation of the shapes of the most representative organ needed to form that sound. The original order of the consonants in Hunminjeong'eum was: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ ㅋ ㆁ ㄷ ㅌ ㄴ ㅂ ㅍ ㅁ ㅈ ㅊ ㅅ ㆆ ㅎ ㅇ ㄹ ㅿ}}.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} representing the {{IPA|[k]}} sound geometrically describes its tongue back raised.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅋ}} representing the {{IPA|[kʰ]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} by adding another stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}} representing the {{IPA|[ŋ]}} sound may have been derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} by addition of a stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} representing the {{IPA|[t]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄴ}} by adding a stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅌ}} representing the {{IPA|[tʰ]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} by adding another stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄴ}} representing the {{IPA|[n]}} sound geometrically describes a tongue making contact with an upper palate.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} representing the {{IPA|[p]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} by adding a stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅍ}} representing the {{IPA|[pʰ]}} sound is a variant of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} by adding another stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} representing the {{IPA|[m]}} sound geometrically describes a closed mouth.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}} representing the {{IPA|[t͡ɕ]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}} by adding a stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅊ}} representing the {{IPA|[t͡ɕʰ]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}} by adding another stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}} representing the {{IPA|[s]}} sound geometrically describes the sharp teeth.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}<!-- not a diagram of the tooth? - While the literal text of 훈민정음 해례본 제자해 talks only about teeth (or a tooth), all root consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ) include the shape of the tongue. It is more likely the shape of ㅅ represents the contact between the teeth AND the tongue (dental consonants) -->
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆆ}} representing the {{IPA|[ʔ]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} by adding a stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎ}} representing the {{IPA|[h]}} sound is derived from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆆ}} by adding another stroke.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} representing the absence of a consonant geometrically describes the throat.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄹ}} representing the {{IPA|[ɾ]}} and {{IPA|[ɭ]}} sounds geometrically describes the bending tongue.
-# {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅿ}} representing a weak {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}} sound describes the sharp teeth, but has a different origin than {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}}.{{clarify|date=May 2013}}
-====Ledyard's theory of consonant design====
-{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2020}}
-[[File:King Sejong statue inscription.jpg|thumb|A close-up of the inscription on the statue of King Sejong above. It reads ''Sejong Daewang'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|세종대왕}} and illustrates the forms of the letters originally promulgated by Sejong. Note the dots on the vowels, the geometric symmetry of ''s'' and ''j'' in the first two syllables, the asymmetrical lip at the top-left of the ''d'' in the third, and the distinction between initial and final ''ieung'' in the last.]]
-[[File:Phagspa-Hangul comparison.svg|thumb|
-(Top) 'Phags-pa letters {{IPA|[k, t, p, s, l]}}, and their supposed Korean derivatives {{IPA|[k, t, p, t͡ɕ, l]}}. Note the lip on both 'Phags-pa {{IPA|[t]}} and the Korean alphabet {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}}.<br />
-(Bottom) Derivation of 'Phags-pa ''w'', ''v'', ''f'' from variants of the letter {{IPA|[h]}} (left) plus a subscript {{IPA|[w]}}, and analogous composition of the Korean alphabet ''w'', ''v'', ''f'' from variants of the basic letter {{IPA|[p]}} plus a circle.]]
-Although the ''Hunminjeong'eum Haerye'' explains the design of the consonantal letters in terms of [[articulatory phonetics]], as a purely innovative creation, several theories suggest which external sources may have inspired or influenced King Sejong's creation. Professor [[Gari Ledyard]] of Columbia University studied possible connections between Hangul and the Mongol [['Phags-pa script]] of the [[Yuan dynasty]]. He, however, also believed that the role of 'Phags-pa script in the creation of the Korean alphabet was quite limited, stating it should not be assumed that Hangul was derived from 'Phags-pa script based on his theory:
-{{blockquote|It should be clear to any reader that in the total picture, that ['Phags-pa script's] role was quite limited ... Nothing would disturb me more, after this study is published, than to discover in a work on the history of writing a statement like the following: "According to recent investigations, the Korean alphabet was derived from ''the Mongol's [[phags-pa script]]''."<ref>''The Korean language reform of 1446: the origin, background, and Early History of the Korean Alphabet'', Gari Keith Ledyard. University of California, 1966, p. 367–368.</ref>}}
-Ledyard posits that five of the Korean letters have shapes inspired by 'Phags-pa; a sixth basic letter, the null initial {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}}, was invented by Sejong. The rest of the letters were derived internally from these six, essentially as described in the ''Hunmin Jeong-eum Haerye''. However, the five borrowed consonants were not the graphically simplest letters considered basic by the ''Hunmin Jeong-eum Haerye'', but instead the consonants basic to Chinese phonology: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}}, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅈ}}, and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄹ}}.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
-The ''Hunmin Jeong-eum'' states that King Sejong adapted the {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|古篆}} (''gojeon'', ''Gǔ'' Seal Script) in creating the Korean alphabet. The {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|古篆}} has never been identified. The primary meaning of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|古}} ''gǔ'' is old (Old Seal Script), frustrating philologists because the Korean alphabet bears no functional similarity to Chinese {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|篆字}} ''zhuànzì'' [[seal script]]s. However, Ledyard believes {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|古}} ''gǔ'' may be a pun on {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|蒙古}} ''Měnggǔ'' "Mongol", and that {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|古篆}} is an abbreviation of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|蒙古篆字}} "Mongol Seal Script", that is, the formal variant of the 'Phags-pa alphabet written to look like the Chinese seal script. There were 'Phags-pa manuscripts in the Korean palace library, including some in the seal-script form, and several of Sejong's ministers knew the script well. If this was the case, Sejong's evasion on the Mongol connection can be understood in light of Korea's relationship with [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] China after the fall of the Mongol [[Yuan dynasty]], and of the literati's contempt for the Mongols.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
-According to Ledyard, the five borrowed letters were graphically simplified, which allowed for consonant clusters and left room to add a stroke to derive the aspirate plosives, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅋㅌㅍㅊ}}. But in contrast to the traditional account, the non-plosives ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ ㄴ ㅁ ㅅ}}) were derived by ''removing'' the top of the basic letters. He points out that while it is easy to derive {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} by removing the top, it is not clear how to derive {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} in the traditional account, since the shape of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅂ}} is not analogous to those of the other plosives.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
-The explanation of the letter ''ng'' also differs from the traditional account. Many Chinese words began with ''ng'', but by King Sejong's day, initial ''ng'' was either silent or pronounced {{IPA|[ŋ]}} in China, and was silent when these words were borrowed into Korean. Also, the expected shape of ''ng'' (the short vertical line left by removing the top stroke of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}}) would have looked almost identical to the vowel {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} {{IPA|[i]}}. Sejong's solution solved both problems: The vertical stroke left from {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄱ}} was added to the null symbol {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} to create {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}} (a circle with a vertical line on top), iconically capturing both the pronunciation {{IPA|[ŋ]}} in the middle or end of a word, and the usual silence at the beginning. (The graphic distinction between null {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} and ''ng'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆁ}} was eventually lost.)
-Another letter composed of two elements to represent two regional pronunciations was {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅱ}}, which transcribed the Chinese [[Syllable onset|initial]] {{lang|zh|微}}. This represented either ''m'' or ''w'' in various Chinese dialects, and was composed of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁ}} [m] plus {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} (from 'Phags-pa [w]). In 'Phags-pa, a loop under a letter represented ''w'' after vowels, and Ledyard hypothesized that this became the loop at the bottom of {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅱ}}. In 'Phags-pa the Chinese initial {{lang|zh|微}} is also transcribed as a compound with ''w'', but in its case the ''w'' is placed under an ''h''. Actually, the Chinese consonant series {{lang|zh|微非敷}} ''w'', ''v'', ''f'' is transcribed in 'Phags-pa by the addition of a ''w'' under three graphic variants of the letter for ''h'', and the Korean alphabet parallels this convention by adding the ''w'' loop to the labial series {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅁㅂㅍ}} ''m'', ''b'', ''p'', producing now-obsolete {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅱㅸㆄ}} ''w'', ''v'', ''f.'' (Phonetic values in Korean are uncertain, as these consonants were only used to transcribe Chinese.)
-As a final piece of evidence, Ledyard notes that most of the borrowed Korean letters were simple geometric shapes, at least originally, but that {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄷ}} ''d'' [t] always had a small lip protruding from the upper left corner, just as the 'Phags-pa {{Phagspa|v|ꡊ|da}} ''d'' [t] did. This lip can be traced back to the Tibetan letter {{bo-textonly|ད}} ''d''.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
-There is also the argument that the original theory, which stated the Hangul consonants to have been derived from the shape of the speaker's lips and tongue during the pronunciation of the consonants (initially, at least), slightly strains credulity.<ref>Peter T. Daniels and William Bright, ''The World's Writing Systems'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 219–220</ref>
-=== Hangul supremacy ===
-'''Hangul supremacy''' or '''Hangul scientific supremacy''' is the claim that the Hangul alphabet is the simplest and most logical [[writing system]] in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-09 |title=Today is a Holiday in Honor of the World's Most Remarkable Alphabet |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/53091/today-holiday-honor-world’s-greatest-alphabet |access-date=2019-03-23 |website=mentalfloss.com |language=en}}</ref>
-Proponents of the claim believe Hangul is the most scientific writing system because its characters are based on the shapes of the parts of the human body used to enunciate.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} For example, the first alphabet, ㄱ, is shaped like the root of the tongue blocking the throat and makes a sound between /k/ and /g/ in English. They also believe that Hangul was designed to be simple to learn, containing only 28 characters in its alphabet with simplistic rules.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}
-[[File:Edwin_Oldfather_Reischauer_and_his_wife.jpg|thumb|Harvard professor [[Edwin Reischauer]], a Japanologist, regarded Hangul as a highly logical system of writing.]]
-[[Edwin O. Reischauer]] and [[John K. Fairbank]] of [[Harvard University]] wrote that "Hangul is perhaps the most scientific system of writing in general use in any country."<ref>Korea Newsreview. (1988). South Korea: Korea News review Incorporated. Volume 17, Issues 27–53, page 29</ref>
-Former professor of [[Leiden University]] Frits Vos stated that King Sejong "invented the world's best alphabet," adding, "It is clear that the Korean alphabet is not only simple and logical, but has, moreover, been constructed in a purely scientific way."<ref>Papers of the C.I.C. Far Eastern Language Institute, the University of Michigan, 1968, Indiana University, 1969 [and] the University of Minnesota, 1970. Richard B. Mather, Editor. (1973). United States: Panel on Far Eastern Language Institutes of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation.</ref>
-==Obsolete letters==
-{{main|Historical Chinese phonology}}
-{{Multiple issues|section=yes|
-{{Disputed section|date=December 2022}}
-{{Original research|date=December 2022}}
-{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2020}}
-}}
-[[File:Hankidoemhanja.png|thumb|''[[Hankido]]'' [<sub>'''H.N-GI-DO'''</sub>], a martial art, using the obsolete vowel ''arae-a'' (top)|alt=|left|180x180px]]
-Numerous obsolete Korean letters and sequences are no longer used in Korean. Some of these letters were only used to represent the sounds of Chinese [[rime table]]s. Some of the Korean sounds represented by these obsolete letters still exist in dialects.
-{| class="wikitable"
-! colspan="2" |13 obsolete consonants
-(IPA)
-! colspan="14" |Soft consonants
-|-
-! colspan="2" |Jamo
-|<big>ᄛ</big>
-|<big>ㅱ</big>
-|<big>ㅸ</big>
-|<big>ᄼ</big>
-|<big>ᄾ</big>
-|<big>ㅿ</big>
-|<big>ㆁ</big>
-|<big>{{lang|ko|ㅇ|nocat=yes}}</big>
-|<big>ᅎ</big>
-|<big>ᅐ</big>
-|<big>ᅔ</big>
-|<big>ᅕ</big>
-|<big>ㆄ</big>
-|<big>ㆆ</big>
-|-
-! colspan="2" |IPA
-|/[[ɾ]]/
-|first:/ɱ/
-last:/w/
-|/β/
-|/s/
-|<big>/[[ɕ]]/</big>
-|/[[Voiced alveolar fricative|z]]/
-|/[[Velar nasal|ŋ]]/
-|/[[Null morpheme|∅]]/
-|/[[Ts (IPA)|t͡s]]/
-|/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]/
-|/t͡sʰ/
-|/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]ʰ/
-|/f/
-|/[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]/
-|-
-! colspan="2" |Identified Chinese Character ([[Hanzi]])
-|
-|微(미)
-/[[Labiodental nasal|ɱ]]/
-|非(비)
-/f/
-|心(심)
-/<big>[[Voiceless alveolar fricative|s]]/</big>
-|審(심)
-<big>/[[ɕ]]/</big>
-|日
-(ᅀᅵᇙ>일)
-/z/
-|final position: 業 /[[Velar nasal|ŋ]]/
-|initial position:
-欲 /[[Null morpheme|∅]]/
-|精(정)
-/[[Ts (IPA)|t͡s]]/
-|照(조)
-/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]/
-|淸(청)
-/t͡sʰ/
-|穿(천)
-/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]ʰ/
-|敷(부)
-/fʰ/
-|挹(읍)
-/[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]/
-|-
-! colspan="2" |[[Toneme]]
-|falling
-|mid to falling
-|mid to falling
-|mid
-|mid to falling
-|dipping/ mid
-|
-|
-|mid
-|mid to falling
-|mid (aspirated)
-|high
-(aspirated)
-|mid to falling
-(aspirated)
-|high/mid
-|-
-! colspan="2" |Remark
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|[[Fortis and lenis|lenis]] [[voiceless dental affricate]]/ [[voiced dental affricate]]
-|[[Fortis and lenis|lenis]] [[voiceless retroflex affricate]]/ [[voiced retroflex affricate]]
-|aspirated /[[Ts (IPA)|t͡s]]/
-|aspirated /[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]/
-|
-|[[glottal stop]]
-|-
-! colspan="2" |Equivalents
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|[[Standard Chinese]] [[Pinyin]]: 子 [[Voiced alveolar fricative|z]] [tsɨ]; English: z in '''z'''oo or '''z'''ebra; strong z in English '''z'''ip
-|identical to the initial position of ng in [[Cantonese]]
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|
-|German [[Voiceless labiodental affricate|pf]]
-|"읗" = "euh" in pronunciation
-|}
-<br />
-{| class="wikitable"
-! colspan="1" |10 obsolete double consonants
-(IPA)
-! colspan="10" |Hard consonants
-|-
-! Jamo
-|<big>ㅥ</big>
-|<big>ᄙ</big>
-|<big>ㅹ</big>
-|<big>ᄽ</big>
-|<big>ᄿ</big>
-|<big>ᅇ</big>
-|<big>ᇮ</big>
-|<big>ᅏ</big>
-|<big>ᅑ</big>
-|<big>ㆅ</big>
-|-
-! IPA
-|/nː/
-|
-|/v/
-|/sˁ/
-|/ɕˁ/
-|/j/
-|/ŋː/
-|/t͡s/
-|/t͡ɕˁ/
-|/hˁ/
-|-
-![[Middle Chinese]]
-|hn/nn
-|hl/ll
-|bh, bhh
-|sh
-|zh
-|hngw/gh or gr
-|hng
-|dz, ds
-|dzh
-|hh or xh
-|-
-!Identified Chinese Character ([[Hanzi]])
-|
-|
-|
-|邪(사)
-/z/
-|禪(선)
-/ʑ/
-|
-|
-|從(종)
-/[[Dz (IPA)|d͡z]]/
-|牀(상)
-/[[Voiced alveolo-palatal affricate|d͡ʑ]]/
-|洪(홍)
-/[[Voiced glottal fricative|ɦ]]/
-|-
-!Remark
-|
-|
-|
-|aspirated
-|aspirated
-|
-|
-|unaspirated [[Fortis and lenis|fortis]] [[voiceless dental affricate]]
-|unaspirated [[Fortis and lenis|fortis]] [[voiceless retroflex affricate]]
-|[[guttural]]
-|}
-* 66 obsolete clusters of two consonants: ᇃ, ᄓ /ng/ (like English thi'''<u>nk</u>'''), ㅦ /nd/ (as English Mo'''<u>nd</u>'''ay), ᄖ, ㅧ /ns/ (as English Pe'''<u>nns</u>'''ylvania), ㅨ, ᇉ /tʰ/ (as ㅌ; nt in the language Espera'''<u>nt</u>'''o), ᄗ /dg/ (similar to ㄲ; equivalent to the word 밖 in Korean), ᇋ /dr/ (like English in '''<u>dr</u>'''ive), ᄘ [[Voiced retroflex lateral approximant|/ɭ/]] (similar to French Be'''<u>ll</u>'''e), ㅪ, ㅬ /lz/ (similar to English '''<u>lis</u>'''p but without the vowel), ᇘ, ㅭ [[Voiceless alveolar lateral affricate|/t͡ɬ/]] (tl or ll; as in Nahuatl), ᇚ /ṃ/ (mh or mg, mm in English ha'''<u>mm</u>'''er, [[Middle Korean]]: pronounced as 목 mog with the ㄱ in the word almost silent), ᇛ, ㅮ, ㅯ (similar to ㅂ in Korean 없다), ㅰ, ᇠ, ᇡ, ㅲ, ᄟ, ㅳ bd (assimilated later into ㄸ), ᇣ, ㅶ bj (assimilated later into ㅉ), ᄨ /bj/ (similar to 비추 in Korean verb 비추다 '''<u>''bit-ch''</u>'''''u-da'' but without the vowel), ㅷ, ᄪ, ᇥ /ph/ (pha similar to Korean word 돌입하지 ''dol i'''<u>p-ha</u>'''ji''), ㅺ sk (assimilated later into ㄲ; English: pi'''<u>ck</u>'''), ㅻ sn (assimilated later into nn in English a'''<u>nn</u>'''al), ㅼ sd (initial position; assimilated later into ㄸ), ᄰ, ᄱ sm (assimilated later into nm), ㅽ sb (initial position; similar sound to ㅃ), ᄵ, ㅾ assimilated later into ㅉ), ᄷ, ᄸ, ᄹ /[[Voiceless dental fricative|θ]]/, ᄺ/[[Voiceless bilabial fricative|ɸ]]/, ᄻ, ᅁ, ᅂ /[[Voiced dental fricative|ð]]/, ᅃ, ᅄ /[[Voiced labiodental fricative|v]]/, ᅅ (assimilated later into ㅿ; English z), ᅆ, ᅈ, ᅉ, ᅊ, ᅋ, ᇬ, ᇭ, ㆂ, ㆃ, ᇯ, ᅍ, ᅒ, ᅓ, ᅖ, ᇵ, ᇶ, ᇷ, ᇸ
-* 17 obsolete clusters of three consonants: ᇄ, ㅩ /rgs/ (similar to "rx" in English name Ma'''<u>rx</u>'''), ᇏ, ᇑ /lmg/ (similar to English Pu'''<u>llm</u>'''an), ᇒ, ㅫ, ᇔ, ᇕ, ᇖ, ᇞ, ㅴ, ㅵ, ᄤ, ᄥ, ᄦ, ᄳ, ᄴ
-<br />
-{| class="wikitable"
-! colspan="1" |1 obsolete vowel
-(IPA)
-!Extremely soft vowel
-|-
-! Jamo
-|<big>ㆍ</big>
-|-
-! IPA
-|/[[Open-mid back unrounded vowel|ʌ]]/
-(also commonly found in the [[Jeju language]]: /[[Near-open central vowel|ɒ]]/, closely similar to vowel:{{lang|ko|ㅓ|nocat=yes}}<small>''eo''</small>)
-|-
-!Letter name
-|아래아 (''arae-a'')
-|-
-!Remarks
-|formerly the base vowel {{lang|ko|ㅡ|nocat=yes}}&nbsp;<small>''eu''</small> in the early development of hangeul when it was considered vowelless, later development into different base vowels for clarification; acts also as a mark that  indicates the consonant is pronounced on its own, e.g. '''''s'''''-va-ha → ᄉᆞᄫᅡ 하
-|-
-![[Toneme]]
-|low
-|}
-* 44 obsolete diphthongs and vowel sequences: ᆜ (/[[Palatal approximant|j]]/ or /jɯ/ or /jɤ/, yeu or ehyu); closest similarity to ㅢ, when follow by ㄱ on initial position, pronunciation does not produce any difference: ᄀᆜ /g[[Palatal approximant|j]]/),<big>ᆝ</big> (/[[Palatal approximant|jɒ]]/; closest similarity to ㅛ,ㅑ, ㅠ, ㅕ, when follow by ㄱ on initial position, pronunciation does not produce any difference: ᄀᆝ /g[[Palatal approximant|j]]/), ᆢ(/[[Palatal approximant|j]]/; closest similarity to ㅢ, see former example in<big>ᆝ</big> (/[[Palatal approximant|j]]/), ᅷ (/[[Help:IPA/Icelandic|au̯]]/; Icelandic [[Á]], aw/ow in English all'''<u>ow</u>'''), <nowiki/>ᅸ (/jau̯/; yao or iao; [[Standard Chinese phonology|Chinese diphthong]] iao), ᅹ, ᅺ, ᅻ, ᅼ, ᅽ /ōu/ (紬 ㅊᅽ, ''ch-ieou''; like Chinese: ''ch'''<u>ōu</u>'''''), ᅾ, ᅿ, ᆀ, ᆁ, ᆂ (/[[Voiced labio-velar approximant|w]]/, wo or wh, hw), ᆃ /ow/ (Engli<nowiki/>sh wind'''<u>ow</u>'''), ㆇ, ㆈ, ᆆ, ᆇ, ㆉ (/jø/; yue), ᆉ /wʌ/ or /oɐ/ (pronounced like u'a, in English s'''<u>ua</u>'''ve), ᆊ, ᆋ, ᆌ, ᆍ (wu in English '''''<u>wou</u>'''ld''), ᆎ /juə/ or /yua/ (like Chinese: 元 ''y'''<u>u</u><u>á</u>'''n''), ᆏ /ū/ (like Chinese: 軍 ''jūn''), ᆐ, ㆊ /ué/ jujə ([[Voiced labialized palatal approximant|ɥ]]<nowiki/>e; like Chinese: 瘸 ''q'''<u>ué</u>'''''), ㆋ jujəj ([[Voiced labialized palatal approximant|ɥ]]<nowiki/>ej; iyy<nowiki/>e), ᆓ, ㆌ /jü/ or /juj/ (/jy/ or [[Voiced labialized palatal approximant|ɥ]]<nowiki/>i;<nowiki/> yu.i; like German '''''<u>Jür</u>'''gen''), ᆕ, ᆖ (the same<nowiki/> as ᆜ in pronunciation, since there is no distinction due to it extreme similarity in pronunciation), ᆗ ɰju (ehyu or eyyu; like English ''n'''<u>ew</u>'''s''), ᆘ, ᆙ /ià/ (like Chinese: 墊 ''d'''<u>ià</u>'''n''), ᆚ, ᆛ, ᆟ, ᆠ (/[[Glottal stop|ʔ]]<nowiki/>u/), ㆎ (ʌj; oi or oy, similar to English b'''<u>oy</u>''').
-In the original Korean alphabet system, double letters were used to represent Chinese [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|濁音}}) consonants, which survive in the [[Shanghainese (dialect)|Shanghainese]] [[slack voice|slack]] consonants and were not used for Korean words. It was only later that a similar convention was used to represent the modern tense ([[Faucalized voice|faucalized]]) consonants of Korean.
-The sibilant (dental) consonants were modified to represent the two series of Chinese sibilants, [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] and [[Retroflex consonant|retroflex]], a round vs. sharp distinction (analogous to ''s'' vs ''sh'') which was never made in Korean, and was even being lost from southern Chinese. The alveolar letters had longer left stems, while retroflexes had longer right stems:
-{| class="wikitable"
-! colspan="2" |5 Place of Articulation (오음, 五音) in Chinese Rime Table
-!Tenuis<br />전청 (全淸)!!Aspirate<br />차청 (次淸)!!Voiced<br />전탁 (全濁)!!Sonorant<br />차탁 (次濁)
-|-
-! rowspan="4" |Sibilants<br />치음 (齒音) !! rowspan="2" |치두음 (齒頭音)<br />"tooth-head"
-|<big>ᅎ</big><br /><big>精(정)</big> <big>/[[Ts (IPA)|t͡s]]/</big>||<big>ᅔ</big><br /><big>淸(청)</big> <big>/t͡sʰ/</big>||<big>ᅏ</big><br /><big>從(종)</big> <big>/[[Dz (IPA)|d͡z]]/</big>||
-|-
-|<big>ᄼ</big><br /><big>心(심)</big> <big>/[[Voiceless alveolar fricative|s]]/</big>|| ||<big>ᄽ</big><br /><big>邪(사)</big> <big>/[[Voiced alveolar fricative|z]]/</big>||
-|-
-! rowspan="2" |정치음 (正齒音)<br />"true front-tooth"
-|<big>ᅐ</big><br /><big>照(조)</big> <big>/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]/</big>||<big>ᅕ</big><br /><big>穿(천)</big> <big>/[[Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate|t͡ɕ]]ʰ/</big>||<big>ᅑ</big><br /><big>牀(상)</big> <big>/[[Voiced alveolo-palatal affricate|d͡ʑ]]/</big>||
-|-
-|<big>ᄾ</big><br /><big>審(심)</big> <big>/[[ɕ]]/</big>|| ||<big>ᄿ</big><br /><big>禪(선)</big> <big>/[[Voiced alveolo-palatal fricative|ʑ]]/</big>||
-|-
-!Coronals<br />설음 (舌音)!!설상음 (舌上音)<br />"tongue up"
-|<big>ᅐ</big><br /><big>知(지)</big> <big>/[[Voiceless retroflex stop|ʈ]]/</big>||<big>ᅕ</big><br /><big>徹(철)</big> <big>/[[Voiceless retroflex stop|ʈ]]ʰ/</big>||<big>ᅑ</big>
-<big>澄(징)</big> <big>/[[Voiced retroflex stop|ɖ]]/</big>
-|<big>ㄴ</big><br /><big>娘(낭)</big> <big>/[[Voiced retroflex nasal|ɳ]]/</big>
-|}
-=== Most common ===
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|[[wikt:ㆍ|ㆍ]]}} ''ə'' (in Modern Korean called ''arae-a'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|아래아}} "lower ''a''"): Presumably pronounced {{IPAblink|ʌ}}, similar to modern {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅓ}} (''eo''). It is written as a dot, positioned beneath the consonant. The ''arae-a'' is not entirely obsolete, as it can be found in various brand names, and in the [[Chejuan language|Jeju language]], where it is pronounced {{IPAblink|ɒ}}. The ''ə'' formed a medial of its own, or was found in the diphthong {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆎ}} ''əy'', written with the dot under the consonant and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} (''i'') to its right, in the same fashion as {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅚ}} or {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅢ}}.
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|[[wikt:ㅿ|ㅿ]]}} ''z'' (''bansiot'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|반시옷}} "half ''s''", ''banchieum'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|반치음}}): An unusual sound, perhaps IPA {{IPA|[ʝ̃]}} (a [[nasalized]] [[Voiced palatal fricative|palatal fricative]]). Modern Korean words previously spelled with {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅿ}} substitute {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅅ}} or {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}}.
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|[[wikt:ㆆ|ㆆ]]}} ''ʔ'' (''yeorinhieut'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|여린히읗}} "light hieut" or ''doenieung'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|된이응}} "strong ieung"): A [[glottal stop]], lighter than {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎ}} and harsher than {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}}.
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|[[wikt:ㆁ|ㆁ]]}} ''ŋ'' (''yedieung'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|옛이응}}) "old ieung" : The original letter for {{IPA|[ŋ]}}; now conflated with {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} ''ieung''. (With some computer [[typeface|fonts]] such as [[Arial Unicode MS]], ''yesieung'' is shown as a flattened version of ''ieung,'' but the correct form is with a long peak, longer than what one would see on a [[serif]] version of ''ieung''.)
-* {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|[[wikt:ㅸ|ㅸ]]}} ''β'' (''gabyeounbieup'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|가벼운비읍}}, ''sungyeongeumbieup'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|순경음비읍}}): IPA {{IPA|[f]}}. This letter appears to be a digraph of ''bieup'' and ''ieung'', but it may be more complicated than that—the circle appears to be only coincidentally similar to ''ieung''. There were three other, less-common letters for sounds in this section of the Chinese [[rime table]]s, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅱ}} ''w'' ({{IPA|[w]}} or {{IPA|[m]}}), {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆄ}} ''f'', and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅹ}} ''ff'' {{IPA|[v̤]}}. It operates slightly like a following ''h'' in the Latin alphabet (one may think of these letters as ''bh, mh, ph,'' and ''pph'' respectively). Koreans do not distinguish these sounds now, if they ever did, conflating the [[fricative]]s with the corresponding [[plosive]]s.
-==New Korean Orthography==
-[[File:NOoK-example.png|thumb|The words {{lang|ko|놉니다, 흘렀다, 깨달으니, 지어, 고와, 왕, 가져어서}} written in New Orthography.]]
-To make the Korean alphabet a better [[morphophonology|morphophonological]] fit to the Korean language, North Korea introduced six new letters, which were published in the ''[[New Orthography for the Korean Language]]'' and used officially from 1948 to 1954.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts|last1=Fishman|first1=Joshua|last2=Garcia|first2=Ofelia|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011|isbn=|volume=2|location=|pages=156–158}}</ref>
-Two obsolete letters were restored: {{angle bracket|{{lang|ko|ㅿ}}}} ({{lang|ko|리읃}}), which was used to indicate an alternation in pronunciation between initial {{IPA|/l/}} and final {{IPA|/d/}};
-and {{angle bracket|{{lang|ko|ㆆ}}}} ({{lang|ko|히으}}), which was only pronounced between vowels.
-Two modifications of the letter {{lang|ko|ㄹ}} were introduced, one which is silent finally, and one which doubled between vowels. A hybrid {{lang|ko|ㅂ-ㅜ}} letter was introduced for words that alternated between those two sounds (that is, a {{IPA|/b/}}, which became {{IPA|/w/}} before a vowel).
-Finally, a vowel {{angle bracket|{{lang|ko|1}}}} was introduced for variable [[iotation]].
-{{Clear}}
-==Unicode==
-{{See also|List of Hangul jamo}}
-{{Main|Hangul Syllables|Hangul Jamo (Unicode block)|Hangul Jamo Extended-A|Hangul Jamo Extended-B|Hangul Compatibility Jamo|Enclosed CJK Letters and Months|Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms (Unicode block)}}
-[[File:Hangul jamo characters in Unicode.svg|thumb|Hangul jamo characters in Unicode]]
-[[File:Hangul Compatibility Jamo block in Unicode.svg|thumb|Hangul Compatibility Jamo block in Unicode]]
-Hangul Jamo (<code>U+1100</code>–<code>U+11FF</code>) and Hangul Compatibility Jamo (<code>U+3130</code>–<code>U+318F</code>) blocks were added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in June 1993 with the release of version 1.1. A separate [[Hangul Syllables]] block (not shown below due to its length) contains pre-composed syllable block characters, which were first added at the same time, although they were relocated to their present locations in July 1996 with the release of version 2.0.<ref>{{citation|mode=cs1 |section=3. Versions of the standards |id=<nowiki>RFC 2279</nowiki> |title=UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646 |url=https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2279 |doi=10.17487/rfc2279|doi-access=free |first=F. |last=Yergeau |date=1998}}</ref>
-Hangul Jamo Extended-A (<code>U+A960</code>–<code>U+A97F</code>) and Hangul Jamo Extended-B (<code>U+D7B0</code>–<code>U+D7FF</code>) blocks were added to the Unicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
-{{Unicode chart Hangul Jamo}}
-{{Unicode chart Hangul Jamo Extended-A}}
-{{Unicode chart Hangul Jamo Extended-B}}
-{{Unicode chart Hangul Compatibility Jamo}}
-[[File:Enclosed hangul characters in Unicode.svg|thumb|Enclosed Hangul characters in Unicode]]
-Parenthesised (<code>U+3200</code>–<code>U+321E</code>) and circled (<code>U+3260</code>–<code>U+327E</code>) Hangul compatibility characters are in the [[Enclosed CJK Letters and Months]] block:
-{{Unicode chart Enclosed CJK Letters and Months|subset=hangul}}
-[[File:Halfwidth hangul jamo characters in Unicode.svg|thumb|Halfwidth Hangul jamo characters in Unicode]]
-[[Halfwidth and fullwidth forms|Half-width]] Hangul compatibility characters (<code>U+FFA0</code>–<code>U+FFDC</code>) are in the [[Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms (Unicode block)|Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms]] block:
-{{Unicode chart Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms|subset=hangul}}
-The Korean alphabet in other Unicode blocks:
-* [[Tone (linguistics)|Tone]] marks for [[Middle Korean]]<ref name="Sohn2001">{{cite book|author=Ho-Min Sohn|title=The Korean Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sx6gdJIOcoQC&pg=PA48|date=29 March 2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-36943-5|pages=48–}}</ref><ref name="LeeRamsey2000">{{cite book|author1=Iksop Lee|author2=S. Robert Ramsey|title=The Korean Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVgr2BkwAdkC&pg=PA315|year=2000|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-4832-8|pages=315–}}</ref><ref name="LeeRamsey2011">{{cite book|author1=Ki-Moon Lee|author2=S. Robert Ramsey|title=A History of the Korean Language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AmspKX3beoC&pg=PA168|date=3 March 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-49448-9|pages=168–}}</ref> are in the [[CJK Symbols and Punctuation]] block: &nbsp;〮 (<code>U+302E</code>), &nbsp;〯 (<code>U+302F</code>)
-* 11,172 precomposed syllables in the Korean alphabet make up the [[Hangul Syllables]] block (<code>U+AC00</code>–<code>U+D7A3</code>)
-==Morpho-syllabic blocks==
-Except for a few grammatical morphemes prior to the twentieth century, no letter stands alone to represent elements of the Korean language. Instead, letters are grouped into [[syllable|syllabic]] or [[morpheme|morphemic]] blocks of at least two and often three: a consonant or a doubled consonant called the ''initial'' (<span lang="ko">초성, 初聲</span> ''choseong'' [[syllable onset]]), a vowel or [[diphthong]] called the ''medial'' (<span lang="ko">중성, 中聲</span> ''jungseong'' [[syllable nucleus]]), and, optionally, a consonant or consonant cluster at the end of the syllable, called the ''final'' (<span lang="ko">종성, 終聲</span> ''jongseong'' [[syllable coda]]). When a syllable has no actual initial consonant, the [[zero consonant|null initial]] {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} ''ieung'' is used as a placeholder. (In the modern Korean alphabet, placeholders are not used for the final position.) Thus, a block contains a minimum of two letters, an initial and a medial. Although the Korean alphabet had historically been organized into syllables, in the modern orthography it is first organized into morphemes, and only secondarily into syllables within those morphemes, with the exception that single-consonant morphemes may not be written alone.
-The sets of initial and final consonants are not the same. For instance, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}} ''ng'' only occurs in final position, while the doubled letters that can occur in final position are limited to {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅆ}} ''ss'' and {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㄲ}} ''kk''.
-Not including obsolete letters, 11,172 blocks are possible in the Korean alphabet.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Park|first=ChangHo|editor4-first=Ping|editor4-last=Li|editor3-first=Youngjin|editor3-last=Kim|editor2-first=Greg B|editor2-last=Simpson|editor1-first=Chungmin|editor1-last=Lee|date=2009|title=Visual processing of Hangul, the Korean script|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6UyCgAAQBAJ|journal=The Handbook of East Asian Psycholinguistics|volume=III|pages=379–389|doi=10.1017/CBO9780511596865.030|isbn=9780511596865|via=Google Books}}</ref>
-=== Letter placement within a block ===
-The placement or stacking of letters in the block follows set patterns based on the shape of the medial.
-Consonant and vowel sequences such as {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅄ}} ''bs,'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅝ}} ''wo,'' or obsolete {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅵ}} ''bsd,'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㆋ}} ''üye'' are written left to right.
-Vowels (medials) are written under the initial consonant, to the right, or wrap around the initial from bottom to right, depending on their shape: If the vowel has a horizontal axis like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅡ}} ''eu,'' then it is written under the initial; if it has a vertical axis like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅣ}} ''i,'' then it is written to the right of the initial; and if it combines both orientations, like {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅢ}} ''ui,'' then it wraps around the initial from the bottom to the right:
 {{col-begin|width=auto}}
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 |  style="background:#afa; height:30px;"|med.&nbsp;1
 |}
-{{col-end}}
+{{col-end}}{{col-begin|width=auto}}
-A final consonant, if present, is always written at the bottom, under the vowel. This is called {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|받침}} ''batchim'' "supporting floor":
-{{col-begin|width=auto}}
 {{col-break}}
 {|
@@ Line 1,594: / Line 545: @@
 |}
 {{col-end}}
+Hangul letters currently used for Korean (19 initial consonants, 21 vowels, and 28 final consonants) can be combined to yield 11,172 syllables.{{Efn|This is derived from multiplying the number of initial consonants, vowels, and final consonants together. Of the total, 399 are just initial consonant and vowel pairs.{{sfn|Pae|2011|p=115}}}}{{sfnm|1a1=Park|1y=2016|1p=43|2a1=Pae|2y=2011|2p=108}} However, many of those syllables virtually never see use in natural language; scholars have argued that only around 2,000 are used in Korean.{{sfnm|1a1=Hwang|1y=2025|1p=76|2a1=Taylor|2a2=Taylor|2y=2014|2p=188}}
+Several scholars have argued that the syllable block structure was likely inspired by and makes Hangul resemble the form of Chinese characters,{{sfnm|1a1=Pae|1y=2011|1p=107|2a1=Meletis|2y=2025|2pp=531–532}} and that their similar form aids compatibility in writing them together in mixed script.{{Sfn|Meletis|2025|pp=531–532}}
-A complex final is written left to right:
+Several scholars have argued that the syllable block structure is a good fit for the phonology and speech cadence of Korean. Several have also argued that the limited number of syllable shapes, with vowels and consonants in consistent positions, makes Hangul easier to read and learn.{{sfnm|1a1=Meletis|1y=2025|1p=527|2a1=Taylor|2a2=Taylor|2y=2014|2pp=189–190|3a1=Winskel|3y=2025|3p=551}} Taylor and Taylor argue that the syllable block structure is especially helpful to young children learning Korean and for people with disabilities that affect reading.{{Sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|p=222}}
-{{col-begin|width=auto}}
+Some scholars have argued that syllable blocks have the downside of causing orthographic complexity{{Sfnm|1a1=Song|1y=2006|1pp=54–57|2a1=Lee|2a2=Ramsey|2y=2000|2pp=29–30}} and difficulty with moveable type and computers.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim-Renaud|1y=1997b|1p=178|2a1=Sampson|2y=1985|2p=144}} In especially the 19th and 20th centuries, these downsides motivated Hangul reformers to [[Hangul orthography#Moasseugi vs. pureosseugi debate|debate if the syllable block structure should be abandoned in favor of a fully linear orthography]]. Such an orthography is called ''{{ill|pureosseugi|ko|풀어쓰기}}'' ({{Korean|hangul=풀어쓰기|labels=no|lit=separate and write}}). While several ''pureosseugi'' orthographies were developed, none ever saw significant adoption.{{sfnm|1a1=King|1y=1997|1pp=222–223|2a1=Traulsen|2y=2012|2pp=120–121}}
-{{col-break}}
-{|
+=== Spelling ===
-|- align=center
+In general, words are spelled as they sound in the respective standard Korean dialect, with most exceptions being due to [[Phonemic orthography|morphophonemic]] word-formation rules. For example, {{Korean/auto|hangul=하늘|rr=yes|lit=sky|labels=no|order=hrl|out=yes}} is spelled the way it is pronounced; there is no need to spell it {{lang|ko|한을}}, as {{lang|ko|하늘}} is already a whole word and not a stem with particle.{{sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|p=205}} However, {{Korean/auto|hangul=먹어|rr=yes|lit=to eat|labels=no|order=hrl|out=yes}} has this spelling despite being pronounced {{Lang|ko|머거}}. This is because it follows a word-formation rule that preserves the spellings of the stem verb {{Lang|ko|먹}} and the particle {{Lang|ko|어}}. Other exceptions also exist, for example relating to pronunciation differences between stem words when pronounced alone and when attached to particles that begin with {{Lang|ko|ㅇ}}.{{Sfn|Taylor|Taylor|2014|pp=204–205}}
-|  style="background:#faa; height:40px;"|initial
-| style="background:#afa;" colspan="2"|medial
+==== North–South differences ====
-|-  style="text-align:center; background:#aaf;"
+{{See also|North–South differences in the Korean language}}
-| colspan="2" style="height:20px;"|final 1
+Various shared words are spelled differently between North and South Korea. One significant reason for this is the differing [[Standard language|standard dialects]] used. North Korea uses the [[Pyongan dialect]] and South Korea the [[Gyeonggi dialect]]. Differences arise due to various phonemena, including the [[initial sound rule]], [[vowel harmony]], local pronunciations, [[Loanword|loanwords]], [[Tenseness|tensing]], [[Compound (linguistics)|compounds]], [[morphological derivation]], and the ''{{Ill|saisiot|ko|사잇소리 현상}}'' (epenthic {{Lang|ko|ㅅ}}).{{Sfn|Sohn|1997|pp=200–212}}
-||final 2
-|}
+=== Punctuation ===
-{{col-break|gap=1em}}
+{{Main|Korean punctuation}}
-{|
-|- align=center
+Hangul has used varying punctuation over time and now in both North and South Korea. Modern Hangul now uses a mix of modern Western, Korean, and East Asian punctuation.{{Sfn|Song|2006|p=58}}
-| colspan="2"  style="background:#faa; width:60px; height:20px;"|initial
-|- align=center
+==== South Korean punctuation ====
-|  style="background:#afa; height:20px;" colspan="2"|medial
+South Korean punctuation largely follows Western practice, with some exceptions.{{Sfn|Martin|1992|pp=20–21}} Examples of exceptions include 『 』 or [[Guillemet|≪ ≫]];{{please verify|reason=The characters written here are Unicode U+226A MUCH LESS-THAN and U+226B MUCH GREATER-THAN, but the context indicates that they're being used like quotation marks and the link goes to the article "guillemet" (French quotation marks). Is the choice of Unicode characters correct, or should they be replaced with actual guillemets « » ? or CJK angle brackets ⟪ ⟫ ?|date=December 2025}} either of these sets of characters can be put around titles of works. Also, the [[tilde]] (~) can be used to indicate ranges of numbers or dates, as well as distances.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:문장 부호 |trans-title=Punctuation |url=https://korean.go.kr/kornorms/regltn/regltnView.do#a714 |access-date=2025-10-07 |website=한국어 어문 규범 |publisher=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |language=ko |archive-date=May 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250524190953/https://korean.go.kr/kornorms/regltn/regltnView.do#a714 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-|-  style="text-align:center; background:#aaf;"
-|  style="height:20px;"|final 1
+[[Space (punctuation)|Spaces]] are used in Hangul. As with most other scripts, practices around spaces are somewhat arbitrary and ambiguous because it is difficult to define what a [[word]] is. Spacing is considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of Hangul orthography; many native Korean speakers do not use spaces properly or sometimes even at all.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2000|pp=25–26}} In general, spaces are inserted between lexical clusters called ''eojeol'' ({{Korean|hangul=어절|hanja=語節|labels=no}}). These lexical clusters can be subdivided into various other categories.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=이래호 |script-title=ko:어절 (語節) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036073 |access-date=2025-10-24 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=June 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620125602/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0036073 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Kim|Lee|Song|Kim|2025|p=241}} Each ''eojeol'' can consist of a word and its subsequent corresponding particles or compounds. For example, "{{lang|ko|학교에 간다}}" consists of two ''eojeol'' separated by a space. The first is "{{lang|ko|학교}}" ({{lit|school}}) with an attached [[adposition]]al particle "{{lang|ko|에}}". The second is "{{lang|ko|간다}}", a [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugated verb]].{{Sfn|Kim|Lee|Song|Kim|2025|pp=239–240}}
-||final 2
-|}
+==== North Korean punctuation ====
-{{col-break|gap=1em}}
+North Korean punctuation is similar to Western practice. Differences include the lack of Western [[Quotation mark|quotation marks]] (e.g. "), which are replaced by [[guillemet]] (≪ ≫).{{Sfn|North Korea|2010|pp=37–38}} Like South Korea, it recommends the tilde (~) for ranges of numbers or dates.{{Sfn|North Korea|2010|pp=42–43}} Recommendations are also given for vertical writing. Vertical writing punctuation is largely the same as horizontal, but guidance is given on the placement and rotation of some punctuation marks.{{Sfn|North Korea|2010|pp=45–46}}
-{|
-|- align=center
+North Korean spacing rules result in fewer spaces and more compound words when compared to South Korea's.{{Sfn|Sohn|1997|pp=210–212}}
-|  style="width:30px; background:#faa; height:20px;"|initial
-|  style="background:#afa; width:30px;" colspan="2" rowspan="2"|med.<br />2
+=== Writing direction ===
-|- align=center
+{{See also|Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts}}
-|  style="background:#afa; height:20px;"|med.
+Historically, Hangul syllable blocks were arranged vertically (top to bottom, right to left). Over the course of the 20th century, horizontal writing (left to right, top to bottom) became dominant in both Koreas.{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=88–90}} South Korea allows both horizontal and vertical writing, while North Korea officially prefers horizontal writing.{{Sfn|Sohn|1997|pp=195–196}} Lee and Ramsey argue that the syllable block structure of Hangul aids the adaptability of the script to both directions of writing.{{Sfn|Lee|Ramsey|2000|p=20}}
-|-  style="text-align:center; background:#aaf;"
-| colspan="2" style="height:20px;"|fin. 1
+== Style ==
-||fin. 2
+[[File:Hangul TypeStyles sansPen.svg|thumb|150px|Several major categories of Hangul font styles]]
-|}
+The [[History of Hangul#History of style|style of Hangul writing has changed over time]]. Originally, Hangul letters were drawn highly geometric and regular. They were thus awkward to write with brushes. Their style gradually changed in response to that issue.{{Sfn|Kim|1983|p=85}} Aesthetic considerations have also impacted Hangul style. The sizes and shapes of letters in syllable blocks are typically altered depending on the format of the syllable block, to make letters relatively proportionally sized.{{Sfn|Kim-Renaud|1997c|p=283}}
-{{col-end}}
+There are a variety of Hangul [[Font|fonts]]. [[Serif]] fonts are called [[Batang (font style)|''batang'' or ''myongjo'']]. [[Sans-serif]] fonts are called ''[[dotum]]'' or ''Gothic'' ({{Korean/auto|hangul=^고딕|rr=yes|labels=no}}).{{Sfn|Lunde|2009|p=25}}
-Blocks are always written in phonetic order, initial-medial-final. Therefore:
+===Stroke order===
-* Syllables with a horizontal medial are written downward: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|읍}} ''eup'';
+Hangul adopted aspects of [[Stroke order|Chinese stroke order]]. Broadly, strokes of letters are written from top to bottom, left to right.{{Sfn|Kim-Renaud|1997c|p=283}}
-* Syllables with a vertical medial and simple final are written clockwise: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|쌍}} ''ssang'';
+<gallery widths="160" heights="36" perrow="7">
-* Syllables with a wrapping medial switch direction (down-right-down): {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|된}} ''doen'';
+File:ㄱ (giyeok) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄱ|nocat=yes}} (giyeok {{lang|ko|기역|nocat=yes}})
-* Syllables with a complex final are written left to right at the bottom: {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|밟}} ''balp''.
+File:ㄴ stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄴ|nocat=yes}} (nieun {{lang|ko|니은|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㄷ (digeut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄷ|nocat=yes}} (digeut {{lang|ko|디귿|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㄹ (rieul) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㄹ|nocat=yes}} (rieul {{lang|ko|리을|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅁ (mieum) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅁ|nocat=yes}} (mieum {{lang|ko|미음|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅂ (bieup) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅂ|nocat=yes}} (bieup {{lang|ko|비읍|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅅ (siot) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅅ|nocat=yes}} (siot {{lang|ko|시옷|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅇ (ieung) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅇ|nocat=yes}} (ieung {{lang|ko|이응|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅈ (jieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅈ|nocat=yes}} (jieut {{lang|ko|지읒|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅊ (chieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅊ|nocat=yes}} (chieut {{lang|ko|치읓|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅋ (kieuk) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅋ|nocat=yes}} (kieuk {{lang|ko|키읔|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅌ (tieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅌ|nocat=yes}} (tieut {{lang|ko|티읕|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅍ (pieup) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅍ|nocat=yes}} (pieup {{lang|ko|피읖|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅎ (hieut) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅎ|nocat=yes}} (hieut {{lang|ko|히읗|nocat=yes}})
+File:ㅏ (a) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅏ|nocat=yes}} (a)
+File:ㅐ (ae) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅐ|nocat=yes}} (ae)
+File:ㅓ (eo) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅓ|nocat=yes}} (eo)
+File:ㅔ (e) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅔ|nocat=yes}} (e)
+File:ㅗ (o) stroke order-2.png|{{lang|ko|ㅗ|nocat=yes}} (o)
+File:ㅜ (u) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅜ|nocat=yes}} (u)
+File:一 (eu) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅡ|nocat=yes}} (eu)
+File:ㅣ (i) stroke order.png|{{lang|ko|ㅣ|nocat=yes}} (i)
+</gallery>
-=== Block shape ===
+== Hangul and computers ==
-Normally the resulting block is written within a square. Some recent fonts (for example Eun,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Korean.html|title=Korean Unicode Fonts|first=Craig|last=Welch|website=www.wazu.jp}}</ref> {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|HY깊은샘물M}}, UnJamo) move towards the European practice of letters whose relative size is fixed, and use whitespace to fill letter positions not used in a particular block, and away from the East Asian tradition of square block characters ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|方块字}}). They break one or more of the traditional rules:
+{{Main|Korean language and computers}}
-* Do not stretch initial consonant vertically, but leave [[Space (punctuation)|white space]] below if no lower vowel and/or no final consonant.
-* Do not stretch right-hand vowel vertically, but leave white space below if no final consonant. (Often the right-hand vowel extends farther down than the left-hand consonant, like a [[descender]] in European typography.)
-* Do not stretch final consonant horizontally, but leave white space to its left.
-* Do not stretch or pad each block to a [[fixed width]], but allow [[kerning]] (variable width) where syllable blocks with no right-hand vowel and no double final consonant can be narrower than blocks that do have a right-hand vowel or double final consonant.
-In Korean, typefaces that do not have a fixed block boundary size are called 탈네모 글꼴 (''tallemo geulkkol,'' "out of square typeface"). If horizontal text in the typeface ends up looking top-aligned with a [[Typographic alignment|ragged bottom edge]], the typeface can be called 빨랫줄 글꼴 (''ppallaetjul geulkkol,'' "clothesline typeface").
+=== Encoding methods ===
+Hangul has been implemented for use on [[Computer|computers]] in a number of ways. The implementations fall into two broad categories: the composition model (also called ''{{ill|Johab|ko|한글 조합형 인코딩}}'') and the precomposed model (also called ''{{ill|Wansung|ko|한글 완성형 인코딩}}''). Johab considers syllables to be a combination of letters, while Wansung renders syllables as entire fixed blocks.{{sfn|Park|2016|pp=43–44}} [[Unicode]] implements both Johab and Wansung<ref name="corespec18">{{cite book |title=The Unicode Standard Version 17.0 – Core Specification |chapter-url=https://unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-18/ |chapter=East Asia |access-date=2025-11-07 |date=2025-09-09 |isbn=978-1-936213-35-1 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |archive-date=September 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250917065947/https://unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-18/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and implements Johab using several mathematical tricks that allow for efficient composition and decomposition of syllables.<ref name="corespec18" /> In mainstream Unicode, while contemporary Hangul for Korean can all be rendered using Wansung, [[Obsolete Hangul jamo|archaic letters and syllables]] are rendered using Johab. Particular fonts may be needed to display archaic letters properly.{{sfn|양왕성|2018|pp=227–232}}
-These fonts have been used as design accents on signs or headings, rather than for typesetting large volumes of body text.
+The primary encoding method for Hangul currently in use is [[Unicode]]. There are a number of other coded character set standards that were used largely historically, although they continue to see some use. The South Korean government maintains [[KS X 1001]] and [[KS X 1002]]. North Korea maintains [[KPS 9566]]. China maintains [[GB 12052]]. There is also the [[Unified Hangul Code]], a private standard by the company [[Microsoft]].{{sfn|Lunde|2009|pp=87–88, 269}} {{As of|2026}}, 96.1% of websites with the [[.kr]] domain (used by South Korea) used [[UTF-8]] encoding, with only 6.3% using an alternate standard [[EUC-KR]] (total exceeds 100%; websites can use multiple encodings).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Distribution of Character Encodings among websites that use .kr |url=https://w3techs.com/technologies/segmentation/tld-kr-/character_encoding |access-date=2026-01-22 |website=w3techs.com}}</ref>
-=== Linear Korean ===
+Archaic Hangul was not fully supported in Unicode until the late 2000s. [[Private Use Areas]] were often used for that purpose until official Unicode implementation was added.{{sfn|양왕성|2018|pp=226–228}}
-{{Expand Korean|풀어쓰기|section=yes|date=September 2020}}
-[[File:Oesol.png|alt=Hangul text in a serif linear font that resembles Latin or Cyrillic letters.|thumb|400x400px|[https://github.com/Tzetachi/Computer-Modern-Unicode-Oesol Computer Modern Unicode Oesol], a linear Hangul font with both uppercase and lowercase characters, using the Unicode Private Use Area. The text is a pangram that reads: {{Lang|ko|"웬 초콜릿? 제가 원했던 건 뻥튀기 쬐끔과 의류예요." "얘야, 왜 또 불평?"}}]]
-There was a minor and unsuccessful movement in the early twentieth century to abolish syllabic blocks and write the letters individually and in a row, in the fashion of writing the [[Latin alphabet]]s, instead of the standard convention of 모아쓰기 (''moa-sseugi'' 'assembled writing'). For example, {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅎㅏㄴㄱㅡㄹ}} would be written for {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|한글}} ''(Hangeul).''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vj8ShHzUxrYC&pg=PA162 |title=Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary – Keith L. Pratt, Richard Rutt, James Hoare – Google Boeken |date=1999-09-13 |access-date=2012-04-13|isbn=9780700704637 |last1=Pratt |first1=Keith L. |last2=Rutt |first2=Richard |publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref> It is called 풀어쓰기 (''pureo-sseugi'' 'unassembled writing').
-Avant-garde typographer [[Ahn Sang-soo (typographic designer)|Ahn Sang-soo]] created a font for the Hangul Dada exposition that disassembled the syllable blocks; but while it strings out the letters horizontally, it retains the distinctive vertical position each letter would normally have within a block, unlike the older linear writing proposals.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ezer |first=Oded |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/oded_ezer/317881477/ |title=Hangul Dada, Seoul, Korea|publisher=Flickr |access-date=2012-04-13|date=2006-12-09 }}</ref>
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+Hangul-related blocks in Unicode<ref name="corespec18" />
+!Block
+!Range
+!Description
+|-
+|[[Hangul Syllables]]
+|<code>U+AC00</code>–<code>U+D7AF</code>
+|Pre-composed 11,172 Hangul syllable blocks using letters for modern Korean
+|-
+|[[Hangul Jamo (Unicode block)|Hangul Jamo]]
+|<code>U+1100</code>–<code>U+11FF</code>
+|Letters that can be combined into syllables, including many [[Obsolete Hangul jamo|archaic letters]]
+|-
+|[[Hangul Jamo Extended-A]]
+|<code>U+A960</code>–<code>U+A97F</code>
+|Contains 29 archaic consonant clusters for composing syllables
+|-
+|[[Hangul Jamo Extended-B]]
+|<code>U+D7B0</code>–<code>U+D7FF</code>
+|Contains 72 archaic vowel and consonant clusters for composing syllables
+|-
+|[[Hangul Compatibility Jamo]]
+|<code>U+3130</code>–<code>U+318F</code>
+|Solely for compatibility with KS X 1001:1998. Standalone letters that cannot be joined
+|-
+|[[Enclosed CJK Letters and Months]]
+|<code>U+3200</code>–<code>U+321E</code><br><code>U+3260</code>–<code>U+327E</code>
+|Selection of 62 parenthesized (e.g. {{lang|ko|㈝}}) and circled (e.g. {{lang|ko|㉨}}) Hangul letters and words
+|-
+|[[Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms (Unicode block)|Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms]]
+|<code>U+FFA0</code>–<code>U+FFDC</code>
+|[[Halfwidth and fullwidth forms|Halfwidth forms]] for Hangul letters
+|-
+|[[CJK Symbols and Punctuation]]
+|<code>U+302E</code>, <code>U+302F</code>
+|{{Ill|Tone markings in Hangul|lt=Tone markings for archaic Hangul|ko|방점}} ({{lang|ko|〮}}, {{lang|ko|〯}})
+|}
-==Orthography==
+=== Hangul keyboards ===
-{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
+[[File:KB South Korea.svg|thumb|The South Korean ''{{ill|dubeolsik|ko|두벌식}}'' keyboard layout]]
-Until the 20th century, no official orthography of the Korean alphabet had been established. Due to liaison, heavy consonant assimilation, dialectal variants and other reasons, a Korean word can potentially be spelled in multiple ways. Sejong seemed to prefer [[Morphophonology|morphophonemic]] spelling (representing the underlying root forms) rather than a [[phoneme|phonemic]] one (representing the actual sounds). However, early in its history the Korean alphabet was dominated by phonemic spelling. Over the centuries the orthography became partially morphophonemic, first in nouns and later in verbs. The modern Korean alphabet is as morphophonemic as is practical. The difference between phonetic romanization, phonemic orthography and morphophonemic orthography can be illustrated with the phrase ''motaneun sarami'':
+For typing Hangul, there are a number of keyboard layouts in use. The current most common layout is called ''{{ill|dubeolsik|ko|두벌식}}''. In this layout, consonants are on the left of the keyboard and vowels on the right, and no distinction is made between keys for initial and final consonants.{{sfn|Lunde|2009|pp=340–341}} North and South Korea have different versions of ''dubeolsik''.<ref>{{Cite journal |script-title=ko:한글 세벌식 자판의 세 가지 유형과 남북 통합 설계 |trans-title=Three Modes of Three Sets Type Korean Keyboards and Unified Designs for North and South Koreas |last=Kim |first=Kuk |year=2009 |volume=37 |issue=4 |url=https://jksqm.org/journal/view.php?number=1751 |journal=Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management |page=52 |archive-date=March 19, 2025 |access-date=November 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319115440/https://www.jksqm.org/journal/view.php?number=1751 |url-status=live }}</ref> For the South Korean ''dubeolsik'' there is a designated key or keystroke used to toggle between Hangul and Latin input modes.{{sfn|Lunde|2009|pp=311, 340–341}}
-<!-- vv These transcriptions are correct; please see the talk page. vv -->
+== Derivatives and uses for other languages ==
-{{unordered list
+[[File:Korean Braille.jpg|thumb|[[Korean Braille]] encodes the letters of Hangul]]
-|1= Phonetic transcription and translation:
+There are a number of communication systems that encode the letters of Hangul. Examples include [[Korean Braille]],<ref name=":3" /> [[Morse code for non-Latin alphabets#Korean|Korean morse code]],{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=99–101}} the [[Korean manual alphabet]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=윤병천 |script-title=ko:한글 지문자 (한글 指文字) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Korean Culture]] |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0070741 |access-date=2025-11-04 |publisher=[[Academy of Korean Studies]] |language=ko |archive-date=May 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250519234446/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0070741 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Korean spelling alphabet]],<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:[별표 1] 무선통신에 사용하는 모르스부호·약어 및 통화표(제4조관련) |trans-title=[Appendix 1] Morse code, abbreviations, and terminology used in wireless communication (regarding article 4) |url=https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/admRulLsInfoP.do?admRulSeq=2200000049192 |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=Korean Law Information Center |publisher=[[Ministry of Government Legislation]] |page=47 |language=ko |archive-date=March 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250305222040/https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/admRulLsInfoP.do?admRulSeq=2200000049192 |url-status=live }}</ref> and Hangul [[shorthand]].{{Sfn|홍윤표|2019|pp=108–109}} Most [[Romanization of Korean|romanization systems for Korean]] work by mapping Hangul spellings to Latin letters. However, many of them are [[Transcription (linguistics)|transcription]] systems and not [[transliteration]] systems. While transliteration systems are fully [[Romanization#Methods|reversible]], meaning one can always retrieve the original Hangul spelling from romanized text, transcription systems are not.{{sfn|Lunde|2009|pp=44–45}}
-{{block indent|<poem>motaneun sarami
-{{IPA|[mo.tʰa.nɯn.sa.ɾa.mi]}}
-''a person who cannot do it''</poem>}}
-|2= Phonemic transcription:
-{{block indent|<poem>{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|모타는사라미}}
-{{IPA|/mo.tʰa.nɯn.sa.la.mi/}}</poem>}}
-|3= Morphophonemic transcription:
-{{block indent|<poem>{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|못하는사람이}}
-{{IPA|{{!}}mot-ha-nɯn-sa.lam-i{{!}}}}</poem>}}
-|4= Morpheme-by-morpheme [[interlinear gloss|gloss]]:
-{{block indent|1=<nowiki/>
-{{(!}}
-{{!-}}
-{{!}}&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;{{!!}}{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|못–하–는}}{{!!}}{{lang|nocat=yes|ko|사람{{=}}이}}
-{{!-}}
-{{!}}&nbsp;&nbsp;{{!!}}mot-ha-neun{{!!}}saram=i
-{{!-}}
-{{!}}&nbsp;&nbsp;{{!!}}cannot-do-{{bracket|[[attributive verb|attributive]]}}{{!!}}person=[subject]
-{{!)}}}}
-}}
-<!-- ^^ These transcriptions are correct; please see the talk page. ^^ -->
-After the [[Gabo Reform]] in 1894, the [[Joseon Dynasty]] and later the [[Korean Empire]] started to write all official documents in the Korean alphabet. Under the government's management, proper usage of the Korean alphabet and Hanja, including orthography, was discussed, until the Korean Empire was [[Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty|annexed]] by Japan in 1910.
+=== Use for Jeju ===
+{{Main|Jeju language#Orthography}}
-The [[Government-General of Korea]] popularised a writing style that mixed Hanja and the Korean alphabet, and was used in the later Joseon dynasty. The government revised the spelling rules in 1912, 1921 and 1930, to be relatively phonemic.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source; There is no source that Imperial Japanese Gov't took any part in revising Korean Orthography. A talk page discussion suggests that this entire paragraph is made-up and has been consistently be here at least since 2007. Rather, the opposite is commonly expressed in Korean documents, for example, Oppression against Korean Language Society. |date=January 2020}}
+The [[Jeju language]] was traditionally not written. Hangul has since become used to write it.{{Sfn|Yang|Yang|O'Grady|2019|pp=22–23}} Two orthographies are in current use: one created in 1991 by the Jeju Dialect Research Society ({{Lang|ko|제주방언연구회}}) and another created in 2014 by the provincial government.<ref>{{cite conference |author=강영봉 |date=16 June 2018 |title= |script-title=ko:'제주어 표기법'에 대한 단상 |trans-title=Brief Thoughts on "Jeju Language Orthography" |url=http://www.jst.re.kr/upload/board/pdf/364_1551924777898.pdf |conference=제주어 표기법 토론회 |language=ko |location= |pages=12–14 |access-date=November 3, 2025 |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930151443/http://jst.re.kr/upload/board/pdf/364_1551924777898.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Hangul orthography for Jeju is relatively similar to those for Korean, with one notable difference being the use of the vowel {{Lang|ko|[[ㆍ]]}}, which is no longer used for Korean. Spelling is attempted to be made to be morphophonemic, although there is some uncertainty around how to do this.{{Sfn|Yang|Yang|O'Grady|2019|pp=22–23}}
-The [[Hangul Society]], founded by [[Ju Si-gyeong]], announced a proposal for a new, strongly morphophonemic orthography in 1933, which became the prototype of the contemporary orthographies in both North and South Korea. After Korea was divided, the North and South revised orthographies separately. The guiding text for orthography of the Korean alphabet is called ''Hangeul Matchumbeop'', whose last South Korean revision was published in 1988 by the Ministry of Education.
+=== Uses for non-Koreanic languages ===
+[[File:兒學編 sample.png|thumb|Entries from the 1908 text ''[[Ahakp'yŏn]]''. Here, Hangul is used to transcribe Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English (in order, within each cell, from top right to left, then bottom).]]
+Since its creation, Hangul has been used to encode the sounds of other languages. It was designed to be able to transcribe both [[Middle Korean|Korean]] and [[Late Middle Chinese|Chinese of the time]]. To accomplish this, additional consonants were created exclusively to transcribe Chinese;{{sfnm|1a1=Ledyard|1y=1998|1pp=132–133|2a1=Ramsey|2y=1992|2pp=49–50}} these consonants have often been revived or repurposed for use in other languages. Before the modern era, Hangul was also used to transcribe [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Ryukyuan languages|Ryukyuan]], and [[Manchu language|Manchu]].{{Sfn|Osterkamp|2012|pp=94–95, 98–100}} Beginning around the 19th century, Hangul was used to transcribe Russian<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=Ross |author-link=Ross King (academic) |date=May 2024 |title=Another 'language that failed'? The beginnings of 'Soviet' Korean in the Russian Far East, 1922–1937 |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/kl.00007.kin |journal=Korean Linguistics |publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company]] |volume=20 |issue=1 |page=49 |doi=10.1075/kl.00007.kin |issn=0257-3784 |eissn=2212-9731 |archive-date=September 26, 2025 |access-date=November 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250926025329/https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/kl.00007.kin |url-status=live }}</ref> and English.{{Sfn|Osterkamp|2012|pp=88–89}}
-=== Mixed scripts ===
+Since 1986, the South Korean [[National Institute of Korean Language]] has provided official guidance on how to approximately render a number of non–Korean languages into South Korean standard Hangul, particularly for seamless use alongside the Korean language.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:국립국어원 외래어 표기법 |trans-title=Methods for transcribing foreign languages |url=https://www.korean.go.kr/front/page/pageView.do?page_id=P000104&mn_id=97 |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |language=ko |archive-date=July 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250716045414/https://www.korean.go.kr/front/page/pageView.do?page_id=P000104&mn_id=97 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Qian|2018|pp=35–36}} A number of scholars have attempted to modify Hangul to be able to represent the sounds of every language, similar to the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kim-Renaud |first=Young-Key |author-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-90761-7 |title=The Two Koreas and their Global Engagements |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan|Palgrave Macmillan Cham]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-030-90761-7 |editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Andrew David |edition=eBook |page=210 |chapter=Korean Language, Power, and National Identity |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-90761-7 |archive-date=August 11, 2024 |access-date=November 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811020322/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-90761-7 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Since the Late Joseon dynasty period, various [[Korean mixed script|Hanja-Hangul mixed systems]] were used. In these systems, Hanja were used for lexical roots, and the Korean alphabet for grammatical words and inflections, much as ''kanji'' and ''kana'' are used in Japanese. Hanja have been almost entirely phased out of daily use in North Korea, and in South Korea they are mostly restricted to parenthetical glosses for proper names and for disambiguating homonyms.
-[[Hindu–Arabic numeral system|Indo-Arabic numerals]] are mixed in with the Korean alphabet, e.g. {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|2007년 3월 22일}} (22 March 2007).
+Efforts have been made to make Hangul the primary script for various languages. Some South Korean linguists have been encouraging ethnic groups without scripts for their languages to adopt Hangul. In the 1990s, a Hangul-based alphabet was devised for the [[Lahu language]] of China and Southeast Asia, but this did not see significant adoption.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Tom |last2=Fairclough |first2=Gordon |date=12 September 2009 |title=To Save Its Dying Tongue, Indonesian Isle Orders Out for Korean |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125261759118600981 |access-date=27 October 2025 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=September 1, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250901003355/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125261759118600981 |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2012, a pilot program was launched for Hangul to be taught to speakers of the [[Ghari language|Ghari]] and [[Kwaraqae]] languages of the [[Solomon Islands]]. The program was halted less than a year after its launch due to a lack of funding.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Choi |first=Jae-hee |date=2023-04-09 |title=A case study: The Solomon Islands project 10 years ago |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/3100596 |access-date=2025-11-07 |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |archive-date=April 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250419212006/https://www.koreaherald.com/article/3100596 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-==Readability==
+In the late 1980s, Taiwanese linguists made at least one [[Taiwanese Hangul|adaptation of Hangul for Taiwanese Hokkien]], a [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic language]]. However, the Taiwanese government eventually endorsed the use of Chinese characters for that language.<ref name="IdealSMin">{{cite journal |last=洪惟仁 |date=2010 |title=閩南語書寫法的理想與現實 |url=http://www.twlls.org.tw/jtll/documents/5.1-5.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=臺灣語文研究 |language=zh |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=89, 101–105 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308190715/http://www.twlls.org.tw/jtll/documents/5.1-5.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2017 |access-date=14 January 2022 |trans-title=Idealism vs. Reality: Writing Systems for Taiwanese Southern Min}}</ref><ref name="WrittenTaiwanese">{{cite book |author1=楊允言 |url=http://ip194097.ntcu.edu.tw/memory/tgb/thak.asp?id=321 |title=台語文運動訪談暨史料彙編 |author2=張學謙 |author3=呂美親 |date=2008 |publisher=國史館 |isbn=9789860132946 |location=Taiwan |pages=284–285 |language=zh |trans-title=Compilation of Historical Materials and Interviews on the Written Taiwanese Movement |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926161110/http://ip194097.ntcu.edu.tw/memory/TGB/thak.asp?id=321 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TLLS">{{citation |author=Dong Zhongsi (董忠司) |title=「台灣閩南語槪論」講授資料彙編 |publisher=Taiwan Languages and Literature Society}}</ref>
-Because of syllable clustering, words are shorter on the page than their linear counterparts would be, and the boundaries between syllables are easily visible (which may aid reading, if segmenting words into syllables is more natural for the reader than dividing them into phonemes).{{sfn|Taylor|1980|p=71}} Because the component parts of the syllable are relatively simple phonemic characters, the number of strokes per character on average is lower than in Chinese characters. Unlike syllabaries, such as Japanese kana, or Chinese logographs, none of which encode the constituent phonemes within a syllable, the graphic complexity of Korean syllabic blocks varies in direct proportion with the phonemic complexity of the syllable.{{sfn|Taylor|1980|p=73}} Like Japanese kana or Chinese characters, and unlike linear alphabets such as [[Latin-script alphabet|those derived from Latin]], Korean orthography allows the reader to utilize both the horizontal and vertical visual fields.{{sfn|Taylor|1980|p=70}} Since Korean syllables are represented both as collections of phonemes and as unique-looking graphs, they may allow for both visual and aural retrieval of words from the [[lexicon]]. Similar syllabic blocks, when written in small size, can be hard to distinguish from, and therefore sometimes confused with, each other. Examples include 홋/훗/흣 (hot/hut/heut), 퀼/퀄 (kwil/kwol), 홍/흥 (hong/heung), and 핥/핣/핢 ({{lang|zh|halt/halp/halm}}).
-==Style==
+==== Cia-Cia language ====
-{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}}
+Beginning in the late 2000s, efforts began to be made by the South Korean private organization [[Hunminjeongeum Society]] to have Hangul be used for the [[Cia-Cia language]] of Indonesia. That language did not already have a script in significant use for it. While Hangul was not legally made an official script for the language due to Indonesian legal restrictions, the local government of [[Baubau]] partnered with the Hunminjeongeum Society and several other organizations to promote the use of Hangul for Cia-Cia. A number of local schools taught the script.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Tae-hoon |date=6 October 2010 |title=Hangeul didn't become Cia Cia's official writing |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/20101006/hangeul-didnt-become-cia-cias-official-writing |access-date=27 October 2025 |website=[[The Korea Times]]}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Choe |first=Sang-Hun |date=11 September 2009 |title=South Korea's Latest Export: Its Alphabet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/world/asia/12script.html |access-date=27 October 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=February 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206222936/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/world/asia/12script.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The program was not financially supported by the South Korean or Indonesian governments. It experienced several difficulties in the early 2010s,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yi |first1=Whan-woo |date=8 October 2012 |title=Sejong Institute withdrawal to leave Cia-Cia out in cold |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/113_121766.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206184347/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/10/113_121766.html |archive-date=6 February 2017 |access-date=30 June 2017 |work=[[The Korea Times]]}}</ref> although it continued to operate. It saw renewed activity and support in the early 2020s.<ref name="KimSH2">{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=So-hyun |date=2 April 2023 |title=[Hello Hangeul] Sharing the Korean alphabet with the world |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230402000150 |access-date=5 January 2024 |work=[[The Korea Herald]] |archive-date=November 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126115812/https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230402000150 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hangul has since continued to be taught and used in the area.<ref name="nytimes">{{Cite news |last=Suhartono |first=Muktita |date=4 November 2024 |title=An Indonesian Tribe's Language Gets an Alphabet: Korea's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/world/asia/indonesia-korea-hangul.html |access-date=5 November 2024 |work=New York Times |archive-date=November 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241104054626/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/world/asia/indonesia-korea-hangul.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
-[[File:Hangul TypeStyles sansPen.svg|150x150px|right]]
-The Korean alphabet may be written either vertically or horizontally. The traditional direction is from top to bottom, right to left. Horizontal writing is also used.<ref name="koreana2007">{{cite web |title=Koreana Autumn 2007 (English) |date=3 February 2017 |url=https://issuu.com/the_korea_foundation/docs/2007_03_e_b_a |publisher=Koreana Autumn 2007 (English) |access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>
-In ''[[Hunmin Jeongeum]]'', the Korean alphabet was printed in sans-serif angular lines of even thickness. This style is found in books published before about 1900, and can be found in stone carvings (on statues, for example).<ref name="koreana2007" />
+==== Chitembo language ====
-Over the centuries, an ink-brush style of [[calligraphy]] developed, employing the same style of lines and angles as traditional Korean calligraphy. This brush style is called ''gungche'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|궁체, 宮體}}), which means Palace Style because the style was mostly developed and used by the maidservants (''gungnyeo,'' {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|궁녀, 宮女}}) of the court in [[Joseon|Joseon dynasty]].
+The sister of a [[Great Lakes Twa|Twa]] leader from eastern [[Democratic Republic of Congo]] visited South Korea in 2015 for a cultural-exchange event. She learned that Hangul was used for the Cia-Cia language in Indonesia, and thought it would help her people, who speak the [[Chitembo language]], estimated to be spoken by 500,000 to 700,000 people. Four South Korean linguists developed a Hangule alphabet for Chitembo over the next few years. Teachers from a Hangul school in [[Los Angeles, California]], taught the alphabet to primary-school teachers from [[Bunyakiri]] in Congo. Those school teachers, along with South Korean missionaries, in turn taught it to Twa in the region, who were mostly illiterate. {{As of|2023}}, they reported that 40 adults and 300 children had been taught the Chitembo Hangul alphabet. Children could write their names within half an hour, but the adults took months to do the same.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=So-hyun |date=April 2, 2023 |title=Hangeul as a writing system for African tribe |url=https://www.koreaherald.com/article/3095044 |access-date=2025-11-19 |website=[[The Korea Herald]] |language=en |archive-date=May 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523012811/https://www.koreaherald.com/article/3095044 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Modern styles that are more suited for printed media were developed in the 20th century. In 1993, new names for both [[Ming (typefaces)|Myeongjo]] ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|明朝}}) and [[East Asian gothic typeface|Gothic]] styles were introduced when Ministry of Culture initiated an effort to standardize typographic terms, and the names ''Batang'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|바탕}}, meaning background) and ''Dotum'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|돋움}}, meaning "stand out") replaced Myeongjo and Gothic respectively. These names are also used in [[Microsoft Windows]].
+== Evaluations and legacy ==
+Linguist [[John DeFrancis]] wrote that "scholars are in general agreement on the excellence of the Korean alphabetic script".{{sfn|DeFrancis|1989|p=196}} Hangul has been described by various linguists and historians as the best or among the best actively used writing systems,{{sfnm|1a1=Sampson|1y=1985|1p=120|2a1=DeFrancis|2y=1989|2p=198}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Livaccari |first=Chris |date=2025-10-24 |title=The World's Most Incredible Alphabet |url=https://asiasociety.org/education/worlds-most-incredible-alphabet |access-date=2025-10-24 |publisher=[[Asia Society]] |quote="In an interview shortly before his death in 1999, <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[James D. McCawley]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> noted that 'Hangul is the most ingeniously devised writing system that exists, and it occupies a special place in the typology of writing systems.'" |archive-date=March 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320152253/https://asiasociety.org/education/worlds-most-incredible-alphabet |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as a landmark intellectual achievement in Korean and human history.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Reischauer |first=Edwin O. |author-link=Edwin O. Reischauer |url=http://archive.org/details/eastasiagreattra00reis |title=East Asia: The great tradition |last2=Fairbank |first2=John King |author-link2=John King Fairbank |date=1960 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]] |isbn=978-1125640975 |publication-date=1960 |pages=434–436 |access-date=2025-10-15 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Sohn|1y=2001|1p=129|2a1=Shin|2y=2014|2p=22}} Hangul is a significant aid for modern scholars interested in the [[historical linguistics]] of the Korean language. Scholarly understanding of historical Korean sharply improves right at the invention of Hangul.{{Sfnm|1a1=Lee|1a2=Ramsey|1y=2011|1pp=1–2|2a1=Sohn|2y=2001|2p=11|3a1=Lee|3a2=Ramsey|3y=2000|3p=4}} Several linguists have argued that Hangul is distinguished among writing systems in common use in that it was created, designed to suit the Korean language and be easy to learn, and original in a number of ways.{{Sfn|Meletis|2025|pp=529–530}}
-A sans-serif style with lines of equal width is popular with pencil and pen writing and is often the default typeface of Web browsers. A minor advantage of this style is that it makes it easier to distinguish ''-eung'' from ''-ung'' even in small or untidy print, as the ''jongseong ieung'' ({{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅇ}}) of such fonts usually lacks a [[serif]] that could be mistaken for the short vertical line of the letter {{lang|nocat=yes|ko|ㅜ}} ''(u)''.
+When Westerners first began encountering Hangul in the 19th century, a number of them evaluated it glowingly and bemoaned that it was not yet respected by Koreans themselves.{{Sfn|Pae|Winskel|Kim|2025a|p=32}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Silva |first=David J. |date=2002 |title=Western Attitudes toward the Korean Language: An Overview of Late Nineteenth-and Early Twentieth-Century Mission Literature |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23719764 |journal=[[Korean Studies (journal)|Korean Studies]] |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=277–278, 282 |issn=0145-840X}}</ref> Since then, Hangul has become a major source of pride for Korean people.{{sfnm|1a1=Kim|1y=2005|1pp=1–2|2a1=King|2y=2007|2pp=220–221|3a1=Meletis|3y=2025|3pp=532–533}}
-==See also==
+A copy of the ''Hunminjeongeum Haerye'', the document that formally introduced Hangul, was designated a [[National Treasure (South Korea)|National Treasure of South Korea]] on December 20, 1962<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hunminjeongeum (The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People) |url=https://english.khs.go.kr/chaen/search/selectGeneralSearchDetail.do?mn=EN_02_02&sCcebKdcd=11&ccebAsno=0000700000000&sCcebCtcd=11&pageIndex=1&region=&canAsset=&ccebPcd1=&searchWrd=HUNMINJEONGEUM&startNum=&endNum=&stCcebAsdt=&enCcebAsdt=&canceled=&ccebKdcd=&ccebCtcd= |access-date=2025-09-27 |website=[[Korea Heritage Service]]}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ahn|2018|p=5}} and a UNESCO [[Memory of the World Register – Asia and the Pacific|Memory of the World]] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hunminjeongum Manuscript |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/hunminjeongum-manuscript |access-date=2025-09-27 |website=[[UNESCO]] |archive-date=March 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250307011634/https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/hunminjeongum-manuscript |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Sfn|Ahn|2018|p=5}}
-{{Portal|Language}}
-* [[Cyrillization of Korean]] (Kontsevich System)
-* [[Hangul consonant and vowel tables]]
-* [[Hangul orthography]]
-* [[Korean Braille]]
-* [[Korean language and computers]]{{snd}}methods to type the language
-* [[Korean manual alphabet]]
-* [[Korean mixed script]]
-* [[Korean phonology]]
-* [[Korean spelling alphabet]]
-* [[Myongjo]]
-* [[Romanization of Korean]]
-** [[McCune–Reischauer]]
-** [[Revised Romanization of Korean]]
-** [[Yale romanization of Korean]]
 == Notes ==
@@ Line 1,733: / Line 704: @@
 {{reflist}}
-== Bibliography ==
+=== Sources ===
+==== In English ====
+===== Books =====
+{{refbegin}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Ahn |first=Pyong-hi |author-link=Ahn Pyong-hi |title=Studies in Hunminjeongeum |publisher=[[National Hangeul Museum]] |year=2018 |isbn=979-11-89438-00-5 |edition=English |translator-last=Jung |translator-first=Ha-yun |orig-year=2007}}
+* {{Cite book |editor-last1=Brown |editor-first1=Lucien |editor-last2=Yeon |editor-first2=Jaehoon |date=June 2015 |title=The Handbook of Korean Linguistics |publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]] |isbn=978-1-118-35491-9 |url=https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Handbook+of+Korean+Linguistics-p-9781118354919 |archive-date=July 31, 2024 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731161309/https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Handbook+of+Korean+Linguistics-p-9781118354919 |url-status=live }}
+** {{harvc|last=Shin|first=Jiyoung|year=2015|in=Brown|in2=Yeon|c=Vowels and Consonants}}
+** {{harvc|last=Brown|first=Lucien|year=2015|in=Brown|in2=Yeon|c=Varieties of contemporary korean|anchor-year=2015b|first2=Jaehoon|last2=Yeon}}
+** {{harvc|last=Song|first=Jae Jung|year=2015|in=Brown|in2=Yeon|c=Language Policies in North and South Korea}}
+** {{harvc|last=Harkness|first=Nicholas|year=2015|in=Brown|in2=Yeon|c=Linguistic Emblems of South Korean Society}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Cho |first=Sungdai |last2=Whitman |first2=John |year=2019 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/korean/1F8BF29C717FB36EBB48024B087BD1F5 |title=Korean: A Linguistic Introduction |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-51485-9 |doi=10.1017/9781139048842 |archive-date=June 21, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250621100133/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/korean/1F8BF29C717FB36EBB48024B087BD1F5 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |url=https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/19909 |title=The Idea of Writing: Writing Across Borders |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-90-04-21700-3 |editor-last=de Voogt |editor-first=Alex |editor-link=Alexander de Voogt |volume=2 |doi=10.1163/9789004217003 |editor-last2=Quack |editor-first2=Joachim Friedrich |archive-date=April 16, 2024 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416160747/https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/19909 |url-status=live }}
+** {{harvc|last=Osterkamp|first=Sven|year=2012|in=de Voogt|c=Early Adaptations of the Korean Script to Render Foreign Languages|in2=Quack}}
+** {{harvc|last=Traulsen|first=Thorsten|year=2012|in=de Voogt|c=Han'gŭl Reform Movement in the Twentieth Century: Roman Pressure on Korean Writing|in2=Quack}}
+* {{Cite book |last=DeFrancis |first=John |year=1989 |title=Visible Speech: The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems |url=https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/visible-speech-the-diverse-oneness-of-writing-systems/ |author-link=John DeFrancis |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi Press]] |isbn=0-8248-1207-7 |archive-date=October 8, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251008063759/https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/visible-speech-the-diverse-oneness-of-writing-systems/ |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Kim |first=Zong-Su |url=https://brill.com/display/title/19367 |title=The History and Future of Hangeul: Korea's Indigenous Script |date=2005 |work= |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-21369-2 |language=en |translator-last=King |translator-first=Ross |orig-year=1990 |translator-link=Ross King (academic) |archive-date=May 6, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506231426/https://brill.com/display/title/19367 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |editor-last=Kim-Renaud |editor-first=Young-Key |editor-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud |date=1992 |title=King Sejong the Great: The Light of Fifteenth Century Korea |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/King_Sejong_the_Great/6ilyAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |publisher=International Circle of Korean Linguistics |isbn=978-1-882177-00-4 |language=en |archive-date=May 15, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515030850/https://www.google.com/books/edition/King_Sejong_the_Great/6ilyAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |url-status=live }}
+** {{harvc|last=Ramsey|first=S. Robert|author-link=S. Robert Ramsey|year=1992|in=Kim-Renaud|c=The Korean Alphabet}}
+* {{Cite book |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Korean_Alphabet/nonRl2cerIgC?hl=en |title=The Korean Alphabet: Its History and Structure |date=1997 |publisher=[[University of Hawaiʻi Press]] |isbn=978-0-8248-1989-7 |editor-last=Kim-Renaud |editor-first=Young-Key |editor-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud |language=en |archive-date=May 15, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515034852/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Korean_Alphabet/nonRl2cerIgC?hl=en |url-status=live }}
+** {{harvc|last=Lee|first=Ki-Moon|author-link=Ki-Moon Lee|year=1997|in=Kim-Renaud|c=The Inventor of the Korean Alphabet}}
+** {{harvc|last=Lee|first=Sang-Oak|author-link=Sang-Oak Lee|year=1997|anchor-year=1997b|in=Kim-Renaud|c=Graphical Ingenuity in the Korean Writing System: With New Reference to Calligraphy}}
+** {{harvc|last=Kim|first=Chin W.|author-link=Chin-Woo Kim|year=1997|in=Kim-Renaud|c=The Structure of Phonological Units in Han'gŭl}}
+** {{harvc|last=Kim-Renaud|first=Young-Key|author-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud|year=1997|in=Kim-Renaud|c=The Phonological Analysis Reflected in the Korean Writing System|anchor-year=1997b}}
+** {{harvc|last=Sohn|first=Ho-min|author-link=Ho-min Sohn |year=1997|in=Kim-Renaud|c=Orthographic Divergence in South and North Korea Toward a Unified Spelling System}}
+** {{harvc|last=King|first=Ross|author-link=Ross King (academic)|year=1997|in=Kim-Renaud|c= Experimentation with Han'gŭl in Russia and the USSR, 1914–1937}}
+** {{harvc|last=Kim-Renaud|first=Young-Key|author-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud|year=1997|in=Kim-Renaud|c=Appendix|anchor-year=1997c}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Kim-Renaud |first=Young-Key |author-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud |url=https://www.routledge.com/Korean-An-Essential-Grammar/Kim-Renaud/p/book/9780415383882 |title=Korean: An Essential Grammar |date=June 26, 2009 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780203883617 |edition=eBook |archive-date=June 5, 2024 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605165605/https://www.routledge.com/Korean-An-Essential-Grammar/Kim-Renaud/p/book/9780415383882 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=King |first=Ross |author-link=Ross King (academic) |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/48569 |title=Language and National Identity in Asia |date=August 2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9781383041026 |editor-last=Simpson |editor-first=Andrew |chapter=North and South Korea |doi=10.1093/oso/9780199267484.001.0001 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/book/48569/chapter-abstract/421415001 }}
+* {{Cite book |editor=Korean National Commission for UNESCO |title=The Korean Language |publisher=Si-sa-yong-o-sa, Inc., Pace International Research |year=1983 |isbn=0-89209-019-7 |ref={{SfnRef|Korean National Commission|1983}}}}
+** {{harvc|last=Kim|first=Jin-p'yŏng|year=1983|in=Korean National Commission|c=The Letterforms of Han'gŭl}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Ledyard |first=Gari Keith |author-link=Gari Ledyard |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Korean_Language_Reform_of_1446/zvZKAQAAMAAJ?hl=en |title=The Korean Language Reform of 1446: The Origin, Background, and Early History of the Korean Alphabet |date= |publisher=신구문화사 |year= |publication-date=1998 |language=en |orig-date= |orig-year=1966 |archive-date=May 15, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515024553/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Korean_Language_Reform_of_1446/zvZKAQAAMAAJ?hl=en |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Iksop |author-link1=Iksop Lee |url=https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Korean-Language |title=The Korean Language |last2=Ramsey |first2=S. Robert |author-link2=S. Robert Ramsey |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-7914-4832-0 |archive-date=March 6, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306010425/https://sunypress.edu/Books/T/The-Korean-Language |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Ki-Moon |author-link=Ki-Moon Lee |last2=Ramsey |first2=S. Robert |author-link2=S. Robert Ramsey |date=2011 |title=A History of the Korean Language | title-link=A History of the Korean Language |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9780511974045}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Lunde |first=Ken |year=2009 |title=CJKV Information Processing |isbn=978-0-596-51447-1 |edition=2nd |url=https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/cjkv-information-processing/9780596156114/ |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |archive-date=September 6, 2025 |access-date=November 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250906101310/https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/cjkv-information-processing/9780596156114/ |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Samuel E. |author-link=Samuel E. Martin |year=1992 |title=A Reference Grammar of Korean |title-link=A Reference Grammar of Korean |publisher=[[Tuttle Publishing|Charles E. Tuttle Company]] |isbn=0-8048-1887-8 |edition=1st}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Oh |first=Young Kyun |url=https://brill.com/display/title/22000 |title=Engraving Virtue: The Printing History of a Premodern Korean Moral Primer |date=2013-05-24 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-25196-0 |series=Brill's Korean Studies Library |volume=3 |language=en |archive-date=May 11, 2024 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511234217/https://brill.com/display/title/22000 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |editor-last=Pae |editor-first=Hye K. |editor-last2=Winskel |editor-first2=Heather |editor-last3=Kim |editor-first3=Say Young |date=2025-08-26 |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-88087-2 |title=Handbook on the Korean Language and Literacy: Insights into Hangul and Text Processing |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |isbn=978-3-031-88087-2 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-88087-2 }}
+** {{harvc|last=Pae|first=Hye K.|last2=Winskel|first2=Heather|last3=Kim|first3=Say Young|year=2025|c=An Introduction to the Korean Language and the Special Status of the Korean Alphabet|anchor-year=2025a|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+** {{harvc|last=Hwang|first=Jiwon K.|year=2025|c=Hangul as a Sound Representation System: Efficacy and Innovation|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+** {{harvc|last=Pae|first=Hye K.|year=2025|c=From Oligoliteracy to Literacy for All Citizens: The Korean Alphabet as the Engine Behind the Rise of Korea|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+** {{harvc|last=Kim|first=Joonwoo|last2=Lee|first2=Wonjae|last3=Song|first3=Jisoo|last4=Kim|first4=Jeahong|last5=Nam|first5=Kichun|last6=Kim|first6=Sangyub|year=2025|c=Korean Eojeol Representation and Lexical Processing|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+** {{harvc|last=Kim|first=Young-Suk Grace|year=2025|c=Learning to Read in Korean: An Application of the Direct and Indirect Effect Model of Reading (DIER)|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+** {{harvc|last=Meletis|first=Dimitrios|year=2025|c=What Hangul Means for Grapholinguistics: Theoretical Implications of a 'Unique' Writing System|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+** {{harvc|last=Winskel|first=Heather|year=2025|c=Does Korean Hangul Qualify as an Alphasyllabary? A Comparison with Brahmi-Derived Scripts|in=Pae|in2=Winskel|in3=Kim}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Park |first=Chang-won |title=Hangeul: The Korean Alphabet |date=2015-08-31 |publisher=Ehwa Womans University Press |isbn=979-11-85909-68-4 |translator-last1=Cho |translator-first1=Yoon-jung |translator-last2=Han |translator-first2=Mi-sun}}
+* {{cite book |last=Pratt |first=Keith |author-link=Keith Pratt |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Everlasting_Flower/1Gui8CdUfVoC?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Everlasting Flower: A History of Korea |date= |publisher=[[Reaktion Books]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1861893352 }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Qian |first=Youyong |url=https://www.routledge.com/A-Study-of-Sino-Korean-Phonology-Its-Origin-Adaptation-and-Layers/Qian/p/book/9780367597917 |title=A Study of Sino-Korean Phonology: Its Origin, Adaptation and Layers |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-315-27981-7 |edition=eBook |archive-date=November 22, 2022 |access-date=November 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122053644/https://www.routledge.com/A-Study-of-Sino-Korean-Phonology-Its-Origin-Adaptation-and-Layers/Qian/p/book/9780367597917 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Sampson |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Sampson |url=http://archive.org/details/writingsystems00geof |title=Writing Systems: A Linguistic Introduction |date=1985 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |others= |isbn=0-8047-1756-7 |location=Stanford, California |via=[[Internet Archive]] }}
+* {{Cite book |editor-last=Shin |editor-first=Michael D. |url=https://brill.com/display/title/24686 |title=Economy and Society |date=2014-01-09 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-04-26115-0 |series=Everyday Life in Joseon-Era Korea |language=en |archive-date=November 2, 2024 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241102114850/https://brill.com/display/title/24686 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Sohn |first=Ho-min |author-link=Ho-min Sohn |url=https://archive.org/details/koreanlanguage0000sohn/mode/1up |title=The Korean Language |date=2001 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-36943-5 |language=en }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Song |first=Jae Jung |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Korean_Language/U9M3fZo4tj4C?hl=en |title=The Korean Language: Structure, Use and Context |date=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-33590-9 |language=en }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Insup |last2=Taylor |first2=M. Martin |url=https://www.benjamins.com/catalog/swll.14 |edition=Revised |orig-date=1995 |year=2014 |title=Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese |series=Studies in Written Language and Literacy |volume=14 |publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company]] |doi=10.1075/swll.14 |isbn=9789027269447 |editor-last1=Verhoeven |editor-first1=Ludo |editor-last2=van den Broek |editor-first2=Paul W. |archive-date=October 7, 2024 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007211049/https://benjamins.com/catalog/swll.14 |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Sixiang |url=https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004279278/B9789004279278_004.xml |title=Rethinking East Asian Languages, Vernaculars, and Literacies, 1000–1919 |date=2014-01-01 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-27927-8 |editor-last=Elman |editor-first=Benjamin A. |series=Sinica Leidensia |volume=115 |pages=58–95 |language=en |chapter=The Sounds of Our Country: Interpreters, Linguistic Knowledge, and the Politics of Language in Early Chosŏn Korea |access-date=2025-07-27 |archive-date=April 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250416022613/https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789004279278/B9789004279278_004.xml |url-status=live }}
+* {{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Sixiang |url=https://cup.columbia.edu/book/boundless-winds-of-empire/9780231556019/ |title=Boundless Winds of Empire: Rhetoric and Ritual in Early Choson Diplomacy with Ming China |date=July 2023 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-55601-9 |archive-date=August 3, 2025 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250803225739/https://cup.columbia.edu/book/boundless-winds-of-empire/9780231556019/ |url-status=live }}
+* {{cite book |last1=Yang |first1=Changyong |url=https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/jejueo-the-language-of-koreas-jeju-island/ |title=Jejueo: The Language of Korea's Jeju Island |last2=Yang |first2=Sejung |last3=O'Grady |first3=William |date=October 2019 |publisher=University of Hawai{{okina}}i Press |isbn=9780824874438 |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |access-date=November 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025204922/https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/jejueo-the-language-of-koreas-jeju-island/ |url-status=live }}
+* {{cite book |last1=Yeon |first1=Jaehoon |last2=Brown |first2=Lucien |title=Korean: A Comprehensive Grammar |edition=1st |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-203-83300-1 |publisher=[[Routledge]]}}
+{{refend}}
+===== Academic articles =====
+{{refbegin}}
+* {{Cite book |last=Haarmann |first=Harald |author-link=Harald Haarmann |title=The Earliest Stage of Language Planning |date=1993 |editor-last=Fishman |editor-first=Joshua A. |editor-link=Joshua Fishman |chapter=The emergence of the Korean script as a symbol of Korean identity |chapter-url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110848984.143/html |language=en |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=143–158 |doi=10.1515/9783110848984.143 |isbn=978-3-11-084898-4}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Chin W. |date=2000 |title=The Legacy of King Sejong the Great |url=https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/9673 |journal=Studies in the Linguistic Sciences |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=3–12 |issn=0049-2388 |via=[[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University Library]] |archive-date=January 24, 2025 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250124035825/https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/9673 |url-status=live}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Kim-Renaud |first=Young-Key |author-link=Young-Key Kim-Renaud |date=2000 |title=Sejong's Theory of Literacy and Writing |url=https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/9674 |journal=Studies in the Linguistic Sciences |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=13–45 |issn=0049-2388 |via=[[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University Library]] |archive-date=August 8, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250808180837/https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/9674 |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}
+* {{Cite report |url=https://www.koreasociety.org/images/pdf/KoreanStudies/Monographs_GeneralReading/GettingtoKnowKorea/GTKK%202%20Ledyard%20Sejong%20The%20Great.pdf |title=The Cultural Work of Sejong the Great |last=Ledyard |first=Gari Keith |author-link=Gari Ledyard |date=1990 |publication-date=November 2002 |pages=7–18 |access-date=2025-07-26 |via=[[Korea Society]] |archive-date=October 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251010020812/https://www.koreasociety.org/images/pdf/KoreanStudies/Monographs_GeneralReading/GettingtoKnowKorea/GTKK%202%20Ledyard%20Sejong%20The%20Great.pdf |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Ki-Moon |author-link=Ki-Moon Lee |date=September 2009 |title=Reflections on the Invention of the Hunmin jeongeum |url=http://www.scripta.kr/scripta_v0010/scripta_v0010_en_jarchive |journal=Scripta |publisher=The Hunmin jeongeum Society |volume=1 |pages=1–34 |issn=2092-7215 |archive-date=February 19, 2025 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219153751/http://scripta.kr/scripta_v0010/scripta_v0010_en_jarchive |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Pae |first=Hye K. |date=2011-01-01 |title=Is Korean a syllabic alphabet or an alphabetic syllabary |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/wsr/wsr002 |journal=[[Writing Systems Research]] |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=103–115 |doi=10.1093/wsr/wsr002 |issn=1758-6801}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Paek |first=Doohyeon |date=September 2011 |title=Hunmin jeongeum: Dissemination Policy and Education |url=http://www.scripta.kr/scripta_v0010/scripta_v0010_en_jarchive |journal=Scripta |publisher=The Hunmin jeongeum Society |volume=2 |pages=1–23 |issn=2092-7215 |archive-date=February 19, 2025 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219153751/http://scripta.kr/scripta_v0010/scripta_v0010_en_jarchive |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Dongoh |date=2016-05-25 |title=The Korean Character Code: A National Controversy, 1987-1995 |journal=[[IEEE Annals of the History of Computing]] |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=40–53 |publisher=[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] |issn=1934-1547 |doi=10.1109/MAHC.2016.14 |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7478485}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Yoo |first=Mi-rim |date=2006-09-01 |title=King Sejong's Leadership and the Politics of Inventing the Korean Alphabet |url=https://accesson.kr/rks/v.9/3/7/7571 |journal=The Review of Korean Studies |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=7–38 |issn=2733-9351 |via=AccessON}} {{Open access}}
+{{refend}}
+==== In Korean ====
+===== Books =====
+{{refbegin}}
+* {{Cite book |author=홍윤표 |date=2019-12-13 |script-title=ko:한글 |trans-title=Hangul |edition=Ebook |publisher=세창출판사 |isbn=978-89-8411-924-6 |url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=OIbCDwAAQBAJ&rdid=book-OIbCDwAAQBAJ&rdot=1 |language=ko}}
+{{refend}}
+===== Academic articles =====
+{{refbegin}}
+* {{Cite journal |author=안경상 |year=2020 |script-title=ko:어학고전 《훈몽자회》의 몇가지 특징 |trans-title=Some Features of "Hunmong Jahoe" |language=ko |journal=Korean Language in China |volume=225 |pages=38–51 |url=https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE09302157 |via=[[DBpia]]}} {{Closed access}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=양왕성 |year=2018 |title=옛한글 코드의 변천사 |trans-title=A Study on Changes in the Old Hangul Code |url=https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE07571400 |journal=정신문화연구 |language=ko |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=213–238 |issn=2671-8197 |via=[[DBpia]]}} {{Closed access}}
+* {{Cite journal |author=이관규 |url=https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003112337 |via=[[Korea Citation Index]] |language=ko |title=한글 자음자의 명칭에 대한 고찰 |trans-title=A Study on the Names of Korean Consonants |journal=문법 교육 |publisher=한국문법교육학회 |doi=10.21850/kge.2024.51..41 |year=2024 |volume=51 |pp=41–71}} {{Open access}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=최호철 |date=1988 |title=북한의 맞춤법 |trans-title=North Korea's orthography |url=https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1988_15.htm |journal=국어생활 |language=ko |volume=13 |pages=33–48 |via=[[National Institute of Korean Language]] |archive-date=March 7, 2005 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307215901/http://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1988_15.htm |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}
+* {{Cite journal |last=Ahn |first=Pyong-hi |author-link=Ahn Pyong-hi |date=2004 |title=世宗의 訓民正音 創製와 그 協贊者 |trans-title=On Se-jong's creation of Hunminjeongeum(訓民正音) and his supporters |url=http://www.skl.or.kr/journal/thesis.asp |journal=국어학 |language=ko |publisher=국어학회 |issue=44 |pages=3–39 |archive-date=May 16, 2025 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250516203122/http://www.skl.or.kr/journal/thesis.asp |url-status=live}} {{Free access}}
+{{refend}}
+===== Primary sources =====
 {{refbegin}}
-* {{cite book |last=Chang |first=Suk-jin |title=Korean |location=Philadelphia |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-55619-728-4 |chapter=Scripts and Sounds }} (Volume 4 of the ''London Oriental and African Language Library'').
+* {{Cite report |url=https://ko.wikisource.org/wiki/%EC%A1%B0%EC%84%A0%EB%A7%90_%EA%B7%9C%EB%B2%94%EC%A7%91_(2010%EB%85%84) |trans-title=Compendium of Korean Language Norms |year=2010 |publisher=국어사정위원회 |language=ko |ref={{SfnRef|North Korea|2010}} |script-title=ko:조선말규범집 |via=[[Wikisource]] |archive-date=August 2, 2025 |access-date=October 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250802140619/https://ko.wikisource.org/wiki/%EC%A1%B0%EC%84%A0%EB%A7%90_%EA%B7%9C%EB%B2%94%EC%A7%91_(2010%EB%85%84) |url-status=live}}
-* {{cite web |title=Hangeul Matchumbeop |year=1988 |publisher=The Ministry of Education of South Korea |url = http://www.korean.go.kr/search/grammar/rule/collect_rule.html }}
-* {{cite book |last=Hannas |first=W[illia]m C. |title=Asia's Orthographic Dilemma |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJfv8Iyd2m4C |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-8248-1892-0 }}
-* {{cite book |editor-last=Kim-Renaud |editor-first=Young-Key |title=The Korean Alphabet: Its History and Structure |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nonRl2cerIgC |year=1997 |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press |isbn=978-0-8248-1723-7 }}
-* {{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Iksop |first2=Samuel Robert |last2=Ramsey |title=The Korean Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NN-yIdLOkCoC |year=2000 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-9130-0 }}
-* {{cite journal |last1=McCune |first1=G[eorge] M. |last2=Reischauer |first2=E[dwin] O. |date=1939 |title=The Romanization of the Korean Language: Based upon Its Phonetic Structure |journal=Transactions of the Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume=XXIX |pages=1–55 |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/librariesaustralia/files/2011/07/ras-1939.pdf |access-date=2015-08-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712071618/http://www.nla.gov.au/librariesaustralia/files/2011/07/ras-1939.pdf |archive-date=2015-07-12}}
-* {{cite book |last=Sampson |first=Geoffrey |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-8047-1756-4 |title=Writing Systems |publisher=Stanford University Press  |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/writingsystems00geof }}
-* {{cite journal |last=Silva |first=David J. |title=Western attitudes toward the Korean language: An Overview of Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century Mission Literature |journal=[[Korean Studies (journal)|Korean Studies]] |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=270–286 |year=2002 |doi=10.1353/ks.2004.0013 |hdl=10106/11257 |s2cid=55677193 |url=https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/11257/WesternAttitudesKoreanLanguage-Silva.pdf |hdl-access=free }}
-* {{cite book |last=Sohn |first=Ho-Min |year=2001 |title=The Korean Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sx6gdJIOcoQC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-36943-5 |series=Cambridge Language Surveys }}
-* {{cite book |last=Song |first=Jae Jung |title=The Korean Language: Structure, Use and Context |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D36c9l_u0sC |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-39082-5 }}
-* {{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Insup |chapter=The Korean writing system: An alphabet? A syllabary? A logography? |editor1-first=P.A. |editor1-last=Kolers |editor2-first=M. E. |editor2-last=Wrolstad |editor3-first=Herman |editor3-last=Bouma |editor3-link=Herman Bouma |title=Processing of Visual Language |publisher=Plenum Press |location=New York |year=1980 |isbn=978-0306405761 |oclc=7099393 |volume=2 |pages=67–82 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4684-1068-6_5 }}
 {{refend}}
 ==External links==
-{{Wiktionary|Appendix:List of modern Hangul syllabic blocks by strokes}}
+* {{Commons category-inline|Hangul}}
-{{Commons category|Hangul}}
-* [https://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm Korean alphabet and pronunciation] by Omniglot
-* [http://www.langintro.com/kintro/toc.htm Online Hangul tutorial] at Langintro.com
-* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090827124705/http://www.sayjack.com/learn/korean/hangul Hangul table with Audio Slideshow]
-* [http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/var/korean_hangul_unicode.html Technical information on Hangul and Unicode]
-* [http://www.kmaru.com/kboard/kboard.maru Hangul Sound Keyboard] at Kmaru.com
-* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171018022208/http://www.koreanwikiproject.com/wiki/Learn_hangeul Learn Hangul] at Korean Wiki Project
 {{Hangul Jamo}}
@@ Line 1,767: / Line 807: @@
 [[Category:Korean inventions]]
 [[Category:Korean language]]
-[[Category:Korean writing system]]
+[[Category:Korean writing systems]]
 [[Category:National symbols of Korea]]
 [[Category:Spelling reform]]
 [[Category:Constructed scripts]]
-[[Category:Writing systems introduced in the 15th century]]
+[[Category:15th-century introductions]]
+[[Category:Writing systems introduced in the 2nd millennium]]