Hangeul is one of the most inventive and original alphabets in the world and has unique characteristics as follows:
First, while it is unknown who is responsible for creating most alphabet systems in the world, Hangeul was invented by King Sejong of Joseon and his scholars in 1443.
Second, Hangeul was not influenced by other countries’ alphabet systems, and was invented originally by taking the shape of the vocal organs as well as the shape of heaven, earth, and humankind.
| Characteristics | Shape | |
|---|---|---|
| Consonants | ㄱ | Shape of tongue blocking the throat |
| ㄴ | Shape of tongue sticking to upper tooth gum | |
| ㅁ | Shape of lips | |
| ㅅ | Shape of teeth | |
| ㅇ | Shape of throat | |
| Vowels | ㆍ | Shape of round heaven |
| ㅡ | Shape of flat earth | |
| l | Shape of a human standing |
Third, the Korean alphabet is based on a systematic and scientific principle, and you can produce almost limitless number of characters by combining the basic five consonants of ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, and ㅇ and the three basic vowels, ㆍ, ㅡ, andㅣ.
| Rules | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Consonants | Add lines to the basic consonants | ㄱ ㅋ, ㄴ ㄷ, ㅁ ㅂ, ㅅ ㅈ, ㅇ ㅎ |
| Repeat the same letter or add another letter | ㄱ ㄲ, ㄷ ㄸ, ㅂ ㅃ, ㅅ ㅆ, ㅂ+ㅅ=ㅄ…. | |
| Vowels | Combine the basic vowels | ㅣ+ ㆍ = ㅏ ㆍ+ㅡ= ㅗ ㅗ+ㅏ=ㅘ,…. |
Fourth, as Korean characters are phonetic symbols, any pronunciation can be written correctly and easily in Korean letters. Fifth, from the perspective of modern linguistics, science, and technology, the Korean alphabet is easy to type or print out on computers as well as to send text messages on cell phones.
