Korean Alphabet (Hangeul)
Most English speakers think Korean has thousands of characters, like Chinese, but it actually has a very simple and logical alphabet, which you can learn in a few minutes. The alphabet was invented in 1443 during the reign of the Great King Sejong. There are 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. Letters that have similar sounds also have similar shapes, so it is easy to learn.
- ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ are transcribed and pronounced as g, d, b respectively if they are followed by a vowel. If they are followed by a consonant or at the end of a word, then they are transcribed and pronounced as k, t, p.
- ㄹ is transcribed and pronounced as r if it is followed by a vowel. If it is followed by a consonant or appear at the end of a word, then it is transcribed and pronounced as l. When ㄹ in a row (as in 멀리서) it is transcribed as ll.
- Initial ㅇ is never pronounced and it is a convention to write the initial ㅇ when a syllable begins with a vowel, as to keep the square shape of the character.
- There is no hard and fast standard for transcription and pronunciation of double consonants ㄳ, ㄵ, ㄶ, ㄺ, ㄻ, ㄼ, ㄽ, ㄾ, ㄿ, ㅀ, ㅄ, and when they occur in a word or sentence, they are transcribed as they are pronounced in Korean (noted in bracket: for example, 신라[실라] or 않다[안타]).