Hangeul

71 3 6
                                    

Bad news, but romanisation is a terrible, terrible way to learn Korean. Good news, hangeul is super easy (at least the writing part, I don't want to disappoint you, but pronunciation may take forever to learn, it depends from person to person.)

History class: (wanna skip? check for an ink stroke)

Don't worry, it is not going to be boring. (Love is a suffering, this is just one of the many things you have to for your oppa.)

In earlier times, Koreans used to write in Chinese (which is why Hae Soo couldn't read or write at the beginning of Scarlet Heart Ryeo). And good lord, it is such a difficult thing to learn (if I'm right, in Empress Ki, Togon is learning 1000 basic characters. I don't remember well.)

So we have King Sejong, who you might've heard on many occasions. He is on their currency. He is portrayed in Tree With Deep Roots, and his grandfather Taejo of Joseon was the founder of Joseon. (Not to be confused with Taejo of Goryeo, founder of Goryeo, and father of many handsome men, not sure if they were handsome in real life, but I'm talking about Scarlet Heart Ryeo.)

Anyway, back to our topic, King Sejong made a new alphabet so he could increase the literacy of Korea. (good guy)

So, according to our good guy, "a wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days"

So, let's get started.

So, let's get started

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

(found this pic on Google, don't kill me)

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

(found this pic on Google, don't kill me)

So, in English, and most other languages, letters go side by side (okie, Ariana Grande), but in Korean, each syllable forms a block-like structure, which then goes side by side.

A consonant cannot stand alone, and neither can a vowel. Both components are important in a block.

So, let's get started.

CONSONANTS (자음 - jaeum):

- 'g' sound with a little bit 'k'. In the middle of both. Looks like a 'g'un.

- 'n' sound. Looks like a 'n'ose.

- 'd' sound. Looks like a 'd'oor on its side.

ㄹ - 'r' or 'l'
(This consonant IS a bit tricky.This letter is the main reason why Koreans most of the time, don't understand the difference between r and l. Lookie! Lookie! Cute, Red Velvet!)

Usually, at the end of a syllable (the final position), the sound is similar to l and in other positions, it's more similar to r.
[I'll compare its sound with something that might be familiar to you.When you speak casually, you might've said something like "I hadda pen" or something like that.The sound of this letter is similar to the sound of dd in the slang- 'hadda'.]

-  'm'. Looks like 'm'inecraft blocks. :"D

- 'b'.  Looks like a 'b'eaker with water.

- 's'. Looks like a bee 's'ting. (Google it. :P)

- This one has no sound in the beginning of a syllable.

[Wondering why bother to use this letter when it doesn't even have a sound? As a matter of fact, this is one of the most common Korean consonants. How? Well... In Korean, you can never begin the syllable with a vowel.So when you want just the vowel sound, you use this letter.]

When it is at the end of a syllable 'ng'.    

- 'j'. Looks like a monster. I'm 'j'oking.

- 'h'. I don't even know what it looks like. 

   ㄴ  ㄷ ㄹ  ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ 

You thought that was all? Nope.

We'll be learning the rest in the next chapter, cause slow and steady wins the race. :)



To practice this chapter, go here: https://www.playbuzz.com/wingedclouds10/hangeul-1

To click on the link, check the comment beside this sentence. -->

Not all letters are included but still try it. :)

Learn Korean With Us!Where stories live. Discover now