Beginner Korean Series EP 2: "Hangul 101- Mastering the Korean Alphabet"

Welcome to Beyond K-Lingo. I’m Amber J, and I’m excited to continue our Korean learning journey together.

In this episode, we’re going to learn about 한글 (Hangul), the Korean alphabet. 

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[1: Background of Hangul]

“Hangul was created in the 15th century by King Sejong and a group of scholars. Before Hangul, Koreans used Chinese characters, which were hard to learn. King Sejong wanted everyone, even common people, to be able to read and write. That’s why Hangul was designed to be simple and logical.

Hangul has 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels. These letters combine to form syllables, which is why Korean writing looks so neat and organized. Now, let’s dive into learning the vowels first.”

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[2: Basic Vowels ]

There are 10 basic vowels, and we’ll start with the simplest ones.

Here are the first five vowels:

• ㅏ (a) – Like the ‘a’ in ‘father.’
• ㅓ (eo) – Similar to the ‘u’ in ‘sun.’
• ㅗ (o) – Like the ‘o’ in ‘go.’
• ㅜ (u) – Like the ‘oo’ in ‘moon.’
• ㅣ (i) – Like the ‘ee’ in ‘meet.’

Let’s practice these together. Repeat after me:

1. ㅏ (a).
   
   
2. ㅓ (eo).
   
   
3. ㅗ (o).
   
   
4. ㅜ (u).
   
   
5. ㅣ (i).
   
   

Now, let’s combine these vowels with the placeholder consonant ㅇ (ieung), which is silent at the beginning of a syllable. For example:

• ㅏ becomes 아 (a).
• ㅓ becomes 어 (eo).
• ㅗ becomes 오 (o).
• ㅜ becomes 우 (u).
• ㅣ becomes 이 (i).

Let’s practice saying these syllables together:

1. 아 (a).
2. 어 (eo).
3. 오 (o).
4. 우 (u).
5. 이 (i).

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[3: Basic Consonants]

Hangul has 14 basic consonants. For today, we’ll start with the first seven.

Here they are:

• ㄱ (g/k) – Like the ‘g’ in ‘go.’
• ㄴ (n) – Like the ‘n’ in ‘no.’
• ㄷ (d/t) – Like the ‘d’ in ‘dog.’
• ㄹ (r/l) – A mix between ‘r’ and ‘l.’
• ㅁ (m) – Like the ‘m’ in ‘moon.’
• ㅂ (b/p) – Like the ‘b’ in ‘ball.’
• ㅅ (s) – Like the ‘s’ in ‘sun.’

Let’s practice these sounds. Repeat after me:

1. ㄱ (g/k).
   
   
2. ㄴ (n).
   
   
3. ㄷ (d/t).
   
   
4. ㄹ (r/l).
   
   
5. ㅁ (m).
   
   
6. ㅂ (b/p).
   
   
7. ㅅ (s).
   
   

Now let’s combine a consonant and a vowel to form syllables. For example:

• ㄱ + ㅏ = 가 (ga).
• ㄴ + ㅓ = 너 (neo).
• ㄷ + ㅗ = 도 (do).
• ㅁ + ㅜ = 무 (mu).
• ㅅ + ㅣ = 시 (si).

Repeat after me:

1. 가 (ga).
2. 너 (neo).
3. 도 (do).
4. 무 (mu).
5. 시 (si).