The Korean language has a rather interesting history. Up until around the early 1400s, classical Chinese characters, which are known as Hanja in Korea, were generally used to write documents. However, Chinese characters are known for being quite difficult to learn. As a result, many people could not read or write, since only those who were educated were taught the written language. In 1443, King Sejong assembled a committee of scholars, who were tasked with creating a new system of writing to represent the Korean language. As a result, Koreans actually read and write using a relatively new language.

Understanding the Basics of Hangul
The written Korean language is called Hangul, which basically means "the one script." It was originally designed to have twenty-eight separate symbols. However, over time, four of these symbols were dropped from common usage. The modern Hangul alphabet consists of fourteen consonants and ten vowels. The vowels were designed to be associated with the elements in the Book of Changes philosophy. The consonants were actually designed as representations of the shape of the mouth and tongue as the sounds are being made. Hangul is considered to be one of the world's most logical writing systems. As a result of this simple system, Korea went from being largely illiterate except for those who were educated, to having one of the world's highest levels of literacy. The written language is quite unique, even though basically it is a phonetic system. Every year on October 9, Koreans commemorate the creation of their written language.

Learning the Language
If you have a desire to learn Hangul, you would do well to spend some time practicing the writing of the language before learning to speak it. The symbols of Hangul are combined into blocks. Each block then represents an individual syllable. Syllables always start with a consonant, although there is sometimes a silent "iung" at the beginning of a syllable. If you are reading an older book or some of Korea's newspapers, you may find the text arranged in a vertical orientation, with the columns reading from the right to the left. If you are reading a magazine or a modern novel, you are more likely to find the text arranged in rows going from left to right. At first glance, the alphabet can seem to be quite complicated. However, if you take the time to familiarize yourself with the Hangul characters, you'll find that it's actually fairly easy to learn. If you can learn the characters, you can then look words up in a dictionary.

When to Use Formal versus Informal Words and Phrases
Formal words and phrases are used when speaking Korean to those of higher status, such as older people. Informal words and phrases are used when speaking to those of lower status, such as children. If you are a visitor to Korea, this distinction can often be difficult to understand. If you're not able to figure out when to use formal versus informal words and phrases, it is better to choose formal. By doing so, you will not risk showing disrespect to anyone of higher status. However, Koreans are quite forgiving towards those who do not fluently speak and understand their language, and will overlook any mistakes.

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