Learning the Hangul and appreciate Korean language & Culture

The Korean language was first recorded during the Three Kingdoms: Baekje, Silla and Goguryeo (also known as Goryeo where the name Korea came from) about 57 B.C. to 668 A.D., as the accepted record, because there are 78 tribal states already existed in the southern region during this timeframe.

The language was referred to as the Old Korean, where the use of Classical Chinese first began in the 4th century with its phonological writing Idu Script; it is an archaic writing system using Hanja or Chinese characters. From then on, the evolution of this rich language continued until the modern day era.
Hangul (or known as Hangeul) is the official alphabet used in South Korea. It was first introduced around 1444 under Sejong the Great with his aim to have their own script that can be easily learned by his kingdom and even commoners. Learning Hangul is very easy compared to Japanese and Chinese which can be taught in a matter of hours to become familiar and acquainted. The letter shapes are quite similar with its sounds making the distinction easy to memorize. There are 14 basic consonants, 5 double consonants, and 8 basic vowels along with 13 complex vowel sounds called diphthongs. Same as the English alphabet, the Hangul is also written from Left to Right but each word syllable is written in a block-like shape with each letter forming a sound inside the blocks.
Enrolling into Korean language school will further guide you through and give formal education on how the letters and basic words are being formed. There are also free websites offering introductions to this language but it is better if you learn with and from a native speaker to better have a clear idea of the alphabet formation and proper usage.

This language has been refined over the years especially during the Japanese reformation where most of its archaic letters were removed and rules have been changed in the early 1900’s, making it the language everyone is familiar with today.