01 한글 익히기 I

Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

1 한글 소개 Introduction to Hangeul (The Korean Alphabet) K-1

Hangeul was created in 1443 by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty. Before
that, Koreans used Chinese characters when writing Korean language.
However, Chinese characters were too difficult for ordinary people without
education. Thus, King Sejong created Hangeul, which can be easily used by
ordinary people.

(1) Vowels: Vowel letters were made like this.

ㆍ round
sky
ㅣ+ ㆍ = ㅏ [a]

ㅣ + ㆍㆍ = ㅑ [ja]

ㅡ flat
earth
ㆍ+ㅡ = ㅗ [o]

ㅣ standing
person ㆍㆍ + ㅡ = ㅛ [jo]

King Sejong made ‘ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ’ based on the three basic vowels (i.e,
•, ㅡ, ㅣ). which depicted the round sky, the flat earth, and a standing person. The
rest of the vowels were made by combining these basic letters.

(2) Consonants: Consonant letters were made like this.

The basic letters ‘ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, ㅇ’ were made in

ㄱ the shape of the parts of the mouth that form their
sounds.

ㄱ [k/g] → ㅋ [kh]

ㄷ [t/d] → ㅌ [th] One more stroke was added to the basic letters
to make the sounds ‘ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ’ with strong air
ㅂ [p/b] → ㅍ [ph] flow.
ㅈ [ts/dz] → ㅊ [tsh]

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 한글 익히기 I
Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

ㄱ [k/g] → ㄲ [k′]

ㄷ [t/d] → ㄸ [t′]
The same letter was written twice for tense sounds as
ㅂ [p/b] → ㅃ [p′]
in ‘ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ’.
ㅅ [s] → ㅆ [s′]

ㅈ [ts/dz] → ㅉ [ts′]

(3) Syllables: This is how syllables were formed.

Consonants and vowels are combined to form syllable blocks. In writing, every
syllable must have at least one consonant and one vowel. Consonants cannot be
written alone. Likewise, vowels cannot stand alone. Therefore, when a syllable
has no consonant in the initial position, ZERO ‘ㅇ’ is written to hold the empty
consonant position. A consonant is also allowed in the final position.

Consonant + Vertical vowel CV 나

①
Consonant + Horizontal vowel
C
V 노
Empty consonant + Vertical vowel CV 아
② Empty consonant C
+ 오
Horizontal vowel
V

Consonant + Vertical vowel CV 밥

+ Final consonant C
③
C
Consonant + Horizontal vowel
+ Final consonant
V 문
C
CV 안
Vertical vowel + Final consonant
C
④
C
Horizontal vowel + Final consonant V 웅
C

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 2 모음 1 Vowels 1 K-2

The Korean language has 21 vowels in total. There are vertical vowels (ㅣ, ㅏ,
ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ) and horizontal vowels (ㅡ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ).

1. Vowel Pronunciation

Are you ready to learn vowel sounds now? First, you need to find a mirror. Listen
to the vowels and try to make the shapes you see in the pictures on the next two
pages with your mouth while looking in the mirror. We’ll practice vertical vowels
first and horizontal vowels next.

Vertical Vowels Horizontal Vowels

Letter Sound Value Letter Sound Value

ㅣ [i] fill ㅡ [ɨ] not found

ㅏ [a] father ㅗ [o] horse

ㅑ [ja] yacht ㅛ [jo] yoga

ㅓ [Λ] call ㅜ [u] pool

ㅕ [jΛ] young ㅠ [ju] you

• ‌The vowel [ɨ] is not found in English. However, it is similar to the pronunciation of
the vowel ‘u’ in ‘put’, without rounding the lips.
• ‌Vowels are divided into two categories according to their sound values - single
vowels and diphthongs. The vowels in the shaded boxes are diphthongs, and
those in the non-shaded are single vowels. A diphthong has a sound value that
combines a glide and a single vowel.

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 한글 익히기 I
Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

Are you ready to practice again?

(1) ‌Try saying ‘ㅏ’. Now say ’ㅓ’. How does your mouth shape change for each? Try
saying ‘ㅏ’ with your mouth open wide, and ‘ㅓ’ with your mouth closed a little,
Now say ‘ㅏ’ and ‘ㅓ’ several times while paying attention to the shape of your
mouth.

ㅏ ㅓ
[a] [Λ]

(2) ‌Try saying ‘ㅜ’. Now say ‘ㅗ’. How is the mouth shape different?
‌When you say ‘ㅜ’, round your lips and push your tongue forward, but when
you say ‘ㅗ’, keep your lips rounded while opening them a little. Say ‘ㅜ’ and ‘ㅗ’
several times while paying attention to the shape of your mouth.

ㅜ ㅗ
[u] [o]

(3) ‌Try saying ‘ㅡ’ and ‘ㅣ’. How is the mouth shape for ‘ㅡ’ different from ‘ㅣ’?
‌Your tongue moves farther forward when you say ‘ㅣ’ than when you say ‘ㅡ’.
You don't need to move your tongue forward when you say ‘ㅡ’, round your lips,
or open your mouth very much. Just say it with your mouth open enough to let
air come out in a relaxed position. Say ‘ㅣ’ and ‘ㅡ’ several times while paying
attention to the shape of your mouth.

ㅣ ㅡ
[i] [ɨ]

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 Are you ready to practice diphthongs now? The vertical vowels ‘ㅑ, ㅕ’, which
both have short horizontal strokes, and the horizontal vowels ‘ㅛ, ㅠ’, which both
have short vertical strokes, are all diphthongs.

(1) Try saying ‘ㅑ’. Now say ‘ㅕ’.

The diphthong ‘ㅑ’ is made up of the glide ‘ㅣ’ and the single vowel ‘ㅏ’, and the
diphthong ‘ㅕ’ is made up of the glide ‘ㅣ’ and the single vowel ‘ㅓ’. When you
say ‘ㅑ’, the ‘ㅣ’ is short and the ‘ㅏ’ is long, and when you say ‘ㅕ’, the ‘ㅣ’ is
short and the ‘ㅓ’ is long. Don’t say the two vowel sounds for the same length or
pronounce them as two separate vowels.

ㅑ +
ㅕ +

[ja] [i] + [a] [jʌ]

[i] + [ʌ]

(2) ‌The diphthong ‘ㅛ’ is made up of the glide ‘ㅣ’ and the single vowel ‘ㅗ’, and the
diphthong ‘ㅠ’ is made up of the glide ‘ㅣ’ and the single vowel ‘ㅜ’. Try saying ‘ㅛ’.
Now say ‘ㅠ’. When you say ‘ㅛ’, the ‘ㅣ’ is short and the ‘ㅗ’ is long, and when
you say ‘ㅠ’, the ‘ㅣ’ is short and the ‘ㅜ’ is long. You shouldn’t say the two vowel
sounds the same length or pronounce them as two separate vowels.

ㅛ +
ㅠ +

[jo] [i] + [o] [ju] [i] + [u]

2. Vowel Writing
‌So then, how are vowels written? When writing a vertical stroke, start at the top
and go down, and when writing a horizontal stroke, start at the left and go right.

From top to bottom From left to right

ㅣ ㅣ ㅣ ㅡ ㅡ ㅡ
[i] (○) (X) [ɨ] (○) (X)

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 한글 익히기 I
Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

Well then, are you ready to write? When writing a vertical vowel in the form of
a "standing person", make the vertical stroke long and the horizontal stroke(s)
short. When writing a horizontal vowel in the form of the "flat earth", make the
horizontal stroke long and the vertical stroke(s) short. Listen to the vowels and
repeat while writing.

Sound Writing
Letter Writing Practice
Value Order

①
ㅣ [i] ㅣ
①
ㅏ [a] ㅏ②
①
ㅑ [ja] ㅑ③②
②
ㅓ [ʌ]
①
ㅓ
③
ㅕ [jʌ]
①
② ㅕ

ㅡ [ɨ] ㅡ①
①
ㅗ [o] ㅗ②
① ②
ㅛ [jo] ㅛ③

ㅜ [u] ㅜ②①

ㅠ [ju] ㅠ①
② ③

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 Are you finished writing? Listen to the vowels one more time and repeat them
again.

Both a consonant and a vowel must be together in each syllable. That’s why if you
do not have an initial consonant, you use ‘ㅇ’, which has no sound - it’s silent. With
a vertical vowel, write ‘ㅇ’ on the left side of the vowel, and with a horizontal vowel,
write ‘ㅇ’ above the vowel.

ㅇ
ㅇ ㅏ [a] [o]
ㅗ

Listen and repeat while writing.

Letter Sound Value Writing Practice

ㅣ [i] 이 이 이

ㅏ [a] 아 아 아

ㅑ [ja] 야 야 야

ㅓ [ʌ] 어 어 어

ㅕ [jʌ] 여 여 여

ㅡ [ɨ] 으 으 으

ㅗ [o] 오 오 오

ㅛ [jo] 요 요 요

ㅜ [u] 우 우 우

ㅠ [ju] 유 유 유
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Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

연습 Practice

1. ‌Say each of the vowels below one by one. Are you finished? Next, listen to the
CD and see if you pronounced them correctly. Looking out for the ones you
missed, listen and repeat one more time.

(1) 아 어 오 우 으 (2) 오 아 어 우 이
(3) 야 여 요 유 (4) 요 야 여 유

2. Listen and choose the correct answers.

(1) 아 오 (2) 우 으 (3) 어 오

(4) 야 아 (5) 오 요 (6) 여 유

3. ‌Listen and connect the letters in order. What picture do they make?

이ㆍ ㆍ우

아ㆍ ㆍ여

으ㆍ

정답 2. (1) 아 (2) 우 (3) 오 (4) 야 (5) 요 (6) 유 3. ☆

1 Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ 29

 4. ‌Listen and write what you hear in Korean. Did you finish writing? Next, write
three more times while saying them out loud.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

정답 (1) 이 (2) 오 (3) 아이 (4) 오이 (5) 우유 (6) 여우

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 한글 익히기 I
Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

3 모음 2 Vowels 2 K-3

Now, are you ready to learn some more vowels? Listen to the CD and repeat.

ㅐ ㅏ + ㅣ ㅘ ㅗ + ㅏ ㅙ ㅗ + ㅐ
[ε] [wa] [wε]

ㅔ ㅓ + ㅣ ㅝ ㅜ + ㅓ ㅞ ㅜ + ㅔ
[e] [wʌ] [we]

ㅒ ㅑ + ㅣ ㅟ ㅜ + ㅣ ㅢ ㅡ + ㅣ
[jε] [y/wi] [ɨi]

ㅖ ㅕ + ㅣ ㅚ ㅗ + ㅣ
[je] [ø/we]

• ‌The vowels in the shaded boxes are single vowels, and they are merged by some
speakers.
• ‌The vowel ‘ㅢ [ɨi]’ is not found in English. However, it is similar to the pronunciation
of the vowel ‘ui’ in ‘quit’, without rounding the lips.
• ‌The sound values of the three vowels ‘ㅚ’, ‘ㅙ’, and ‘ㅞ’ sound similar to each other
when spoken by younger Korean speakers.

Are you ready to practice again?

(1) ‌Try saying ‘ㅐ’ and ‘ㅔ’. They sound similar, right?
These two vowels’ pronunciations used to be totally different, but they have
become similar. That’s why many Koreans today cannot distinguish their
difference in pronunciation.

ㅐ ㅔ
[ε] [e]

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 (2) ‌Try saying ‘ㅒ’ and ‘ㅖ’. These diphthongs are each formed from ‘ㅣ’ and
either ‘ㅐ’ or ‘ㅔ’. These two vowels also sound similar. It's hard to tell
them apart. Like ‘ㅐ’ and ‘ㅔ’, which we saw before, many Koreans cannot
distinguish their difference in pronunciation.

ㅒ ㅖ
[jε] [je]

(3) ‌Try saying ‘ㅚ’, ‘ㅙ’, and ‘ㅞ’. These three vowels sound similar. They are all
diphthongs with both horizontal and vertical vowels.

ㅚ ㅙ ㅞ
[we] [wε] [we]

(4) ‌Try saying ‘ ㅘ ’ and ‘ ㅝ ’. Say them in rotation several times. They are both
diphthongs with both horizontal and vertical vowels.

ㅘ ㅝ
[wa] [wʌ]

(5) ‌Try saying ‘ㅟ’ and ‘ㅚ’ several times in back and forth. They are both diphthongs
with both horizontal and vertical vowels.

ㅟ ㅚ
[y/wi] [ø/we]

(6) ‌Read ‘ㅢ’ out loud once again. Try saying the ‘ㅡ’ short and the ‘ㅣ’ very quickly.
This is a diphthong with both a horizontal and a vertical vowel.

ㅢ
[ɨi]

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Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

So are you ready to write? Listen to the CD and repeat while writing.

Sound
Letter Writing Order Writing Practice
Value

ㅐ [ε] ① ㅐ
②
③

②③
ㅔ [e] ①
ㅔ
②
ㅒ [jε] ① ㅒ④
③

③④
ㅖ [je] ①
② ㅖ
①③
ㅘ [wa] ② ㅘ ④

④
ㅝ [wʌ] ①
ㅝ
②③

③
ㅟ [y/wi] ①
ㅟ
②
③
①
ㅚ [ø/we] ② ㅚ
③⑤
① ④
ㅙ [wɛ] ② ㅙ
④⑤
ㅞ [we] ①
②③
ㅞ

ㅢ [ɨi] ① ㅢ②

Did you finish writing? Listen and repeat the vowels again.

1 Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ 33

 Be careful not to write them as below.

ㅘ (○) ㅝ (○) ㅟ (○) ㅞ (○)

(X) (X) (X) (X)

As mentioned earlier, each syllable must have both a consonant and a vowel.
Thus, if there is no beginning consonant, use ‘ㅇ’, which has no sound – it’s silent.
Write ‘ㅇ’ to the left of vertical vowels and above horizontal vowels.

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Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

Listen and repeat while writing the vowels with ‘ㅇ’.

Letter Sound Value Writing Practice

ㅐ [ɛ] 애 애 애

ㅔ [e] 에 에 에

ㅒ [jɛ] 얘 얘 얘

ㅖ [je] 예 예 예

ㅘ [wa] 와 와 와

ㅝ [wʌ] 워 워 워

ㅟ [y/wi] 위 위 위

ㅚ [ø/we] 외 외 외

ㅙ [wɛ] 왜 왜 왜

ㅞ [wɛ] 웨 웨 웨

ㅢ [ɨi] 의 의 의

1 Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ 35

 연습 Practice

1. Try saying the vowels below one by one. Then, listen to the CD and write the
letter ‘ㅇ’ beside the correct sounds. Pay attention to what you missed, listen
and repeat again.

(1) 애 예 와 워 (2) 위 의 와 웨
(3) 워 에 예 의 (4) 왜 와 에 예

2. Listen and choose the correct answers.

(1) 애 예 (2) 웨 워
(3) 위 의 (4) 와 왜

3. Listen and connect the letters in order.

아이 얘

와 위

여우 에 의

왜 오이 우유

What picture do they make?

정답 2. (1) 애 (2) 웨 (3) 위 (4) 와 3. ☆ (위 → 여우 → 에 → 의 → 와 → 오이 → 위)

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Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ

4. ‌Listen and write what you hear in Hangeul.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

Did you finish writing? Next, write and say each sound aloud three times.

정답 (1) 예 (2) 와 (3) 왜 (4) 와요 (5) 위에 (6) 외워요

1 Master Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet Ⅰ 37