🎬 Super Beginner Korean Class Ep1. Hangul Basics: Why and how Hangul was created!

 

🎙️ How Was Hangul Created?

Hello, everyone! I'm Tina, your Korean teacher. 😊 Today, I'm going to tell you the story of Hangul, the Korean writing system! Before you start learning Korean, knowing why it was created and how it was made will make studying much more fun and easier.

So, shall we dive into the origins of Hangul? Let's go! ✨

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1. Why Did King Sejong Create Hangul?

Hangul is the writing system of Korea, created by King Sejong the Great (1397–1450), the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty. King Sejong invented Hangul in 1443 and officially introduced it in 1446. But why did he feel the need to create a new writing system?

📌  A Writing System for the People

During the Joseon Dynasty, people used Chinese characters (Hanja). However, Chinese characters were very difficult to learn, and ordinary people didn't have the opportunity to study them. Because of this, many couldn't read or write their thoughts.

King Sejong felt sorry for the people and wanted to create a writing system that everyone could learn easily. That’s why he decided to develop Hangul, a simple and accessible script for all! ✨

After completing Hangul, he published a book in 1446 called “Hunminjeongeum (訓民正音)”, which means “The Correct Sounds for Instructing the People”.

Hangul was designed to be a writing system that anyone could learn and use to express their thoughts freely.

2.  The Unique Features of Hangul

Hangul is considered one of the most scientific writing systems in the world. But why? ✔ The shape of the letters is connected to how sounds are made! ✔ Consonants and vowels can be combined to form countless words! ✔ UNESCO recognizes Hangul as an effective tool for eliminating illiteracy!

Hangul isn't just a writing system—it’s a logical and scientific creation! 🏆

3. The Principles Behind Hangul’s Creation

Hangul isn't just a random set of letters. It's a systematic and logical script designed to represent sounds clearly. Let's take a closer look at how it was made!

📌 Vowels Represent the Sky, Earth, and Human

Hangul vowels are based on the fundamental elements of nature. 

✔ • (Sky): The round shape represents the sky 

✔ ㅡ (earth): The flat line represents the ground 

✔ ㅣ (Human): The vertical line represents a standing person

By combining these basic shapes, different vowels were created! 

✔ “ㅏ” = Sky (•) + Human (ㅣ) → Represents the sun rising in the east 

✔ “ㅓ” = Sky (•) + Human (ㅣ) → Represents the sun setting in the west 

✔ “ㅗ” = Sky (•) + Earth (ㅡ) → Represents the sun above the ground 

✔ “ㅜ” = Sky (•) + Earth (ㅡ) → Represents the sun below the horizon

Adding extra • (sky symbol) to these vowels creates new ones: 

✔ “ㅑ” = ‘ㅏ’ + Sky (•) 

✔ “ㅕ” = ‘ㅓ’ + Sky (•) 

✔ “ㅛ” = ‘ㅗ’ + Sky (•) 

✔ “ㅠ” = ‘ㅜ’ + Sky (•)

Hangul has 21 vowels in total, consisting of 10 basic vowels and 11 compound vowels:

• Basic vowels: ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅚ, ㅟ
• Compound vowels: ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅒ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅢ

📌Consonants Are Based on Speech Organs

Hangul consonants were designed by observing how sounds are made with the tongue, lips, and throat.

Let’s go through them one by one! 

✔ “ㄱ” mimics the tongue blocking the throat. 

✔ “ㄴ” represents the tongue touching the upper gums. 

✔ “ㅁ” looks like closed lips. 

✔ “ㅅ” is shaped like slightly exposed teeth. 

✔ “ㅇ” represents an open throat.

Since Hangul consonants are based on mouth shapes, they are easy to learn! 😊

📌Strengthening Sounds by Adding Strokes

To create stronger sounds, extra strokes were added to the basic consonants(ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, ㅇ)!

✔ “ㄱ” → “ㅋ” 

✔ “ㄴ” → “ㄷ” → “ㅌ”

✔ “ㅁ” → “ㅂ” → “ㅍ” 

✔ “ㅅ” → “ㅈ” → “ㅊ”

✔ “ㅇ” → “ㅎ”

Some consonants are also doubled to create stronger sounds:

✔ “ㄲ” = ㄱ + ㄱ 

✔ “ㄸ” = ㄷ + ㄷ

✔ “ㅃ” = ㅂ + ㅂ

✔ “ㅆ” = ㅅ + ㅅ

✔ “ㅉ” = ㅈ + ㅈ

 Hangul has 19 consonants in total:

ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ,ㅅ,ㅇ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅎ

Each consonant was carefully designed to reflect the strength and pronunciation of the sound it represents. 

4. Hangul Is Amazing, Right?

Now you know why Hangul is one of the easiest and most scientific writing systems in the world!

King Sejong created Hangul so that everyone, regardless of social status, could learn to read and write. Isn’t that incredible? ✨

Next time, we’ll dive deeper into vowels!

If you have any questions, leave a comment! 

See you in the next lesson! Bye~ 👋😊

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"After studying in English, let's study the same content again in Korean!
It's okay if you don't understand it at first.
If you keep listening again and again, your Korean will get better!"

📹 영상 보기 (Watch the Video)

📚 한국어 대본 보기(Korean Script)

안녕하세요! 티나쌤이에요. 

오늘은 한글 이야기를 해볼 거예요. 한글은 한국어 글자예요. 왜 만들었는지, 어떻게 만들었는지 알려줄게요!

처음에는 조금 어려울 수 있어요. 괜찮아요! 다 알아듣지 않아도 돼요. 그냥 듣기만 해도, 조금씩 한국어가 편해질 거예요. 우리 함께 천천히 배워봐요!

그럼 시작해볼까요?

1. 세종대왕은 왜 한글을 만들었을까요?

한글은 세종대왕이 만들었어요.

세종대왕은 조선의 네 번째 왕이에요.

옛날 조선 시대에는 한자(중국 글자)를 썼어요. 한자는 너무 어려웠어요. 보통 사람들은 글을 읽거나 쓸 수 없었어요. 

사람들이 글을 몰라서 억울한 일도 많았어요. 세종대왕은 마음이 아팠어요. 그래서 쉬운 글자를 만들었어요. 

1443년에 한글을 만들었어요! 1446년에 세상에 알렸어요. 

책도 만들었어요. 이 책 이름은 훈민정음이에요. 뜻은 “백성을 가르치는 바른 소리”예요. 

세종대왕이 한글을 만들었어요. 왜요? 모두가 글을 쉽게 읽고 쓸 수 있게요.

2. 한글은 왜 특별할까요?

한글은 아주 똑똑한 글자예요!

✔ 글자 모양이 소리와 연결돼요. 

✔ 글자를 조합해서 많은 말을 만들 수 있어요. 

✔ 배우기 쉬워요! 

그래서 유네스코도 한글을 세상에서 가장 좋은 문자 중 하나라고 했어요. 

한글은 단순한 글자가 아니에요. 한글은 세계에서 가장 과학적인 글자예요!

3. 한글은 어떻게 만들었을까요?

한글의 모음은 자연에서 아이디어를 얻었어요. 

동그라미는 하늘, 가로줄은 땅, 세로줄은 사람 

✔ • 하늘 (동그라미) ✔ ㅡ 땅 (가로줄) ✔ ㅣ 사람 (세로줄)

이 세 가지 모양을 합치면 새로운 모음이 만들어져요! 다 같이 볼까요? 

✔ 사람과 하늘이 만났어요. 해가 동쪽에서 떠요. “ㅏ”예요. 

✔ 하늘과 사람이 만났어요. 해가 서쪽에서 져요. “ㅓ”예요. 

✔ 땅 위에 하늘이에요. 해가 하늘 위에 있어요. “ㅗ”예요. 

✔ 하늘 아래 땅이에요. 해가 땅 아래에 있어요. “ㅜ”예요. 

 하늘 모양을 하나 더 붙여요. 새로운 모음이 만들어져요. 

 ✔"ㅏ"에 하늘 하나 더 붙여요. “ㅑ”예요. 

✔"ㅓ"에 하늘 하나 더 붙여요. “ㅕ”예요. 

✔"ㅗ"에 하늘 하나 더 붙여요. “ㅛ”예요. 

✔"ㅜ"에 하늘 하나 더 붙여요. “ㅠ”예요. 

 한글에는 모음이 21개 있어요. 함께 봐요! 

 단모음은 10개예요. 

 • 단모음: ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅔ ㅚ ㅟ 

이중모음은 11개예요. 

 • 이중모음: ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ ㅒ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅝ ㅞ ㅢ

이번엔 자음을 볼 거예요. 

 한글의 자음은 목, 혀, 입술 등을 보고 만들었어요. 함께 볼게요.

 ✔“ㄱ”은 혀가 목구멍을 막는 모양이에요. [g]소리가 나요. 

✔ “ㄴ”은 혀가 윗잇몸에 닿는 모양이에요. [n]소리가 나요. 

✔“ㅁ”은 입술 모양이에요. [m]소리가 나요. 

✔ “ㅅ”은 이가 살짝 보이는 모양이에요. [s]소리가 나요. 

✔ “ㅇ”은 목구멍의 모양으로 만들었어요. [ng]소리가 나요.

자음 모양만 봐도 어떻게 소리 나는지 알 수 있어요!

기본 자음에 선을 하나 더하면 소리가 더 세져요! 함께 봐요.

✔ 기역(ㄱ)에 선을 더하면, 키읔(ㅋ)이 돼요.[g] 소리의 기역이 [k] 소리의 키읔이 돼요. 

✔ 니은(ㄴ)에 선을 더하면 디귿(ㄷ)이 돼요. [n] 소리의 니은이 [d]소리의 디귿이 돼요. 디귿(ㄷ)에 선을 더하면 티읕(ㅌ). [d] 소리의 디귿이 [t] 소리의 티읕이 돼요.

✔ 미음(ㅁ)에 선을 더하면 비읍(ㅂ). [m] 소리의 미음이 [b] 소리의 비읍이 돼요. 선을 또 더하면 피읖(ㅍ)이 돼요. [p] 소리가 나요. 

✔ [s] 소리의 시옷(ㅅ)에 선을 더하면 [j] 소리의 지읒(ㅈ)이 돼요. 선을 또 더하면 [ch] 소리의 치읓(ㅊ)이 돼요.

✔ 이응(ㅇ)에 선을 더하면 히읗(ㅎ)이 돼요.

어떤 자음은 두 번 쓰면 강해져요!

✔ “ㄱ”이 두 개가 만나서 “ㄲ”이 돼요. [kk]

✔  “ㄷ”이 두 개가 만나서 “ㄸ”이 돼요. [tt]

✔ “ㅂ”이 두 개가 만나서 “ㅃ”이 돼요. [pp] 

✔ “ㅅ”이 두 개가 만나서 “ㅆ”이 돼요. [ss] 

✔ “ㅈ”이 두 개가 만나서 “ㅉ”이 돼요. [jj]

이렇게 하면 더 강한 소리도 만들 수 있어요! 

한글에는 자음이 19개 있어요!

“ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ,ㅅ,ㅇ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅎ,ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅆ,ㅉ”

세종대왕은 모든 사람이 글을 배울 수 있도록 한글을 만들었어요. 

배우기 쉽고, 읽기 쉽고, 소리와 연결된 똑똑한 글자예요! 

감사해요, 세종대왕님!

오늘 수업, 어땠어요? 처음엔 어렵지만, 괜찮아요. 

계속 듣고, 계속 보면 점점 더 이해할 수 있어요! 

 궁금한 점이 있으면 댓글로 남겨주세요! 

좋아요, 구독, 알림 설정도 부탁해요~ 그

럼 다음 시간에 또 만나요!

📚 영어 번역 보기(English Translation)

Hello! I’m Tina, your Korean teacher.  

Today, we’re going to talk about Hangul—the Korean alphabet! I’ll tell you why it was created and how it was made.

It might feel a little hard at first, but that’s okay! You don’t have to understand everything right away. Just listening will help you feel more comfortable with Korean over time. Let’s learn together, slowly but surely!

Shall we get started?

1. Why did King Sejong make Hangul?

Hangul was created by King Sejong.

He was the 4th king of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea.

Back then, people used Chinese characters (Hanja). But Chinese characters were very difficult. Most ordinary people couldn’t read or write.  

Because of this, people suffered unfairly. King Sejong felt very sad about that. So he created an easy writing system!  

He made Hangul in 1443, and shared it with the world in 1446. . 

He also wrote a book about it. The book is called Hunminjeongeum, which means “The Correct Sounds for Teaching the People.”  

Why did he make Hangul? So everyone could learn to read and write easily.

2. Why Is Hangul So Special?

Hangul is a very smart alphabet!

✔ The shapes of the letters match the sounds they make. 

✔ You can combine letters to make many words. 

✔ It’s easy to learn! 

Because of this, UNESCO even called Hangul one of the best writing systems in the world!  

It’s not just a set of letters— Hangul is one of the most scientific writing systems ever created.

3. How Was Hangul Made?

Hangul vowels come from nature! 

• A circle (•) means the sky • A horizontal line (ㅡ) means the earth • A vertical line (ㅣ) means a person

When you combine these shapes, you get new vowels! 

✔ A person and the sky = “ㅏ” (sun rising in the east) 

✔ The sky and a person = “ㅓ” (sun setting in the west) 

✔ Earth and sky = “ㅗ” (sun above the ground) 

✔ Sky and earth = “ㅜ” (sun below the horizon) 

 If you add one more sky dot, you get new vowels: 

 ✔ “ㅏ” + one more sky = “ㅑ” 

✔ “ㅓ” + one more sky = “ㅕ” 

✔ “ㅗ” + one more sky = “ㅛ” 

✔ “ㅜ” + one more sky = “ㅠ” 

 There are 21 vowels in total:  

 • 10 Basic Vowels: ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ ㅐ ㅔ ㅚ ㅟ 

• 11 Compound Vowels: ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ ㅒ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅝ ㅞ ㅢ

Hangul consonants were made by looking at how your mouth, tongue, and throat move. Let’s take a look!

 ✔““ㄱ” is shaped like the tongue blocking the throat. It sounds like [g]. 

✔ “ㄴ” shows the tongue touching the upper gums. It sounds like [n].. 

✔“ㅁ” shows closed lips. It sounds like [m]. 

✔ “ㅅ” looks like slightly open teeth. It sounds like [s]. 

✔ “ㅇ” shows an open throat. It sounds like [ng].

Just by looking at the shape, you can guess how it sounds!

✔ “ㄱ” + a stroke = “ㅋ” → A stronger [k] sound! 

✔“ㄴ” + a stroke = “ㄷ” → From [n] to [d] “ㄷ” + a stroke = “ㅌ” → From [d] to [t]

✔ “ㅁ” + a stroke = “ㅂ” → From [m] to [b], “ㅂ” + another stroke = “ㅍ” → [p] sound! 

✔  “ㅅ” + a stroke = “ㅈ” → [j] sound, “ㅈ” + another stroke = “ㅊ” → [ch] sound

✔ “ㅇ” + a stroke = “ㅎ” → [h] sound

Some consonants become even stronger when doubled!

✔ “ㄲ” = ㄱ + ㄱ → [kk]

✔  “ㄸ” = ㄷ + ㄷ → [tt]

✔ “ㅃ” = ㅂ + ㅂ → [pp]  

✔ “ㅆ” = ㅅ + ㅅ → [ss] 

✔ “ㅉ” = ㅈ + ㅈ → [jj]

There are 19 consonants in total:

“ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㄹ,ㅁ,ㅂ,ㅅ,ㅇ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅍ,ㅎ,ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅆ,ㅉ”

King Sejong made Hangul so that everyone could read and write.  

It’s easy to learn, easy to read, and its shapes are connected to real sounds. What a genius writing system!  

Thank you, King Sejong!

How was today’s lesson? 

It might feel hard at first, but that’s totally okay! 

Just keep listening and watching— you’ll understand more and more over time.  

If you have questions, leave a comment! 

And don’t forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications!

See you in the next class~