Happy Hangul Day: 5 Fun Facts About Korea’s Alphabet
- 통합 관리자
- Hit6943
- 2018-10-11
The Korean Alphabet Day(Oct. 9), known as Hangul Day, is a national Korean commemorative day marking the invention and the proclamation of Hangul, the alphabet of the Korean language, by the 15th-century Korean monarch Sejong the Great. Here's 5 interesting facts you might not know about the Korean language:
1. Korean is a “language isolate”
Some linguists have argued Korean is in the “Altaic” language group (related to languages like Turkish and Finnish), but this theory has been largely discredited. Instead, Korean is classified as a language isolate, meaning it shows no significant link to any other existing language.
2. Korean uses TWO different counting systems
In Korean, small and large numbers use different vocabulary. One system uses native Korean vocabulary and is used for age, counting objects, and expressing hours of time. The other system is of Chinese origin and is used for expressing minutes of time and measuring distance, money, and dates. It’s also used for numbers above 99.
3. North Korean ≠ South Korean
Because of the extensive time the two countries have been separate, North and South Korea developed distinct vocabularies, pronunciations, and even grammatical rules.
4. There are SEVEN levels of respect
Korean has a complex system of honorifics, which involves different verb endings and vocabulary depending on the relationship you have with the person you are addressing.
5. Korean had no alphabet until the 15th century
Though the Korean language has existed for well over a thousand years, its alphabet wasn’t formalized until the 15th century. Before that, written Korean used Chinese characters.
(Image resource note: Korea.net)