The Fascinating History of the Korean Language

🗺️Korean is spoken by around 80 million people in South Korea, North Korea, and other countries.

🔤Korean is often considered a language isolate with debated origins and no definitive proof of its relation to other language families.

✍️Hangul, a phonetic writing system, was created in the 15th century and became the dominant script for Korean.

🗣️Sino-Korean words, originating from Chinese, account for over 60% of Korean vocabulary, and English loanwords are also common.

🗂️Korean sentence structure is verb-final, and modifiers come before the noun.

How many people speak Korean?

—Korean is spoken by around 80 million people worldwide, with the majority in South Korea and North Korea.

What is the origin of the Korean language?

—The origins of the Korean language are debated, and it is often considered a language isolate with no definitive proof of its relation to other language families.

What is Hangul?

—Hangul is the dominant writing system for Korean. It was created in the 15th century and replaced previous writing systems in Korea.

What is Sino-Korean?

—Sino-Korean words are words of Chinese origin that make up over 60% of Korean vocabulary. These words are prevalent in formal and academic contexts.

What is the sentence structure in Korean?

—Korean sentence structure is verb-final, meaning that the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Modifiers, such as adjectives, come before the noun.

00:00Korean is a major language spoken by around 80 million people in countries like South Korea and North Korea.

03:41The origins of the Korean language are debated, and it is often considered a language isolate with no definitive proof of its relation to other language families.

08:23Hangul, a phonetic writing system, was created in the 15th century and became the dominant script for Korean.

10:00Sino-Korean words, originating from Chinese, account for over 60% of Korean vocabulary, and English loanwords are also common.

11:50Korean sentence structure is verb-final, meaning that the verb comes at the end of the sentence. Modifiers, such as adjectives, come before the noun.