Korean
Hangul script is used to write Korean by over 75 million people. Hangul is notable for having been consciously invented as an intuitive, easy-to-learn script, under the aegis of King Sejong of Joseon, in 1443 CE. Links to other scripts have been theorised, but are mostly tenuous. Basic Hangul letters or jamo – used to write 14 consonants and 10 vowels – are representations of the places of articulation involved in producing their sounds, such as ᄆ depicting the lips, for the labial sound m. Modifications to these basic jamo then form jamo-representing similar sounds. Constituent jamo largely show minimal modification in shape when combined. Each syllabic character block begins with a consonant jamo, including a null consonant jamo for vowel-only syllables. Traditionally, Chinese characters were also employed in Korean writing, in the same text alongside Hangul. Although they are still used in certain contexts, the shift has been towards Hangul-only writing.
Script Classification | Syllabary |
Letter Case | None |
Commonly Used Quotation Marks | “...” , ‘...’,「...」,『...』 |
Numerals | 0–9: Chinese numerals were traditionally used, now replaced by Hindu- Arabic numerals |
Earliest Recorded Usage | 1443 CE |
Used to Write | Korean |
Added to Unicode | Version 1.0 (1991) – Version 2.0 (1996) |