105 Learning Journal #6

[Esther Kwon]

Knowing the origin of the Korean language is crucial to not only understand how the Korean language was born, but how it is uniquely different to other languages. Furthermore, this knowledge allows me to see what other languages may have influenced its creation and also reveals a part of my own ethnic identity as a Korean-American. Through my research of Korean, I was surprised to discover that Korean has obscure origins that are still debated to this day. Apparently, Koreans do not even come from a single homogeneous race but actually come from a variety of groups of people who merged together in the Korean peninsula during ancient times. Korean itself did not appear until around the 15th century and prior to the modern Korean writing system (hangul), Korean scripts often used Chinese characters to make the appropriate Korean sounds in speech. Still to this day, around half of Korean vocabulary is based on Chinese words, primarily through the influence of Confucianism. Though Chinese heavily influenced Korean language, the Korean writing system hangul distinctly separates Korean from Chinese. Invented by King Sejong in 1443, hangul consists of 24 letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Known for being one of the most scientific alphabets invented, hangul is known for being a landmark achievement in Korean history since it is believed to be the main reason why Korea has one of the highest literacy rates among all other countries.