Koreanlanguage

Korean is a language spoken on the Korean Peninsula and among Korean communities abroad. It is the national language of both South Korea and North Korea. Estimates place 75 to 80 million native speakers, with many more learners. It is generally classified as Koreanic, though some theories link it to Japonic; no consensus exists.

Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was created in the 15th century by King Sejong and scholars of the Joseon Dynasty. It is a featural alphabet organized into syllable blocks, designed for easy literacy. Hangul is the primary script for modern Korean, though Hanja are still used in some formal or historical contexts.

Several regional dialects are recognized, including Seoul (Gyeonggi), Jeolla, Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, Gangwon, and Jeju. Dialects differ in pronunciation and vocabulary, but remain largely mutually intelligible. Standard Korean in the South is based on the Seoul dialect, while North Korea uses a Pyongyang-based standard.

Korean grammar is analytic and agglutinative, with a subject–object–verb order. Verbs and adjectives are conjugated for tense, aspect, mood, politeness, and honorifics, and sentence meaning is carried by particles that mark grammatical roles. Nouns do not inflect for gender or number, and articles are not used.

Phonology features a modest consonant and vowel inventory, with distinctions in aspiration and tenseness. Korean is not generally tonal, though intonation can affect meaning in discourse.

Modern Korean is taught widely in schools and media across both Koreas and among the diaspora. Official romanization schemes, such as Revised Romanization, facilitate transliteration and international communication, while digital media support rapid variation in usage.