Learning how to read and write Hangul (written Korean) is really easy and can be done in a few hours.  Even if you are not set out to fully learn Korean, knowing the basics will help you in your time in Korea, as you will be able to properly pronounce words that you need to know in everyday life.

Hangul was created in the mid fifteenth century in the Choson Dynasty in order for everyone - educated or not - to be able to read. Korea now boasts a 98% literacy rate.
Hangul is a phonemic alphabet organized into syllabic blocks. Each block consists of at least two of the 24 Hangul letters (jamo), with at least one of each of the 14 consonants and 10 vowels. These syllabic blocks can be written horizontally from left to right as well as vertically from top to bottom in columns from right to left.

Vowels

Vowels are letters like A, E, O and so on
There are 21 letters for vowels in Hangul.

• 10 simple ones, ㅏㅓㅣㅑㅕ and ㅗㅜㅡㅛㅠ.
• 11 more complicated combinations: ㅐㅒㅔㅖ and ㅘㅙㅚㅝㅞㅟㅢ.

Meaning:

ㅏ

ㅓ

ㅣ

ㅑ

ㅕ

ㅗ

ㅜ

ㅡ

ㅛ

ㅠ

ㅐ

ㅒ

ㅔ

ㅖ

ㅘ

ㅙ

ㅚ

ㅝ

ㅞ

ㅟ

ㅢ

a

eo

ee

ya

yeo

o

u

eu

yo

yu

ae

yae

e

ye

wa

wae

oe

wo

we

wi

ui

Those with two small marks are pronounced with an extra "y" first.

Consonants

Consonants are letters like B, G, L, M, N, S and so on.
There are 14 simple consonants: ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅅㅇㅈㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ
They can be written two next to each other. Meaning:

ㄱ

ㄴ

ㄷ

ㄹ

ㅁ

ㅂ

ㅅ

ㅇ

ㅈ

ㅊ

ㅋ

ㅌ

ㅍ

ㅎ

g

n

d

r/l

m

b

s

ng*

j

ch

k

t

p

h

*Note: ㅇ is silent if it comes first in a syllable.

Blocks

The consonants and vowels are combined into blocks of syllables. A syllable means one vowel and a few consonants, like "han" and "gul".
The blocks look like these examples: 서울 한글 평양

Examples

Seoul 서울

Hangul 한글

Pyongyang 평양

ㅅ

ㅓ

ㅇ

ㅜ

ㄹ

ㅎ

ㅏ

ㄴ

ㄱ

ㅡ

ㄹ

ㅍ

ㅕ

ㅇ

ㅇ

ㅑ

ㅇ

s

eo

-

u

l

h

a

n

g

eu

l

p

yeo

ng

ya

ng

Key Words/Expressions to Know

Remember:  The English translation does not always have accurate pronunciation.  Once you learn how to read Hangul, your pronunciation will improve and you will be better understood.

안녕하세요 (An-young-ha-say-oh): hello
안녕 (An-young): hello/good bye (informal)
미안합니다 (Mee-an-ham-ni-da): sorry
감사합니다 (Kam-sam-ni-da): thank you
버스 (Bus-e): bus
택시 (Tackshi): taxi
지하철 (Ji-ha-chul): subway
학원(Hagwan): private school
어디있어요 ? (Eo-di-ee-sigh-oh): where is it?
몰라요 (Mul-la-oh): don’t know
없어요 (Up-sigh-oh): don’t have
맛있어요 (Ma-shi-sigh-oh): delicious!
주세요 (Ju-say-oh): give me (used as ‘please’)
가 (Ga): Go
역 (Yuk): Train or bus station
Ex: “Please take me to Daegu station”: “Daegu yuk ga-ju-say-oh”
여기요 (Yogi-yo): here please (used in a restaurant to call the waiter – just shout it out and they will come to your table – don’t worry, it’s not rude!)
직진 (Chick-chin): straight
오른쪽 (Oreng-jok): right
왼쪽 (When-jok): left
화장실 (Hwa-jung-shil): washroom
빨리 (Bally): hurry
깍아주세요 (Caca-ju-say-oh): May I have a discount please
더 (Deo): more
조금 (Jokam): little bit
얼마에요? (Ul-ma-ae-yo): How much?
Ex: "May I please have a little more kimchi?”: “Kimchi jokam deo ju-say-oh"

Numbers (countable)

일 1    Eel
이2    Ee- pronounced like the letter ‘e’
삼3    Sam
사4    Sa
오5    Oh
육6    Yuk
칠7    Chill
팔8    Pal
구 9    Gu
십10  Ship

Tip: If you are really serious about studying Korean, there are always options available at local universities or schools.  If you don’t want to spend money on lessons, but are willing to give up some of your time, there are always Koreans looking to do language exchange – just ask around or take a look online for opportunities in your community.