Hangul was invented in 1443 by King Sejong so that anyone could learn to read. It has 24 basic letters, grouped into syllable blocks.
Every block starts with a consonant. If a syllable starts with a vowel sound, it uses the silent ㅇ as a placeholder: 아 = ㅇ + ㅏ = "a".
| letter | sound | block |
|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a (father) | 아 |
| ㅓ | eo (like "u" in "up") | 어 |
| ㅗ | o (more rounded) | 오 |
| ㅜ | u (food) | 우 |
| ㅡ | eu (unrounded "oo", lips flat) | 으 |
| ㅣ | i (see) | 이 |
Vertical vowels (ㅏ ㅓ ㅣ) go to the right of the consonant: 아, 어, 이. Horizontal vowels (ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ) go below it: 오, 우, 으.