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| Song Joong Ki as young King Sejong in ‘A Tree With Deep Roots’ |
Happy Hangeul Day! For those of you who aren’t familiar with this Korean holiday, October 9 celebrates the invention and proclamation of the Korean alphabet, or Hangeul, during the Chosun Dynasty by King Sejong. If you’re interested in learning more about how Hangeul was created, watch “A Tree With Deep Roots,” which is about the events surrounding the seven days before the announcement of the Korean script.
To celebrate this Korean national holiday, we thought of the perfect language-learning challenge – teaching you how to write consonants from three Korean phrases! Yes, you read correctly. It’s time to practice your writing skills.
Check out these three phrases taken from some of our favorite dramas. Print out the full worksheet and see how well you can write them.
She’s So Lovable
In Episode 5, Se Na (played by f[x]’s Krystal) searches for handsome dog owner/neighborhood ahjussi/ANA’s CEO Hyun Wook (played by Rain) so she can play her completed song for him. After finally running into each other on the rooftop, he says “Let’s listen together.”
같이 듣자
Let’s listen together.
Short form:
같이
Together (Ga-chi)
Note: At the beginning of a word, ㄱis pronounced similarly to [g]. Otherwise, it’s similar to [k].
Hi! School: Love On
In Episode 5, Woo Hyun (played by Infinite’s Woohyun) and Sung Yeol (played by Infinite’s Sungyeol) discover Seul Bi (played by Kim Sae Ron) lying unconscious on a bench. She wakes up and we see how deep their bromance runs when they respond in unison, “Are you okay?”
괜찮아?
Are you okay? (Gwen-chan-ah)
Note: A strong consonant such as ㅊ means that the pronunciation [ch] will stay the same regardless of placement.
A Tree With Deep Roots
In Episode 12, King Sejong (played by Han Suk Kyu) shares his work on the Korean alphabet with his court ladies and Hall of Worthies scholars. Excitement is felt all around about its simplicity. Now, writing “Hello/Hi” doesn’t require as many brush strokes!
안녕하세요
Hello (Ahn-yeong-ha-se-yo)
Short form:
안녕
Hi (Ahn-yeong)
Note: As an ending consonant, ㅇis pronounced [ng]. Otherwise, it’s pronounced [o].
Which Korean phrase do you think is most useful? Tell us and share other phrases that you think we should know in the comments!
You can continue the conversation about language learning in Discussions! Catch up on interesting topics such as Mistranslations, Recommended resources to get started, and Basic words in your language.
Also, if you haven’t participated in our language-learning challenges before, it’s not too late to start earning points towards cool gifts:
Language-Learning Challenge #1: True or False
Language-Learning Challenge #2: One Liners
Language-Learning Challenge #3: Round-Up Quiz
Language-Learning Challenge #4: Combined True or False
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