One of the most polite languages in the world

Last time I told you about Korean courses, so maybe it is time to talk about Korean language itself?

Korean language… Korean language was not so popular before…before Korean wave became a world-wide trend. 

What do you know about Korean language?

Many people think that Korean language is like a Chinese language, and there is no alphabet, only chinese hieroglyphs. 

Today, I will share with you a few facts about Korean language. Maybe some of these facts are familiar to you, maybe not.

First of all, Korean language or Hangeul (한글) was invented in XV century by 4th King of Joseon Dynasty King Sejong Great. Before it, Korean people used Chinese hieroglyphs. Sejong King tried to make the language easy to study or use by any social level. Because, during the Joseong Dynasty poor people couldn’t even read, so they couldn’t learn about any annoucements or news which were published on the board. So, Sejong King invented Korean alphabet. Each letter was derived from people mouth. 

Second, there are 6 levels in Korean language exam. 1st and 2nd levels are basic levels, 3rd and 4th levels are intermediate, and the last 2 are advanced level. Actually, it is not easy to get 5 or 6 level, even for Korean people.

Third, if you travel to different regions in South Korea, you will feel like people have different accents, because in different regions Koreans use different dialects. And the most strong one is on Jeju Island. People from Seoul can’t understand Jeju people. 

Forth, Korean language is one of the most polite languages. In Korean language many different types of polite form. It could be showed in the word or sentence ending. Also, according to the level of politeness, maybe used different words. For example, ‘thank you’ can be expressed with word ‘ko-ma-wo-yo’ (고마워요). It is a basic polite form. ‘Ko-ma-pye-ssyem-ni-da’ (고맙습니다) is a second level of politeness. But with elder people or people of higher position Koreans use another word ‘kam-sa-hye-yo’ (감사해요) or ‘kam-sa-ham-ni-da’ (감사합니다).

Fifth, there are 2 types of numbers: korean and chinese numbers. And Koreans use both of them. But it doesn’t mean that you can use any type of numbers. There are rules, when and which type of numbers to use, whether Chinese one or Korean one.

Many of you maybe want to ask, is it difficult to learn Korean. Well, from my personal experience, I would say, that Korean language is not easy as any other foreign language. But Korean language is very unique and interesting. It has something from Chinese language and Japanese (due to historical past). Yes, Korean language is very difficult when you see about 10 Korean words and then try to find their meaning in Russian or English dictionary, and see the same meaning. So, in that case it is important to understand in which situation, which word to use.

Today, many people started to study Korean because they fell in love with K-Pop stars. Especially, a big influence had BTS, which became Number 1 in Korea.

Would you like to study Korean?