Things to know about Korean

Korean is spoken by the people living on the Korean peninsula. It is the official language of both South Korea and North Korea, although there are slight differences in spelling, alphabetization, and vocabulary between the two regions.

Most of the Korean lessons in this application show both the native Korean characters and the transliterations of the Korean words and phrases. You can use the transliterations as a guide to the pronunciation while you learn to read and recognize the actual Korean characters. However, you will need to type the characters themselves in various exercises. Follow the instructions immediately below to do so.

Note: If your lessons show ONLY the transliterated Korean, see the Using Transliterated Korean Lessons section further down.

Using Korean Lessons

The Korean script - called Hangul or Hangeul - is composed of 40 letters: 19 consonants and 21 vowel sounds (10 simple vowels and 11 diphthongs). Instead of being written one after the other like the letters in an English syllable, the letters for a Korean syllable are arranged as though they were in a square box. Korean text is written from left to right, like English.

This application provides a virtual keyboard that lets you type the Korean characters. Alternatively, if you already have a native input method installed on your system, you have the option of using that instead. The first time you open an activity which requires typing, you will be asked which input method you prefer to use. To type using your system's native input method, follow the instructions in your system documentation.

To type using the virtual keyboard provided by this application, follow the instructions below.

To type Korean characters with the virtual keyboard:

1. Position your cursor somewhere where you can type, and verify that the language is set to Korean.
2. Locate the first letter of the syllable that you want to type on the virtual keyboard. Remember that additional characters are available by holding down the Shift key.
3. Do one of the following:
• Use your keyboard to type the character.
• Use your mouse to click the character you want on the virtual keyboard on the screen.
4. That letter will appear highlighted in the typing field, indicating that it is the active syllable. Do one of the following:
• If you are only typing that individual letter, not a syllable, press the → key, so that the letter is no longer selected.
• If you need to add one or more additional letters to the syllable, locate the next letter on the virtual keyboard and use your mouse or your keyboard to type it. As long as a syllable is highlighted, new letters will be added to that syllable. Continue adding letters in order until you have completed your syllable. When the syllable is complete, press the → key, so that the syllable is no longer selected.

Note: The application will not let you combine characters that do not form valid Korean syllables.

5. When the highlighting disappears, go on to type another letter or syllable if needed, or submit your answer if it is complete.

Using Transliterated Korean Lessons

When you have a transliterated Korean lesson open, one which only shows transliterations and not Korean characters, you should type the transliterations of the Korean words and phrases in any activity or assessment that requires typed answers. You do not have to type the actual Korean characters in transliterated lessons.

See also:

• Typing special scripts
• Typing accents or special characters
• Using references
• Language-specific information

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