Han’gul, the Korean writing system (한글 in Korean), is one of the most scientifically designed and efficient scripts in the world. Promulgated by the sage King Sejong (세종) under the name Hunmin Chong’um (훈민정음, meaning The Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People) in 1446, it was the product of deliberate, linguistically informed planning. The Korean script is remarkably original, and has resisted all attempts to prove its relationship to this or that other system of writing.
As you will soon see, Han’gul is also quite easy to learn (the Korean language, on the other hand, is quite difficult). We have so far avoided the term alphabet. Han’gul is usually referred to as an alphabet, and that it is, but with one special quirk: rather than arranging its letters in a row from left-to-right and writing on-line (e.g. 하 ㄴ ㄱ -ㄹfor Han’gul), Han’gu&l has always written Korean words in syllable blocks: 한글.
Now let us look at the letter shapes that comprise the alphabet and learn how to pronounce Korean. On the left hand side of each of the letters we have given an approximate English sound approximation. This is not intended as a rigorous romanization system, but merely as a rough equivalent in English of the Korean letter. Always imitate your Korean instructor.