Korean Language History

Classified as a Ural-Altaic language, Korean is currently spoken by nearly 78 million people worldwide. In addition to being the primary language in both North and South Korea, Korean is also spoken in parts of China, Japan, Brazil and Australia.

Like many languages, the history of Korean can be divided into three distinct eras: Old Korean, Middle Korean and Modern Korean.

Old Korean

The history of the Korean language begins prior to the Common Era with proto-Korean, a primitive form of the language. Because no written form of this language exists, scholars have largely hypothesized much of the sounds and features of proto-Korean by reconstructing it from Old Korean, which didn't definitively form until 1 CE.

The era of Old Korean spans a period known as the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which began with the Common Era and ended in about 1000 CE. During the Three Kingdoms, the Korean peninsula was divided into three distinct regions:

Goguryeo, which spanned the northern and middle area of the Korean peninsula;
Baekje, located in the southwestern region;
Silla, in the southeastern zone.

This regional divide soon triggered the development of Korean dialects, as regional differences in culture nuanced Old Korean. While the Korean language was evolving, the Silla dialect was adopted as the standard form of the language.

This period of time was also marked by the evolution of the written form of Korean. Despite the lack of ancient Old Korean texts, archeologists have uncovered a few artifacts highlighting the history of the written Korean language. Interestingly, like Japanese, written Korean evolved from Hanja and Kanji, two forms of Chinese characters.

Middle Korean

The turn of the century in 1000 CE inaugurated the era of Middle Korean, as Taejo Wang Kon gained control of the Korean peninsula and founded the Goryeo Dynasty (918 CE to 1392 CE).

Along with uniting the Three Kingdoms of Korea under a single rule, the Goryeo Dynasty also changed the standard form of the language from the Silla dialect to the Goryeo dialect.

By the 15th century, the Korean peninsula underwent another upheaval, as Taejo Yi Seong-gye overthrew the Goryeo Dynasty and established the Joseon Dynasty (1392 CE to 1910 CE). With this change in leadership, Confucian philosophies and various aspects of Chinese culture infiltrated Korea. The Korean language also changed dramatically, as these influences contributed to what is now known as classical Korean literature.

Although the Joseon Dynasty continued to rule until the 20th Century, during the 1500s and 1600s, the Japanese and Chinese both invaded the Korean peninsula, further influencing the evolution of the written and spoken Korean language.

Modern Korean

While the early history of the Korean language was largely marked by dialectal evolution, as well as Chinese and Japanese influences, Modern Korean – arising with the dawn of the 20th century – has primarily been shaped by English influences, as interactions with the U.S. ushered in new vocabulary.

Today, the spoken Korean language is still characterized by various dialects (one primary dialect in North Korea and five different dialects in South Korea). Unlike Chinese, Modern Korean dialects are mutually intelligible.

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