Portal:Korean
한국어 학부에 오신 것을 환영합니다! Welcome to the Korean Department at Wikiversity, part of the School of Language and Literature. This department is dedicated to teaching Korean.
Introduction to Korean
[edit | edit source]The Three States of Korea and Gaya Confederacy - Goguryeo, Baekje, Gaya and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium CE (until 668 when the Kingdom of Silla unified the Korean peninsula)- were reported to have their own languages. Just as the Kingdom of Silla dominated the peninsula, its language enjoyed the respective popularity. The Koryeo Dynasty (918-1393), which succeeded the Unified Silla, increasingly adopted the Chinese.
The Korean alphabet was created in 1443 (some argue 1446, depending on the calender used) by the King Se-jong (4th King of the Joseon Dynasty)
In 1933 and 1988, the major Korean language reforms took place. Every 9th of October (October 9th) is the day of Korean language and is widely celebrated in South Korea.
As of the end of 2006, there are around 80 million Korean speakers around the world. Korean is not only spoken in South and North Korea, but is also spoken in some parts of the U.S, Canada, China, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. There exist approximately a half million Korean speaking foreigners in South Korea (Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Russian, American, Canadian) and the number is increasing.
Courses and projects
[edit | edit source]Courses offered
Projects/planned