Hangul and Korean Sounds: Read and Pronounce Korean · Lesson 1 · 3 minutes
The Old Script
Explain why common people could not read Chinese characters.
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Reading Before 1443
Before 1443, Korea used Chinese characters for writing. Korea did not have its own alphabet yet.
What script did Korea use before 1443?
- Chinese characters
- An easy Korean alphabet
Answer: Chinese characters
Before 1443, Korean people used Chinese characters to write.
A Hard System
Chinese script had thousands of complex symbols. People had to study for years to memorize them all.
Why was reading so hard for common people before 1443?
- There were thousands of symbols to memorize.
- Korea already had easy letters, but people ignored them.
Answer: There were thousands of symbols to memorize.
Chinese characters were hard to learn because there were thousands of them.
Complete the rule about writing in old Korea.
Before 1443, writing used hard ___ characters.
Answer: Before 1443, writing used hard Chinese characters.
Learning Chinese characters took years, so common people could not read.
Show why common people could not write.
Answer: Chinese characters had thousands of symbols common people could not read
Because the old script was hard, only wealthy scholars had time to learn it.
Trace why reading was hard in Korea before 1443.
This one uses your voice or your writing. It is in the Breni app.
What to remember
- Before 1443, Korea used Chinese characters.
- Chinese script had thousands of symbols.
- Most common people could not read or write.
Next in this course: A King's Goal. It carries on in the Breni app.
The full Hangul and Korean Sounds: Read and Pronounce Korean path