The Alphabet of the Korean Language: 조선글 or 한글 — What Differs and What to Pick

4 November 2026 · KoryoTalk · 6 min read

Short answer: the Korean language has one alphabet — a phonetic script where each letter stands for one sound. It has two names: 조선글 («Korean script») in the DPRK and 한글 («great script») in South Korea. The letters do not differ; the counting does. After the 1987 reform the North counts 40 letters (19 consonants + 21 vowels), while the South, following the 1933 standard, counts 24 basic letters. Below: what actually differs — dictionary order, consonant names, the initial-sound law (두음법칙), and the role of Hanja.

Why "two alphabets" is the wrong question

Both Koreas share one script by origin: it was created in the 15th century as 훈민정음, "the correct sounds for the instruction of the people." The same sign set lives in Pyongyang and Seoul: ㄱ is "k/g" in both, and 어머니 "mother" is written with the same sounds. The divergence starts not with sounds but with counting: the northern norm counts five tense consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) and compound vowels as letters in their own right — 40 in total; the southern school counts only positions in the initial order — 24. Same backpack: 40 items counted one by one, or 24 pairs.

So "which alphabet does Korean use" is really "how do you count it": we break down 40 vs 24 separately, and the full letter set is shown in the northern order. What follows are the differences that affect real reading and writing.

Difference 1. Dictionary order

Dictionary sorting follows the "initial order" — and it differs. The northern 1987 order: first the 14 simple consonants ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ, then the 5 tense ones ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ (as variants of the same sounds), then the vowels. The southern 1933 order: first the 10 basic vowels ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ, then consonants. In a northern dictionary a ㄲ-word sits right after the ㄱ block; in a southern one, after all ㄱ-words. Invisible to a beginner, decisive for dictionary work.

Difference 2. Consonant names

Vowels are named after their sound in both norms: ㅏ is "a", ㅜ is "u". Consonants need names because alone they make no sound — and here the norms split. North (the 훈민정음 tradition): 기윽, 니은, 디읃, 리을, 미음, 비읍, 시읏, 이응. South: 기역, 니은, 디귿, 리을, 미음, 비읍, 시옷, 이응. Four of eight differ — and they instantly reveal which school produced a text: all 40 letters with northern names and flash cards are in the neighboring article.

Difference 3. 두음법칙 — the initial-sound law

The most visible divergence in texts. The southern norm replaces word-initial ㄹ and ㄴ before ㅣ/ㅑ/ㅕ/ㅛ/ㅠ with ㅇ: 여자 "woman", 요리 "cooking". The northern norm keeps them: the same words start on "n" and "r" — 녀자, 래일 "tomorrow", 류학 "studying abroad". "Russia" is 로씨야 in the North, 러시아 in the South. The law lives in word spelling, not in the alphabet itself, yet it appears in every paragraph — which is why it has an article of its own.

Difference 4. What about Hanja

Historically Korean writing included Chinese characters — 한자: until the 20th century texts mixed characters with Korean, and technical vocabulary is 한자어 (Sino-Korean) to this day. Today the roles differ: in the DPRK, 한자 are not used in newspapers or books — writing is fully phonetic, though 한자어 words remain in the language; in the South, 한자 appear in brackets after hard terms in newspapers and textbooks — as a meaning hint, not as the script itself. For a learner the conclusion is simple: Korean can be learned entirely on the alphabet; 한자 are not a prerequisite.

What a learner should pick

The letters are identical — the choice of standard barely touches the alphabet itself: either count works, the sounds are the same. The practical difference appears when you read real texts: northern texts require the habit of 녀자 and 로동자, southern texts — 여자 and 노동자. If your goal is reading or translating northern material, the 40-letter count and northern names save time: the starting plan from zero and pronunciation of all 40 letters are covered by the series.

You can check the reading and translation of a specific word with the KoryoTalk bot: a 2.2-million-entry Korean–Russian dictionary base plus a separately built layer of verified northern equivalents.