Jung Hangul Romanization: A Comprehensive Guide141

Introduction

Jung Hangul Romanization is a system for transcribing the Korean writing system, Hangul, into the Latin alphabet. It was developed in the late 19th century by a group of Korean scholars led by Jung Inbo, and it has since become the most widely used romanization system for Korean.

Jung Hangul Romanization is based on the principle of one symbol per syllable. Each syllable in Hangul is composed of an onset (initial consonant), a nucleus (vowel), and a coda (final consonant). In Jung Hangul Romanization, the onset is represented by a single consonant letter, the nucleus is represented by a vowel letter, and the coda is represented by a consonant letter or a silent letter.

Consonants

The following table shows the Jung Hangul Romanization of the Korean consonants.


Hangul
Jung Hangul Romanization




ㄱ
g


ㄴ
n


ㄷ
d


ㄹ
r


ㅁ
m


ㅂ
b


ㅅ
s


ㅇ
ng


ㅈ
j


ㅊ
ch


ㅋ
k


ㅌ
t


ㅍ
p


ㅎ
h

The following are some special rules for the romanization of consonants:* The consonant ㄹ is romanized as "r" when it is followed by a vowel, and as "l" when it is followed by a consonant.
* The consonant ㅇ is romanized as "ng" when it is followed by a vowel, and as a silent letter when it is followed by a consonant.
* The consonant ㅎ is romanized as "h" when it is followed by a vowel, and as a silent letter when it is followed by a consonant.

Vowels

The following table shows the Jung Hangul Romanization of the Korean vowels.


Hangul
Jung Hangul Romanization




ㅏ
a


ㅑ
ya


ㅓ
eo


ㅕ
yeo


ㅗ
o


ㅛ
yo


ㅜ
u


ㅠ
yu


ㅡ
eu


ㅣ
i

Dipthongs

The following table shows the Jung Hangul Romanization of the Korean diphthongs.


Hangul
Jung Hangul Romanization




ㅐ
ae


ㅒ
yae


ㅔ
e


ㅖ
ye


ㅘ
wa


ㅙ
wae


ㅚ
oe


ㅝ
wo


ㅞ
we


ㅟ
wi


ㅢ
ui

Usage

Jung Hangul Romanization is used in a variety of applications, including:* Transcribing Korean names and place names into English
* Teaching Korean to non-native speakers
* Creating Korean-language dictionaries and other reference materials
* Translating Korean texts into English

Conclusion

Jung Hangul Romanization is a valuable tool for anyone who needs to transcribe Korean into the Latin alphabet. It is a relatively simple system to learn, and it can be used for a wide variety of applications.

2024-11-23

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