Hangul Syllable Meut

One Korean syllable, not a complete word. In a word, it contributes one syllable; the surrounding Korean text supplies the meaning.

The block combines an initial consonant ㅁ, a vowel ㅡ, and a final consonant ㅌ in that fixed order. These are structural positions; changing a component changes the syllable.

The earliest recorded notice of the script appears in 1443; the book that explained it, Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음), followed in 1446.

Why was Hangul created?

To make Korean easier to read, write, and learn across society.

Before Hangul, people wrote Korean with Chinese characters or systems such as Idu, Gugyeol, and Hyangchal, which adapted those characters to Korean. These methods were difficult and inconvenient. Hangul later carried Buddhist and Confucian translations, letters, petitions, household labels, literature, and practical books.

Hangul became the official national script in 1894, lost that status under Japanese rule in 1910, and later became the everyday writing system associated with modern Korean literacy.