Korean (native name: 한국어) belongs to the Korean-Japanese language family and is the official national language in North and South Korea.
It is only spoken as a native language in a few other countries. Outside of the two countries, there are practically only smaller Korean communities due to migration.
The proportion of native speakers in North and South Korea is remarkably high at almost 100%. There are hardly any other languages in the world with such a high proportion. In total, around 80 million people speak Korean as their mother tongue.
History of origin
The Korean language is known as "Hangugo" in South Korea and as "Chosŏnmal" in North Korea. Its origins are not clear, but linguistically it could be related to the Altaic languages.
It developed from the first century BC, when various kingdoms emerged on the Korean peninsula. During the three kingdoms - Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla (1st century BC to 7th century AD) - independent dialects began to form. Over the centuries, Chinese invasions and the adoption of Buddhism and Confucianism strongly influenced the Korean language.
The creation of the Korean writing system "Hangul" in 1443 by King Sejong the Great was a turning point in the development. Hangul was developed to promote literacy and create a clear distinction from the Chinese writing system.
| Country | Region | Official language | Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | East Asia | yes | 99.9 % | 51,576,000 |
| North Korea | East Asia | yes | 99.9 % | 26,043,000 |
| China | East Asia | no | 0.1 % | 1,426,000 |
| United States of America | North America | no | 0.3 % | 1,000,000 |
| Japan | East Asia | no | 0.5 % | 626,000 |
| Guam | Micronesia | no | 3.3 % | 6,000 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Micronesia | no | 6.2 % | 3,000 |
Differences between North and South Korea
After the division of Korea in 1945, the two countries developed different standards for Korean. In North Korea, language policy has led to foreign loan words, especially from English, being avoided and replaced by Korean equivalents. In South Korea, on the other hand, loanwords, especially from English, are widely used and accepted. These differences are reflected not only in vocabulary, but also in pronunciation and grammar. North Korea tends to maintain a more conservative form of language, while South Korea is more exposed to the influence of modern global trends.
Unless otherwise described in the text, this page is about native speakers — not the total number of speakers. How many people understand or speak Korean as a subsequently learned language is not the subject of this page. Countries where native speakers make up only a few thousand, or even a few hundred people, or countries with a percentage well below 1% are unlikely to be listed here.
Official language, national language or lingua franca: explanation of frequently used terms
