Korean
Korea is located in East Asia, consisting of two countries: North Korea and South Korea. It is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and Japan to the east. The capital of South Korea is Seoul, a bustling metropolis known for its technological advancements and rich culture. Korea’s history spans thousands of years, with a blend of traditional and modern influences. The country is renowned for its K-pop culture, innovative technology, and vibrant cuisine.
The Korean Language
Korean (한국어, Hangugeo) is the official language of both North and South Korea. It belongs to the Koreanic language family, which is distinct from Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, or Altaic language families. Although there has been historical influence from Chinese and some borrowing from Japanese and English, Korean is a unique language with its own grammar, phonology, and vocabulary. Despite minor variations in pronunciation and vocabulary between North and South Korea, the two varieties remain largely mutually intelligible.
Writing System
Korean is written using Hangul, a unique featural script invented in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great. Hangul is highly systematic and phonetic, designed to be easy to learn. It consists of consonants and vowels that combine to form syllabic blocks. Each block typically has an initial consonant, a vowel, and optionally a final consonant. For example, the syllable 한 is composed of ㅎ (h) + ㅏ (a) + ㄴ (n). Syllables are arranged in a square shape, read left to right and top to bottom, with vowels placed either to the right or below the initial consonant depending on their shape. Hangul’s design allows nearly all Korean words to be pronounced accurately from the written form.
Grammar and Vocabulary
Korean is an agglutinative language, where words are formed by adding suffixes to roots to indicate tense, mood, politeness, and grammatical case. Word order is typically subject-object-verb (SOV), and particles mark grammatical relationships. Korean has a complex system of speech levels and honorifics, which reflect the social relationship between speaker and listener. Vocabulary includes native Korean words, Sino-Korean words borrowed from Chinese, and more recent loanwords from English and other languages.
Modern Role
Korean is the national language of Korea, used in government, education, literature, media, and daily life. Its standardized form, Pyojun-eo, is taught in schools and used in formal communication, while regional dialects provide variation. Hangul literacy is extremely high in both North and South Korea, and the script is recognized as one of the most logical and accessible writing systems in the world.
Hangul Table
Consonants (Choseong)
| Plain | ㄱ | ㄴ | ㄷ | ㄹ | ㅁ | ㅂ | ㅅ | ㅇ | ㅈ | ㅊ | ㅋ | ㅌ | ㅍ | ㅎ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman | g/k | n | d/t | r/l | m | b/p | s | ng | j | ch | k | t | p | h |
Vowels (Jungseong)
| Simple | ㅏ | ㅑ | ㅓ | ㅕ | ㅗ | ㅛ | ㅜ | ㅠ | ㅡ | ㅣ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman | a | ya | eo | yeo | o | yo | u | yu | eu | i |
| Complex | ㅐ | ㅒ | ㅔ | ㅖ | ㅘ | ㅙ | ㅚ | ㅝ | ㅞ | ㅟ | ㅢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman | ae | yae | e | ye | wa | wae | oe | wo | we | wi | ui |
Example of Syllable Formation
글 = ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ → geul
한 = ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ → han
Differences Between North and South Korean
The primary differences between North and South Korean are seen in vocabulary, pronunciation, and certain grammatical elements. North Korea uses more words from Soviet-style and Russian-influenced vocabulary, while South Korea has adopted more Western, particularly English, loanwords. While these differences do exist, the languages remain mutually intelligible for most speakers. Both countries use the same alphabet, Hangul, but the differences in language tend to be more apparent in formal contexts or written language.
Asterix in Korean
The Asterix comics have been translated into Korean, making the series accessible to Korean-speaking audiences. For a long time it was assumed that the first translations appeared in the early 1990s. Publisher Cosmos released a translation of Asterix the Gladiator and Asterix and the Magic Carpet. From 2001 until 2013 publishing house Moonji started releasing translations of all albums (up to the Anniversary Album, number 34).
1980’s release
In 2025 collectors of Asterix albums have uncovered a fascinating detail: in 1980, four Asterix titles were released as special supplements in the South Korean youth magazine Sonyeon Jungang (소년중앙, often transliterated as Sonyeon Joongang). This magazine was published by the major South Korean newspaper Joongang Ilbo.
The four albums included were:
- 골마을의 대결투 – The Big Fight
- 올림픽의 꼬마영웅 – Asterix at the Olympic Games
- 로마에서 온 밀사 – The Roman Agent
- 로마사람들과 신의 전당 – Mansions of the Gods
The translators seem to have used the English albums instead of the French ones. Getafix (게타픽스) and Cacofonix (카코포닉스) have names that are obviously derived from English albums instead of French. In the translation of The Roman Agent, the text balloons are not green when the character if angry or envious.
Needless to say, these editions are extremely rare and highly sought after by collectors today. I have linked two pdfs (about 200Mb each) in the list above.