Korean is the official language of the Republic of Korea (also known as South Korea) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (also know as DPRK or North Korea) - two states situated on the Korean peninsula. Before 1948, there was only one state on the peninsula. However, after 1948, the country and the Korean people were divided.
Though people from North Korea and South Korea can understand one another, certain differences exist in vocabulary, pronunciation, and intonation. This difference is due in part to the fact that North Korea was isolated from the world after World War II. Officially, there are two standard varieties of Korean in Korea: the Seoul dialect in South Korea and the Pyongyang dialect in North Korea. Regional dialects roughly correspond to province boundaries.
The population of the Korean peninsula is approximately 70 million, and it consists almost entirely of native Koreans. (There are approximately 10,000 people of Chinese origin, but they are mostly assimilated into the main culture.) Therefore, Korean is the only official language in both Korean states, and there are no significant minority languages.
The history of the Korean language dates back to the 15th century, when the Korean alphabet - hangeul - was developed during the reign of King Sejong. Before that date, Chinese characters called hanja were used. Hanja continues to be used today in addition to hangeul in South Korea, however, it is mostly used in scientific works, maps, newspapers, and written names. In North Korea, only hangeul has been used since the reform in 1949.
Scientists still argue about the origin of the Korean language. There are several theories. The most widely accepted one is that it is the member of Altaic family - a family that includes Turkish, Mongolian, and the Tungusic (for example, Manchu) languages of Siberia.
Korean is a specific mixture of original Korean words and vocabulary of Chinese origin. In addition, the Southern dialect has recently borrowed many words from English, whereas the Northern dialect has borrowed words from Russian.
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