Transliteration Systems

Transliteration is the process of writing a language using an alphabet other than its native characters - for example, writing Korean using English letters. Transliterating Korean is a challenge, because many Korean letters represent unique sounds. As a result, there are many systems for transliterating Korean. The three most recent systems are those proposed by the Russian scientist Kontsevich in 1990, the National Academy of the Korean language in 1999, and the South Korean Government in 2000.

All three of these systems are shown below because it is possible to find different systems used in different books, web pages, etc. However, it is important to note that the third system, adopted in 2000, is being officially promoted by the South Korean Government.

See Also:

• Korean Script and Sounds
• Consonants
• Vowels
• Syllables
• Reading Rules
• Stress
• About the Korean Language