Spoken by 75 million people worldwide, Korean ranks 18th among the world’s most popular languages.

From music and movies to fashion and beauty, in recent years Korean cultural exports have seen explosive growth worldwide. There’s even a name for the global love of Korean pop culture: Hallyu, The Korean Wave.

The Korean language is easy to learn—it was specifically designed that way! There is a fascinating cultural history behind the creation of Hangul.

In 1446, King Sejong the Great, fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, commissioned scholars from his Hall of Worthies (the royal research institute and advisors to the king) to develop a language system that anyone could learn. Until Sejong’s time, a complex system of Chinese characters was used to write the Korean language. However, as only the elite had access to Confucian education, most common people couldn’t read or write their own language. The Hall of Worthies created the Hunmin Jeongeum, “the correct/proper sounds for the instruction of the people,” a new, simple Korean alphabet, which later became known as Hangul.

Hangul is considered one of the most logical and intuitive alphabets in the world. It is phonetic, has only 24 letters, and no tonal pronunciations.

Hangul allowed King Sejong to advance many aspects of education and culture among his people. Today, Korea has the world’s 12th largest economy, and a booming, innovative technology industry, making Korean a wonderful language choice for business and study. And Korea is a wonderful place to visit year-round! Travelers to this beautiful country, with a culture based on respect, find they receive a warm, friendly welcome, and a special eagerness to help foreigners attempting to learn the language.