Korean romanization, and why to stop using it
Useful for one afternoon. Quietly harmful after that.
Romanisation is Korean written in the Latin alphabet — Busan, kimchi, annyeonghaseyo. It gets beginners moving, and then it starts costing them.
Knowing why is what makes people finally learn Hangul properly.
Skip the crutch — learn the real letters with the free worksheets.
Two competing systems
Revised Romanization is the South Korean government standard since 2000: Busan, Jeonju, gimbap. McCune-Reischauer is the older academic system: Pusan, Chŏnju, kimpap, complete with breve marks and apostrophes.
Both are still in circulation, which is why one place has two spellings on two different maps.
What romanisation can't show
It collapses ㄱ, ㄲ and ㅋ into roughly one letter, and it can't distinguish ㅓ from ㅗ reliably. Those are meaningful differences in Korean — 거 and 고 are different words.
Read romanised Korean for long enough and you'll learn a version of the language that Koreans don't quite recognise.
The one place it's genuinely fine
Addresses, travel signage and typing a place name into a maps app. That's about it. For anything you intend to say, use Hangul.
How to wean yourself off
Learn the alphabet — a weekend — then delete romanisation from your notes entirely. It'll feel slow for about four days and then you'll wonder why you waited.
Common questions
Why is it kimchi and not gimchi?+
Some spellings became fixed in English before the current standard existed. Kimchi, Seoul and Park are grandfathered in.
Which system should I write in?+
Revised Romanization, if you must write any. It's the current official standard.
Both worksheets, free
The 4-page Hangul alphabet worksheet and the 2-page syllable bonus, emailed in seconds.