What is Korean Romanization? | when to stop using romanization
- KSJ 쌤
- Jan 7
- 2 min read
안녕하세요 리더님! It’s KoreanStudyJunkie. Today, I will address common questions and concerns I get about “romanization”.
If you’re still leaning the Korean Alphabet, you may like my FREE Hangul Course:
WHAT IS ROMANIZATION?
Korean romanization is the system used to write Korean words (Hangul) using the Latin (English) alphabet so that people who can’t read Hangul yet can approximate the pronunciation.
In short:
Hangul → Korean Alphabet/Letters
Korean Letters → Written in English Letters
EXAMPLES:
Korean Word: 안녕하세요
Romanization: annyeonghaseyo
Definition: hello
Korean Word: 밥
Romanization: bap
Definition: rice /meal
Korean Word: 친구
Romanization: chingu
Definition: friend
Korean Word: 감사합니다
Romanization: gamsahamnida
Definition: thank you
Why Romanization Exists
Romanization helps beginners who are still learning to read the alphabet to pronounce Korean letters/words before fully learning Hangul.
Teachers and learning materials often introduce Korean gradually by using romanization in the beginning and slowly using it less and less throughout lessons.
It also helps travelers read signs, menus, and phrases quickly without having to know Hangul at all.
That said, it’s a learning aid, not a replacement for Hangul!
It can be considered a hindrance if over relied on.
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Important To Note
Romanization is never 100% accurate because Korean sounds don’t perfectly match English sounds. The way a word is written in Korean is often not exactly how it is pronounced, and the romanization adds a further layer of “mispronunciation”.
English readers are likely to still mispronounce words if just relying on the romanization - make sure you also have access to audio.
Example:
감사합니다 → gamsahamnida
(But the real pronunciation is closer to [감삼니다 - gamsamnida])
There are a couple of different “systems” for romanization that spell the same word differently.
Main types of Korean romanization
1). Revised Romanization (RR) – Most common
Official system used in South Korea
Used on road signs, textbooks, passports
Examples:
김치 → kimchi
부산 → Busan
친구 → chingu
2). McCune–Reischauer (MR) – Older system
Uses apostrophes and accents
Still seen in older books
Examples:
부산 → Pusan
친구 → ch’in’gu
3). Learner-style / pronunciation-based
Not official
Designed to be easy to read, especially for beginners
Examples:
안녕하세요 → annyeong ha seyo
괜찮아요 → gwenchanayo
You may see Korean words romanized in these different ways, but there is no need to be worried about this. You only need to focus on the pronunciation. Focus more on audio than on written spelling.
My Advice for Learners
Romanization is helpful at first, so don’t worry about needing to use it initially. That being said, it can slow your progress if you rely on it too long. Once you’ve learned the alphabet, it’s time to stop using romanization.
Learning Hangul early leads to better pronunciation, faster reading, and less confusion later!
Some people ask if they should learn Hangul.. YES! It’s a necessity actually.
That’s the end of this post. There are other lessons linked below that you might like!
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