Explanation: The 15th century AD king of Korea, Sejong the Great, an accomplished scholar, was deeply personally involved in the invention of Hangul, the Korean alphabet. It is widely considered one of the most efficient writing systems in common use. It is apparently easy to learn and master, as it was created entirely intentionally, with one of the intended purposes being to make it easier for ordinary people to learn to read and write. Swell guy, Sejong! Great, even!
The alphabet was not immediately popular, however, as the aristocracy resented both the innovation (DISRUPTING TRADITION) and the notion of spreading literacy to the filthy masses. King Sejong would die a few years after the definitive guide to Hangul was published by him and his coterie of scholars, and would not live to see a definitive embrace or rejection of the alphabet. Unfortunately, Hangul would not be widely adopted until the 19th century AD, due to the overwhelming cultural dominance of the aristocracy and pro-Chinese traditionalists in the Korean court.
It really is easy to learn. The consonants (generally) make the same shape as your tongue does when making the sound. For example the letter ㄴ makes the sound “n”. I learned to read it in a few weeks just hanging around Uijeongbu.
My wife picked up reading Hangul pretty quickly. She says it’s easy to read and write but difficult to speak. Japanese is the opposite, easier to speak but harder to read and write.
Speaking for me is always the hardest part of learning a language. Reading, writing, and listening are fairly simple but forming a full spoken sentence properly can be daunting.
