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Syllable blocks

Korean is written in letters, but never one letter after another in a line. The letters of each syllable are packed into a square block, and the block is what you read. 한국 is two blocks: ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ and ㄱ ㅜ ㄱ. There are only six ways a block can be put together, and once you can see them you can read any Korean word aloud, even one you do not know.

han

1 · First consonant

Every block starts with one. ㅇ here is silent, so 아 is just a.

2 · Vowel

Upright vowels sit to the right, flat ones sit underneath, and the combined ones wrap round.

3 · Final consonant, optional

It always goes at the bottom. However it is spelled, a final is said as one of seven sounds.

More finals
Take any Korean apart

The six shapes

The vowel decides the shape. The consonant always comes first, top or left, and a final consonant always goes at the bottom.

side
Consonant, then an upright vowel to its right.
stack
Consonant, then a flat vowel underneath.
wrap
A combined vowel wraps round the consonant.
side + final
The side shape with a final consonant at the bottom.
stack + final
The stacked shape with a final at the bottom.
wrap + final
All three parts, and the final still goes at the bottom.
Why it works

A block is a syllable, so it tells you where one syllable ends and the next begins, which a plain line of letters would not. It also means a block must start with a consonant, which is why a syllable that starts with a vowel borrows the silent ㅇ: 아, 오, 이. And it is why the same letter looks slightly different in different blocks. It is squeezed to fit whatever else shares the square.

Next: the ten-day Hangul course teaches every letter in order, and the sound changes course explains why some blocks are not said the way they are spelled.