ScriptLookup

Korean

한국어
ko 82M speakers

Korean (한국어) is a Koreanic language with approximately 82M speakers speakers. It is written using the Korean (alias for Hangul + Han) script. Its BCP 47 language code is ko.

Korean (한국어, Hangugeo) is the official language of South Korea and North Korea and is spoken by approximately 82 million people. The Korean writing system, Hangul (한글), was invented in 1443 CE by King Sejong the Great and is considered one of the most scientifically designed alphabets in the world.

Korean is a language isolate (or forms its own small family with Jeju), meaning it has no proven genealogical relationship with any other language family. It has an extensive system of speech levels and honorifics that reflect social relationships and formality.

Writing Systems Used for Korean

Korean (alias for Hangul + Han)
Primary
안녕하세요
LTR Kore

Frequently Asked Questions

What alphabet or script does Korean use?
Korean is written using the Korean (alias for Hangul + Han) script (ISO 15924 code: Kore). Korean (alias for Hangul + Han) is written left-to-right.
What direction is Korean written?
Korean is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Korean?
Korean has approximately 82M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Koreanic language family.
What language family does Korean belong to?
Korean belongs to the Koreanic language family. It is written with the Korean (alias for Hangul + Han) script.
What is the language code for Korean?
The BCP 47 language code for Korean is "ko". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.

Language Facts

BCP 47 Code
ko
ISO 639-3
kor
Status
living
Speakers
82M speakers
Language Family
Koreanic
Scripts
1
Primary Script
Korean (alias for Hangul + Han)

Other Korean (alias for Hangul + Han) Languages

None found.

Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.