North and South Koreans speak and write the same language. It is derived
from the Ural-Altaic family, which also includes Turkish, Hungarian, Finnish,
Mongolian, Tibetan and Japanese. The written Korean language is called
Hangeul, consisting of 10 vowels and 14 consonants. King Sejong invented
it in the 15th century. Hangeul is considered easy to learn and
write, contributing to Korea’s high literacy rates (98% over age 15).