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Hangul is the simplest writing system in the world

blocks, each one representing a single syllable

rows reading left to right

use informal speech to children

formal speech to older people

Koreans do not expect foreigners to be fluent and will usually excuse minor mistakes

enroll in any of the numerous courses offered by Korean universities and private organizations.

Lee made the offer in an interview with the Washington Post last week during a visit to the United States for talks with President Bush, saying the countries need a better channel of communication.

Relations between the divided Koreas have chilled since Lee took office in February with a pledge to get tough on Pyongyang. Lee says he opposes unconditional assistance to the North and calls for its nuclear disarmament as a precondition for economic cooperation.

North Korea has bristled at the hard-line stance, and since late last month has expelled South Korean officials from a shared industrial complex, test-fired missiles, and threatened to reduce the South to "ashes." The Korean War ended in 1953 with a truce, not a peace treaty, which means the two sides technically remain at war. Relations improved significantly under Lee's two liberal predecessors -- Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun -- who pursued detente with North Korea with massive aid and concessions