Hangeul Typography Explained: What Every Designer Should Know
- morisawausa
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
As demand for Hangeul content continues to grow worldwide, understanding Korean typography is becoming increasingly important for designers and content creators alike.
Hangeul is the phonetic writing system used for Korean, and unlike Latin-based scripts, its structure, composition, and visual rhythm are fundamentally different from other East Asian languages as well. These differences mean that Korean requires its own specific approach to typesetting and design.
For example, one common mistake is inserting unnecessary half-width spaces within words. In Hangeul, each syllable is grouped visually into a square block, which can give the impression that individual characters should be separated by spaces. However, the correct usage is to write without spaces inside a word, dividing only between words as units.
(Example: “안녕하세요” [correct] vs. “안 녕 하 세 요” [incorrect]).
A lack of understanding of these structural features can lead to awkwardness in typesetting or UI design. This is why designers need to be aware of these fundamentals from the start.
This article provides a practical overview of Korean typography, beginning with the history and structure of Hangeul, and covering typographic features, layout rules, application settings, and considerations for multilingual design. The goal is to give designers, content managers, and developers—particularly those working in global markets like the U.S. —the foundational knowledge they need to work confidently with Korean content.
Table of Contents
6. Conclusion
1. The Origins and Structure of Hangeul
The Korean alphabet, Hangeul, is used in both the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). It was created in the 15th century by order of King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty, who tasked scholars with developing a writing system that would make literacy accessible to common people. First published in 1446 under the name Hunminjeongeum (“The Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People”), Hangeul has been celebrated as one of the few writing systems in the world whose origins are clearly documented.
Hangeul was unique in its mission: it was deliberately designed so that ordinary citizens, not just elites, could learn to read and write. This intent distinguishes it from many other writing systems, which typically evolved gradually over time rather than being purpose-built.
Before Hangeul, written Korean relied heavily on Chinese characters (Hanja). For centuries after its creation, Hangeul was used alongside Chinese characters, and even today, Hanja is still employed in certain contexts where additional precision or clarity is required.
Hangeul is composed of 21 vowels and 19 consonants, which can be combined to form syllabic blocks. Its basic structure follows either “consonant + vowel” or “consonant + vowel + consonant,” and this logic is directly reflected in modern keyboard input systems.
In South Korea, the widely used character set standard KS X 1001:2004 includes not only Hangeul but also Chinese characters, as well as Japanese hiragana and katakana. Within this standard, 2,350 pure Hangeul characters are encoded. It’s worth noting that South Korea and North Korea use different national standards; North Korea, the KPS code is predominant.)
2. Characteristics of Hangeul Typography
Although Hangeul syllables appear visually as square blocks, each block is in fact composed of multiple letters combined into one syllable unit. Because of this, the most common input methods are inefficient and thus rarely used.
In principle, Hangeul typesetting is laid out horizontally. Because each syllable is formed by combining vowels and consonants, its shape can vary, and text alignment usually follows either justified alignment or left alignment (flush left), with the top or center as the reference point.
Spacing in Hangeul is generally solid setting (no added space between characters). However, the standard word spacing method is separated spacing, which inserts proportional spaces between words. That said, in wider fonts this spacing can be difficult to distinguish, so in some cases it may be available to instead apply monospaced spacing (equal-width setting).
Line spacing for Hangeul text is generally set at about 150-190% of the character size, with adjustments made depending on the vertical proportions of the font. When the line length is too short, the tendency of Hangeul to be segmented by word units can make the text harder to read.
To maintain readability, it is recommended to secure a reasonable line length and apply paragraph breaks where appropriate. Alternatively, consider breaking lines at natural word boundaries and aligning text flush left (ragged right) instead of fully justified.
3. Fonts and Typefaces Used in Korean Typesetting
In Korean typesetting, specialized symbols and characters tailored to the language are required. Even if certain marks appear visually similar to those used in Japanese or Western texts, subtle differences in character shape or alignment standards can create inconsistencies if used without adjustment.
In Hangeul typefaces, the most common styles include Mincho (Serif), Gothic (Sans Serif), and Rounded Gothic (Rounded Sans Serif).
Representative examples include Clarimo UD KR, a Gothic typeface designed to harmonize with Mincho fonts like UD Shin Go and Shin Go, and UD Reimin Hangul, which pairs well with Mincho typefaces such as UD Reimin.
Because Hangeul characters are proportionally wider and shorter than Latin letters, they may appear slightly smaller at the same point size. To maintain visual balance in layouts for screens or print, it is often necessary to adjust font size, spacing, or line height to achieve a more consistent overall design.
A recent trend has been the popularity of simpler, narrower typefaces optimized for mobile environments. Handwritten-style designs have also gained traction, especially among younger generations.
Beyond typeface selection, another key consideration in Hangeul typography is how Korean text interacts with other languages in multilingual layouts—an essential aspect for global brands working across diverse markets.
4. Considerations for Multilingual Typesetting
When Hangeul is combined with other languages, the most common pairing is with English.
Because Hangeul typesetting is based on horizontal writing, it integrates naturally with Latin characters. English is usually entered in proportional width and aligned to the left.
While Hangeul allows line breaks at the single-character level, readability and rhythm improve when breaks are applied at natural spacing points (known as “bunkara gaki” or divided spacing). This ensures a smoother and more natural flow in multilingual text.
5. Character Codes and Sets
Hangeul character codes are defined in two ways:
By encoding each letter (Consonant or vowel) individually (combination type), or
By encoding each complete syllable block (precomposed type).
In Unicode, all 11,172 Hangeul characters are encoded as precomposed syllables.
A representative national standard is KS X 1001 (formerly KS C 5601), known as the KS Code. It includes a total of 8,227 characters: 2,350 Hangeul syllables, 4,888 Chinese characters, and 989 alphabetic and kana characters.
An additional character code, KS X 1002-1991, established in 1991, contains 7,649 medieval Korean characters and other extended scripts.
Adobe has also defined its own character set called Adobe-Korea1, and Morisawa Fonts supports Adobe-Korea1-2, which includes 18,352 characters. Additionally, 268 Hangeul-related characters not included in the unified CJK ideographs have been incorporated as CJK Compatibility Ideographs.
In short, these standards ensure that Hangeul can be used consistently across modern digital platforms, while also preserving older and specialized characters. For global design teams, understanding which codes and sets are supported is essential to avoid compatibility issues in multilingual projects.
6. Conclusion
Typesetting in Hangeul involves much more than simply entering characters. It requires a deep understanding of letter structure, visual alignment, line spacing, kerning, forbidden character rules, and multilingual adjustments. Especially when working in non-Korean language environments such as the United States, accurately representing Korean content demands applying these foundational principles appropriately.
This guide was created to provide essential knowledge for anyone working with Hangeul typography and typesetting, ensuring accuracy and professionalism. In today’s global design environment, Korean is no longer optional—it is an essential element. Understanding its unique characteristics is not a matter of choice but a necessity.
By recognizing the structural and visual rules of Hangeul typography, designers and content creators can ensure clarity, accuracy, and cultural authenticity in their global work.
At Morisawa, we believe typography is more than a technical detail—it is a bridge to cultural understanding. By approaching Hangeul with the same care given to Latin, Chinese, or Japanese scripts, global brands can achieve stronger connections with Korean audiences. As with our other multilingual guides, we encourage design teams to see typography not as an afterthought, but as a foundation for meaningful communication.
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