62-617: The gwageo ( Korean : 과거 ) or kwagŏ were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1897) periods of Korea . Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge of the Chinese classics . The form of writing varied from literature to proposals on management of the state. Technical subjects were also tested to appoint experts on medicine, interpretation, accounting, law etc. These were
124-624: A "classics licentiate" (or saengwon ) and others for a "literary licentiate" (or jinsa ). After passing these lower examinations ( saengjin-gwa ), they could proceed to the higher examination. This lower examination may have originated in the entrance examinations for the Gukjagam of Goryeo. In the lower examination, the literary licentiate tested compositional skill in various forms of Chinese poetry and prose, including shi poetry, fu rhyming prose, piao documentary prose, and ts'e problem-essays. The classics licentiate tested knowledge of
186-484: A Korean influence on Khitan. The hypothesis that Korean could be related to Japanese has had some supporters due to some overlap in vocabulary and similar grammatical features that have been elaborated upon by such researchers as Samuel E. Martin and Roy Andrew Miller . Sergei Starostin (1991) found about 25% of potential cognates in the Japanese–Korean 100-word Swadesh list . Some linguists concerned with
248-480: A core vowel. The IPA symbol ⟨ ◌͈ ⟩ ( U+0348 ◌͈ COMBINING DOUBLE VERTICAL LINE BELOW ) is used to denote the tensed consonants /p͈/, /t͈/, /k͈/, /t͡ɕ͈/, /s͈/ . Its official use in the extensions to the IPA is for "strong" articulation, but is used in the literature for faucalized voice . The Korean consonants also have elements of stiff voice , but it is not yet known how typical this
310-406: A frequent flashpoint of controversy, with various factions vying for control of the examination criteria. In particular, the question of whether the first phase of the higher examination should be oral or written became a hot topic of debate in early Joseon. The literary examination was divided into a lower and higher examination. In turn, in the lower literary examination some candidates applied for
372-545: A later founder effect diminished the internal variety of both language families. Since the establishment of two independent governments, North–South differences have developed in standard Korean, including variations in pronunciation and vocabulary chosen. However, these minor differences can be found in any of the Korean dialects , which are still largely mutually intelligible . The Chinese language , written with Chinese characters and read with Sino-Xenic pronunciations ,
434-399: A means of breaking the hold which a few powerful families held over the government. Throughout the dynasty, they retained this character of strengthening the throne against the aristocracy. This also took the form of aligning the throne with the provincial elites, and the kings of Goryeo strove to extend educational opportunities to the local elites throughout the country. In fact, any member of
496-432: A position of rank, or who had already passed the lower examination. The miscellaneous examinations were looked down upon by the yangban, and were generally restricted to the chungin class of hereditary technical workers. Criteria for the military examination varied, but over time it became open even to members of the lowest class (the cheonmin ). The gwageo provided a basis for various forms of regionalism . Due to
558-458: A position of the fifth rank or higher could automatically have one son placed in a position of rank. The examination system was spread to Goryeo in 957 by a visiting Hanlin scholar named Shuang Ji from Later Zhou . Gwangjong was highly pleased with Shuang Ji and requested that he remain at the Korean court permanently. The examinations were established in 958, during the reign of Gwangjong as
620-521: A possible relationship.) Hudson & Robbeets (2020) suggested that there are traces of a pre- Nivkh substratum in Korean. According to the hypothesis, ancestral varieties of Nivkh (also known as Amuric ) were once distributed on the Korean Peninsula before the arrival of Koreanic speakers. Korean syllable structure is (C)(G)V(C), consisting of an optional onset consonant, glide /j, w, ɰ/ and final coda /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, l/ surrounding
682-522: A special clerical title, beginning with daeseon , or "monk designate." Under the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), the examinations fell under three broad categories: the literary examinations ( 文科 ; mun-gwa ), military examinations ( 武科 ; mugwa ), and miscellaneous examinations ( 雜科 ; japgwa ) covering topics such as medicine, geography, astronomy, and translation. As other roads to advancement were much more closed than during
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#1732783992397744-409: A test of classical knowledge ( myeonggyeong eop ). These tests were officially to be held every three years, but in practice it was common for them to be held at other times as well. The composition test came to be viewed as more prestigious, and its successful applicants were divided into three grades. On the other hand, successful candidates on the classical examination were not ranked. In the course of
806-526: A total of 33 successful candidates were selected from a pool of 240. These 240, in turn, were sent from the Seonggyungwan (50), the capital (40), and the Eight Provinces (the number sent from each province varied, with Hwanghae and Yeongan sending only 10 while Gyeongsang sent 30). Each of the first two of the higher examination was in turn divided into three parts: in the first section,
868-619: Is also generated by longstanding alliances, military involvement, and diplomacy, such as between South Korea–United States and China–North Korea since the end of World War II and the Korean War . Along with other languages such as Chinese and Arabic , Korean is ranked at the top difficulty level for English speakers by the United States Department of Defense . Modern Korean descends from Middle Korean , which in turn descends from Old Korean , which descends from
930-656: Is an agglutinative language . The Korean language is traditionally considered to have nine parts of speech . Modifiers generally precede the modified words, and in the case of verb modifiers, can be serially appended. The sentence structure or basic form of a Korean sentence is subject–object–verb (SOV), but the verb is the only required and immovable element and word order is highly flexible, as in many other agglutinative languages. Question 가게에 gage-e store- LOC 가셨어요? ga-syeo-sseo-yo go- HON . PAST - CONJ - POL 가게에 가셨어요? gage-e ga-syeo-sseo-yo store-LOC go-HON.PAST-CONJ-POL 'Did [you] go to
992-511: Is closer to a near-open central vowel ( [ɐ] ), though ⟨a⟩ is still used for tradition. Grammatical morphemes may change shape depending on the preceding sounds. Examples include -eun/-neun ( -은/-는 ) and -i/-ga ( -이/-가 ). Sometimes sounds may be inserted instead. Examples include -eul/-reul ( -을/-를 ), -euro/-ro ( -으로/-로 ), -eseo/-seo ( -에서/-서 ), -ideunji/-deunji ( -이든지/-든지 ) and -iya/-ya ( -이야/-야 ). Some verbs may also change shape morphophonemically. Korean
1054-399: Is mainly reserved for specific circumstances such as newspapers, scholarly papers and disambiguation. Today Hanja is largely unused in everyday life but is still important for historical and linguistic studies. The Korean names for the language are based on the names for Korea used in both South Korea and North Korea. The English word "Korean" is derived from Goryeo , which is thought to be
1116-399: Is of faucalized consonants. They are produced with a partially constricted glottis and additional subglottal pressure in addition to tense vocal tract walls, laryngeal lowering, or other expansion of the larynx. /s/ is aspirated [sʰ] and becomes an alveolo-palatal [ɕʰ] before [j] or [i] for most speakers (but see North–South differences in the Korean language ). This occurs with
1178-544: Is the native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the national language of both North Korea and South Korea . Beyond Korea, the language is recognized as a minority language in parts of China , namely Jilin , and specifically Yanbian Prefecture , and Changbai County . It is also spoken by Sakhalin Koreans in parts of Sakhalin , the Russian island just north of Japan, and by
1240-747: Is well attested in Western Old Japanese and Northern Ryukyuan languages , in Eastern Old Japanese it only occurs in compounds, and it is only present in three dialects of the Southern Ryukyuan language group . Also, the doublet wo meaning "hemp" is attested in Western Old Japanese and Southern Ryukyuan languages. It is thus plausible to assume a borrowed term. (See Classification of the Japonic languages or Comparison of Japanese and Korean for further details on
1302-521: The Koryo-saram in parts of Central Asia . The language has a few extinct relatives which—along with the Jeju language (Jejuan) of Jeju Island and Korean itself—form the compact Koreanic language family . Even so, Jejuan and Korean are not mutually intelligible . The linguistic homeland of Korean is suggested to be somewhere in contemporary Manchuria . The hierarchy of the society from which
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#17327839923971364-527: The yangban aristocracy, who looked down upon it too easy to learn. However, it gained widespread use among the common class and was widely used to print popular novels which were enjoyed by the common class. Since few people could understand official documents written in classical Chinese, Korean kings sometimes released public notices entirely written in Hangul as early as the 16th century for all Korean classes, including uneducated peasants and slaves. By
1426-404: The gwageo and their subsequent career in government service. Under Joseon law, high office was closed to those who were not children of officials of the second full rank or higher, unless the candidate had passed the gwageo . Those who passed the higher literary examination came to monopolize all of the dynasty's high positions of state. The first national examinations were administered in
1488-478: The yangin freeborn class was permitted to take the examination, although the descendants of monks, criminals and cheonmin were excluded. However, over time government-run educational institutions such as the hyanggyo and Gukjagam lost ground to private institutions like the Twelve Assemblies . The major examinations were literary, and came in two forms: a composition test ( jesul eop ), and
1550-487: The Four Books and Five Classics from an orthodox Neo-Confucian interpretation. From each regular administration of the test, a total of 100 successful candidates were selected for each licentiate. These were drawn from a pool of 600 (for each licentiate), of which 200 were chosen from the capital and 400 were apportioned from the various provinces. The higher literary examination was administered every three years, and
1612-589: The Proto-Koreanic language , which is generally suggested to have its linguistic homeland somewhere in Manchuria . Whitman (2012) suggests that the proto-Koreans, already present in northern Korea, expanded into the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC and coexisted with the descendants of the Japonic Mumun cultivators (or assimilated them). Both had influence on each other and
1674-568: The Three Kingdoms of Korea (not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula), while " -eo " and " -mal " mean "language" and "speech", respectively. Korean is also simply referred to as guk-eo , literally "national language". This name is based on the same Han characters ( 國語 "nation" + "language") that are also used in Taiwan and Japan to refer to their respective national languages. In North Korea and China ,
1736-444: The byeolsi (special examinations) held on other special occasions. However, these special examinations were usually limited to the literary and military examinations. Over the course of the dynasty, a total of 581 irregular examinations were held, in comparison to 163 of the triennial singneonsi examinations. The literary and military examinations were administered in three stages: an initial qualifying test ( chosi ) administered in
1798-537: The singnyeonsi ( 식년시 ). However, the singnyeonsi became less important over time, and an increasing percentage of candidates took the gwageo on special occasions. These included the alseongsi (visitation examinations), which were administered when the king visited the Shrine of Confucius at the Seonggyungwan royal academy, the jeunggwangsi (augmented examinations) held during national celebrations, and
1860-889: The 17th century, the yangban had exchanged Hangul letters with slaves, which suggests a high literacy rate of Hangul during the Joseon era. In the context of growing Korean nationalism in the 19th century, the Gabo Reform of 1894 abolished the Confucian examinations and decreed that government documents would be issued in Hangul instead of literary Chinese. Some newspapers were published entirely in Hangul, but other publications used Korean mixed script , with Hanja for Sino-Korean vocabulary and Hangul for other elements. North Korea abolished Hanja in writing in 1949, but continues to teach them in schools. Their usage in South Korea
1922-408: The 20th century. The script uses 24 basic letters ( jamo ) and 27 complex letters formed from the basic ones. When first recorded in historical texts, Korean was only a spoken language . Since the turn of the 21st century, aspects of Korean culture have spread to other countries through globalization and cultural exports . As such, interest in Korean language acquisition (as a foreign language )
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1984-517: The Goryeo period, the gwageo became virtually the only pathway to a position of rank. In theory, anyone other than nobi could take gwageo examinations, but in reality only yangban who had the luxury of spending much of their childhood and early adulthood studying could hope to pass the exam. In the case of literary administration, children of remarried women, concubines, and officials who were dismissed for corruption were excluded from taking
2046-456: The Mugwa the first time due to falling off his horse during this phase, at which point he applied a hasty tourniquet using willow branches, and finishing his mounted archery portion is well known. The miscellaneous examinations, or japgwa , were divided into four parts: translation, medicine, natural science (astrology, geography, and others), and recordkeeping. These examinations were overseen by
2108-455: The beginnings of words. /l/ becomes alveolar flap [ɾ] between vowels, and [l] or [ɭ] at the end of a syllable or next to another /l/ . A written syllable-final ' ㄹ ', when followed by a vowel or a glide ( i.e. , when the next character starts with ' ㅇ '), migrates to the next syllable and thus becomes [ɾ] . Traditionally, /l/ was disallowed at the beginning of a word. It disappeared before [j] , and otherwise became /n/ . However,
2170-474: The candidates showed their understanding of the Confucian canon, in the second part they demonstrated their ability to compose in various literary forms, and in the last portion they wrote a problem-essay which was intended to show their political aptitude. Over the course of the Joseon Dynasty, a total of 14,620 men passed the literary examination. The triennial singneonsi passed roughly 41% of these;
2232-557: The capital and in the major border-ports and cities. At the first level, 45 candidates were accepted in spoken Chinese and 4 in each of the other languages; the second level selected 13 successful applicants in Chinese and 2 in each of the other languages. The medical examination selected 18 finalists, narrowed to 9 successful applicants in the second round. These were then given positions in the Bureau of Medicine, which sent some of them to
2294-514: The dynasty, some 6000 men passed the composition examination, while only about 450 passed the classics examination. The classics examination was revised in 1344, under the reign of Chunghye , on the model of the examination system then employed in Yuan Dynasty . The earlier system based directly on the classics was replaced with one based on Neo-Confucian interpretations of the classics. Military examinations were established briefly under
2356-419: The exam. Gwageo examinations were very important not only for an individual but for his family because a yangban family that did not produce a government official for four generations lost their status as yangban. When writing the examination, candidates had to record the names and positions of their four great-grandfathers. The higher literary examination was restricted to those who either were already in
2418-399: The first Korean dynasty known to Western nations. Korean people in the former USSR refer to themselves as Koryo-saram or Koryo-in (literally, " Koryo/Goryeo persons"), and call the language Koryo-mal' . Some older English sources also use the spelling "Corea" to refer to the nation, and its inflected form for the language, culture and people, "Korea" becoming more popular in
2480-550: The government office which employed specialists in the field. They were closely connected to the Sahak royal technical academies, which were overseen by the same offices. In the case of translation, the languages tested were the four in which the Joseon court maintained interpreters: contemporary Chinese, Mongolian, Jurchen/Manchu, and Japanese. This examination was overseen by the Bureau of Interpreters , which maintained interpreters in
2542-479: The inflow of western loanwords changed the trend, and now word-initial /l/ (mostly from English loanwords) are pronounced as a free variation of either [ɾ] or [l] . All obstruents (plosives, affricates, fricatives) at the end of a word are pronounced with no audible release , [p̚, t̚, k̚] . Plosive sounds /p, t, k/ become nasals [m, n, ŋ] before nasal sounds. Hangul spelling does not reflect these assimilatory pronunciation rules, but rather maintains
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2604-408: The issue between Japanese and Korean, including Alexander Vovin, have argued that the indicated similarities are not due to any genetic relationship , but rather to a sprachbund effect and heavy borrowing, especially from Ancient Korean into Western Old Japanese . A good example might be Middle Korean sàm and Japanese asá , meaning " hemp ". This word seems to be a cognate, but although it
2666-643: The kingdom of Silla beginning in 788, after the Confucian scholar Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn submitted the Ten Urgent Points of Reform to Queen Jinseong , the ruler of Silla at the time. However, due to Silla's entrenched bone rank system , which dictated that appointments be made on the basis of birth, these examinations did not have a strong effect on the government. Under the Goryeo dynasty, the national examinations became more systematic and powerful than they had been under Silla. However, they remained only one among several avenues to power. A man who had reached
2728-639: The language is most often called Joseon-mal , or more formally, Joseon-o . This is taken from the North Korean name for Korea (Joseon), a name retained from the Joseon dynasty until the proclamation of the Korean Empire , which in turn was annexed by the Empire of Japan . In mainland China , following the establishment of diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1992, the term Cháoxiǎnyǔ or
2790-472: The language originates deeply influences the language, leading to a system of speech levels and honorifics indicative of the formality of any given situation. Modern Korean is written in the Korean script ( 한글 ; Hangeul in South Korea, 조선글 ; Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea), a system developed during the 15th century for that purpose, although it did not become the primary script until
2852-455: The late 1800s. In South Korea the Korean language is referred to by many names including hanguk-eo ("Korean language"), hanguk-mal ("Korean speech") and uri-mal ("our language"); " hanguk " is taken from the name of the Korean Empire ( 대한제국 ; 大韓帝國 ; Daehan Jeguk ). The " han " ( 韓 ) in Hanguk and Daehan Jeguk is derived from Samhan , in reference to
2914-592: The later years of the Joseon Dynasty. Scholars who were unable to pass the examination began to form a class of disaffected yangban; notable among these was early 19th-century rebel leader Hong Gyeong-nae . Many of the later Silhak scholars also turned away from state service. The gwageo were finally abolished in the Gabo Reforms of 1894, along with legal class discrimination and the old rank system. Korean language Korean ( South Korean : 한국어 , Hanguk-eo ; North Korean : 조선어 , Chosŏnŏ )
2976-494: The palace and others to each provincial division down to the hyeon level. Those who passed the japgwa were originally given a crimson certificate, the same color obtained by those who passed the literary examination. However, pressure from the yangban eventually changed this color to white, signifying a lower level of achievement and entitling the bearer to a position of lower rank. Those who passed this examination became known as chungin . The gwageo were supplemented in
3038-515: The population was illiterate. In the 15th century King Sejong the Great personally developed an alphabetic featural writing system , known today as Hangul , to promote literacy among the common people. Introduced in the document Hunminjeongeum , it was called eonmun ('colloquial script') and quickly spread nationwide to increase literacy in Korea. The Korean alphabet was denounced by
3100-464: The primary route for most people to achieve positions in the bureaucracy. Based on the civil service examinations of imperial China, the gwageo first arose in Unified Silla , gained importance in Goryeo, and were the centerpiece of most education in the Joseon dynasty . The tutelage provided at the hyanggyo , seowon , and Sungkyunkwan was aimed primarily at preparing students for
3162-406: The provinces, a second examination ( hoesi ) conducted in the capital (in which the qualifying candidates were selected), and a third examination ( jeonsi ) in the presence of the king, in which the successful candidates were ranked in order. Each stage was norm-referenced , with a set number of successful applicants. The candidate who received the highest score ( jangwon ) in the literary examination
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#17327839923973224-432: The reign of Jungjong of Joseon (1506–1544), at the suggestion of the high official Jo Gwang-jo . The supplementary examination was called an "examination for the learned and the virtuous" ( hyeollanggwa ). This was an abbreviated examination, held in the presence of the king. The candidates had to be recommended by their local magistrate as men of the highest integrity. The gwageo system became increasingly corrupt in
3286-428: The reign of Yejong , and again in the reign of Gongyang just before the dynasty's fall; however, for most of the dynasty, there was no military examination and thus no educational path to military rank. This may have reflected the relative strength of the military elites during this period. Miscellaneous examinations ( jabeop ) were administered in various fields. One among these was Buddhism; monks who passed received
3348-443: The remainder passed in the course of irregular examinations. This proportion shifted over time; as the dynasty progressed, the irregular examinations became increasingly important. This may in part have been because the number of candidates in triennial examinations was fixed, while the number in the irregular examinations was not fixed. The military examination selected 190 candidates in the first stage, of whom 28 were allowed to pass
3410-436: The second stage, in which the successful applicants were selected, was an oral examination of applicants' knowledge of the Confucian canon and certain classics of military thought. Of importance were Sun Tzu's Art of War, as well as Hanbizi and Wuzi . The third stage, in which the candidates were ranked, was again based on practical military skills. These include horsemanship, and mounted archery. The story of Yi Sunshin failing
3472-420: The second stage. Of these, 70 came from the capital and the remainder from the various provinces, with Gyeongsang contributing 30, Chungcheong and Jeolla contributing 25, and the remaining provinces 10 candidates each. The military examinations tested a mixture of military and literary skills and knowledge. The first stage of the test was a practical test of various military skills, focused on Korean archery but
3534-669: The short form Cháoyǔ has normally been used to refer to the standard language of North Korea and Yanbian , whereas Hánguóyǔ or the short form Hányǔ is used to refer to the standard language of South Korea. Korean is a member of the Koreanic family along with the Jeju language . Some linguists have included it in the Altaic family, but the core Altaic proposal itself has lost most of its prior support. The Khitan language has several vocabulary items similar to Korean that are not found in other Mongolian or Tungusic languages, suggesting
3596-546: The strength of regional factions in Joseon Dynasty politics , scholars from out-of-favor factions often did not bother to take the examination at all. In the late Joseon Dynasty, an increasing percentage of successful candidates came from the northern province of Pyongan , and the small county of Chŏngju came to produce more successful candidates than any other county. The gwageo were originally administered every three years; these regular examinations were known as
3658-441: The tense fricative and all the affricates as well. At the end of a syllable, /s/ changes to /t/ (example: beoseot ( 버섯 ) 'mushroom'). /h/ may become a bilabial [ɸ] before [o] or [u] , a palatal [ç] before [j] or [i] , a velar [x] before [ɯ] , a voiced [ɦ] between voiced sounds, and a [h] elsewhere. /p, t, t͡ɕ, k/ become voiced [b, d, d͡ʑ, ɡ] between voiced sounds. /m, n/ frequently denasalize at
3720-464: The underlying, partly historical morphology . Given this, it is sometimes hard to tell which actual phonemes are present in a certain word. The traditional prohibition of word-initial /ɾ/ became a morphological rule called "initial law" ( 두음법칙 ) in the pronunciation standards of South Korea, which pertains to Sino-Korean vocabulary. Such words retain their word-initial /ɾ/ in the pronunciation standards of North Korea. For example, ^NOTE ㅏ
3782-487: Was first introduced to Korea in the 1st century BC, and remained the medium of formal writing and government until the late 19th century. Korean scholars adapted Chinese characters (known in Korean as Hanja ) to write their own language, creating scripts known as idu , hyangchal , gugyeol , and gakpil. These systems were cumbersome, due to the fundamental disparities between the Korean and Chinese languages, and accessible only to those educated in classical Chinese. Most of
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#17327839923973844-427: Was given a post of the 6th junior ( jong ) rank. If the jangwon was already employed in a position of rank, he was raised 4 levels. The candidates with second and third highest scores were given posts of the 7th junior rank. The rest were not guaranteed a post, but had to wait until one became vacant. The miscellaneous examinations had only the first two stages; their candidates were not ranked. Testing procedures were
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