Final answer:
The written system for the Korean language is known as Hangul, which was developed in the mid-15th century and is specifically designed to represent the sounds of the Korean language.
Step-by-step explanation:
The written system for the Korean language is known as Hangul. This script was created under King Sejong the Great in the mid-15th century and is unique to the Korean language. Before the creation of Hangul, Koreans primarily used Classical Chinese as the written language of government and scholarship, which was accessible mainly to the aristocracy and educated elite. However, this system was complex, as it often required Korean speakers to use Chinese characters to represent Korean sounds, and it involved aspects of both Korean and Chinese grammar.
The Three Kingdoms era saw the spread of the Chinese writing system throughout Korea. The literacy necessary to study Confucian and Buddhist texts was highly valuable, and knowledge of Chinese culture was a means to a life within the Korean courts. This period also influenced the development of writing systems in neighboring Japan, with both the Paekche and Silla kingdoms contributing to the notation methods that would influence Japanese writing.
With the creation of Hangul, Koreans had a writing system that accurately represented the sounds of their language and could be easily learned by the general population. Hangul consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, which can be combined into syllable blocks to form words. It is considered one of the most efficient writing systems in the world and has played a central role in promoting literacy throughout Korea.