The Korean keyboard · 한글 자판
Korean is typed one letter at a time — and the keyboard stacks those letters into syllable blocks as you type. Watch it happen, key by key.
The standard Korean layout is called 두벌식 (dubeolsik, “two-set”) because it splits the letters into two sets. Every consonant sits under your left hand, every vowel under your right hand. Since a Korean syllable almost always goes consonant → vowel → (consonant), your hands simply take turns: left, right, left, right. That rhythm is why fluent Korean typists are so fast.
The most common consonants — ㄱ ㄴ ㅇ ㄹ — sit on the home row, right under your fingers. ㅇ is on D, ㄴ on S, ㄱ on R.
ㅏ is on K and ㅣ on L — the two most-typed vowels. The “y-” vowels (ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ) sit just above or below their plain partners.
Only seven keys have a Shift version: the five tense consonants and two vowels.
You never press a “next block” key. The keyboard decides where each letter goes — these are its rules.
A consonant waits alone until a vowel arrives; then the two snap together into a syllable.
A consonant after the vowel becomes the final consonant (받침) — tucked under the block.
Type a vowel after a 받침 and the consonant jumps to start the next block: 간 → 가나. Koreans call this 도깨비불, the “goblin fire.”
Compound vowels have no key of their own. ㅗ + ㅏ makes ㅘ, ㅜ + ㅓ makes ㅝ, ㅡ + ㅣ makes ㅢ.
Some blocks end in two consonants, like ㄺ in 닭 (chicken). Just type them one after the other.
Hold Shift with ㅂ ㅈ ㄷ ㄱ ㅅ for the tense sounds ㅃ ㅉ ㄸ ㄲ ㅆ — one key, not two.
No Korean keyboard needed. Click the screen and type on your normal keyboard — or tap the keys. Watch each block form, then press ⌫ to take it apart again.
Every major system ships with the 두벌식 layout built in — nothing to install. Look for “Korean — 2-Set” or “Dubeolsik.”
Switch: Right Alt (한/영 key) toggles Korean and English.
Switch: Caps Lock or Ctrl + Space.
Switch: tap the 🌐 globe key.
Switch: long-press the space bar or tap 🌐.
Phones sometimes use a different layout. Many Korean phone users prefer 천지인 (cheonjiin), which builds every vowel from three strokes — a dot (·), a flat line (ㅡ) and a tall line (ㅣ), echoing heaven, earth and person from the original design of Hangul. It fits on a number pad, but 두벌식 is the one to learn first: it is the same on every computer.
Spelling tip: the keyboard types letters, not sounds. 감사합니다 is said [감사함니다] but typed ㄱㅏㅁㅅㅏㅎㅏㅂㄴㅣㄷㅏ — always type the spelling. Learn the spellings on the Letters and Syllables pages.