Today, Korean is the official language in Seoul and is spoken in both North and South Korea. Hangul is the alphabet for the written language. Hangul(한글,Korean) was made by Sejong the Great in 1443. Hangul has 19 consonants and 21 vowels and was said to be a scientific language patterned on the vocal organs. Hangul replaced the Hanja, or Chinese characters, which were used before and are still occasionally used.