How to Type Korean on Any Device

Basics · 7 min read · Updated August 9, 2026

Add a Korean keyboard in your device settings and choose the 2-Set (두벌식) layout — consonants on the left hand, vowels on the right. Unlike Chinese or Japanese there is no conversion step and no candidate list: Hangul is a real alphabet, so what you type is what appears. Typing gks gives 한, with the block assembling itself as you go. Tense consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) are Shift plus the plain letter.

Typing Korean is the easiest of the three East Asian writing systems by a wide margin, and it is worth setting up in your first week — the moment you can read Hangul, you can type it.

The reason is structural. Chinese and Japanese input methods have to guess which characters you meant and offer you a candidate list. Korean has none of that: Hangul is a genuine alphabet, so what you type is what appears. No conversion, no choosing, no ambiguity.

iPhone and iPad

Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard…
Choose Korean, then pick a layout:
- 2-Set (두벌식) — the standard computer layout, consonants on the left, vowels on the right. Pick this one.
- 10 Key (천지인) — a phone-pad layout built on the Hangul design logic: a base stroke plus a dot to add a vowel, plus a stroke to aspirate. Fast, but learn it later.
Switch keyboards with the globe icon (🌐) next to the space bar.

Android

Settings → System → Languages & input → On-screen keyboard → Gboard → Languages → Add keyboard.
Choose Korean, then the 2-set QWERTY layout (or Chunjiin for the 10-key).
Switch with the globe key.

Mac

System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit… → +
Add Korean → 2-Set Korean.
Switch input sources with Ctrl + Space, or press the dedicated 한/영 key on a Korean keyboard.

Windows

Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → Korean.
Press Windows + Space to switch input methods.
Once in Korean, press the right Alt key to toggle between Hangul and English without changing keyboards.

The 2-Set Layout, and Why It Makes Sense

The standard Korean keyboard splits the alphabet cleanly down the middle:

Left hand = consonants · right hand = vowels

Because every Korean syllable is consonant → vowel → (consonant), your hands naturally alternate as you type.
Typing gks produces 한 — the computer assembles ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ into a block automatically as you go.
You never place letters into a block yourself. Type in order and the block builds itself.

The tense consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) are typed by holding Shift on their plain counterpart: Shift+r gives ㄲ, Shift+q gives ㅃ. Same for the two compound vowels ㅒ and ㅖ: Shift+o gives ㅒ, Shift+p gives ㅖ.

The One Thing That Confuses Beginners

Korean input assembles blocks as you type, which means the character on screen changes shape while you are still typing it.

You have typed	Screen shows	What is happening
ㅎ	ㅎ	A lone consonant, waiting
ㅎ ㅏ	하	Vowel joins to the right — block forms
ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ	한	Final consonant drops underneath
ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ ㅏ	하나	The ㄴ jumps out to start a new block

That last row is the behaviour that looks like a bug the first time you see it. It is not — it is the input method correctly re-analysing where the syllable boundary is, because a consonant followed by a vowel must begin a new block. Keep typing and it always resolves correctly.

Free tool: the Hangul Quiz

Most Hangul charts stop at the letters. This one drills the 24 letters and whole syllable blocks like 한, 글 and 옷 — the step where reading actually starts. Both directions, instant feedback, full charts underneath. No signup.

Open the free Hangul quiz

Typing Korean on a Non-Korean Keyboard

If your physical keyboard has no Hangul printed on it, you have three options, in order of how much they cost you:

Learn the layout. It is 24 keys and the left/right split makes it far easier than it sounds. A week of casual use is enough.
Keyboard stickers. A few dollars, and they stop being necessary within a month.
An on-screen keyboard. Fine for occasional lookups, painful for anything longer.

What you should not do is rely on a romanisation-to-Hangul converter as a permanent solution. It works, but it keeps you thinking in romanisation, which is the habit most likely to cap your pronunciation and reading speed later.

Searching in Korean Without Knowing the Word

The circular problem every beginner hits: you see Korean text on a sign, a menu or a screenshot, and you cannot type it because you cannot read it fast enough.

Two ways around it. OCR is the fast one — point your camera at the text and let the app read it. Hanguljo has this built in and splits what it reads into words, so you get study material rather than an undifferentiated string. Handwriting input is the slower fallback: on iOS and macOS you can draw Hangul with a finger or trackpad, which works from a screenshot.

Everything above, as one app

Hanguljo covers the full TOPIK 1–6 path: every word and grammar point with native audio, an exclusive mnemonic for every word, and an SRS engine that reviews you right before you would forget. It also has conversation lessons, shadowing with your own microphone, reading and listening practice, an OCR scanner for real signs and menus, and lock screen and home screen widgets so Korean reaches you between sessions.

Learn Korean with Hanguljo - Free

Frequently asked questions

How do I type Korean on my iPhone?

Go to Settings, then General, then Keyboard, then Keyboards, then Add New Keyboard, and choose Korean. Pick the 2-Set layout, which is the standard computer layout with consonants on the left and vowels on the right. Switch to it with the globe icon next to the space bar.

Do I need to choose characters like with Chinese or Japanese?

No. Hangul is an alphabet, so what you type is exactly what appears. There is no candidate list and no conversion step, which makes Korean by far the easiest of the three East Asian writing systems to type.

What is the 2-set Korean keyboard?

The standard layout, called 두벌식 dubeolsik. Consonants sit under the left hand and vowels under the right, so your hands alternate naturally because every Korean syllable runs consonant, vowel, optional consonant. Typing g-k-s on it produces 한.

How do I type the tense consonants ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ?

Hold Shift on the plain consonant. Shift plus r gives ㄲ, Shift plus q gives ㅃ. The same applies to the compound vowels ㅒ and ㅖ, typed as Shift plus o and Shift plus p.

Why does the character change while I am typing?

Korean input builds syllable blocks as you go, so the shape on screen updates with each letter. If you type a consonant after a completed block and then a vowel, that consonant jumps out to start a new block. It looks like a glitch and is actually the input method correctly finding the syllable boundary.