[Unification of Korean Peninsula] Differences in the Languages of South and North Korea

It is 74 years since the Korean Peninsula has been divided into two Koreas, the South and the North have taken different paths. Language is one of them. North and South Korea had their own language policy, and as a result, there was a fairly wide gap between the languages used. There are 14 years of work going on to close this gap. It is a project for scholars of the South and the North to write a 'Gyeoremal-keunsajeon' together for language unification.

▲http://www.gyeoremal.or.kr/

The Joint Board of South and North Korea for the Compilation of 'Gyeoremal-keunsajeon' is written by Korean linguists from both Koreas for the unification of languages. The project has been about 80 percent since it began in 2005.

Gyeoremal-keunsajeon encompasses all the boundaries, between individuals, regions and two Koreas.

Gyeoremal-keunsajeon will list over 300,000 entry words. For the purpose of adding words that are most in use, the South will select words from the Standard Korean Language Dictionary and the North will select words from the Joseon Dynasty Dictionary. Among the newly discovered words in local, field, neologisms and literature, the words will be added through selecting. Afterwards, a revised/enlarged edition will be developed in accordance with the electronic version and topical dictionaries.

On that account, to work jointly on the Gyeoremal-keunsajeon is not only to integrate and compile our words but also to expand the width and depth of our cultural community and to prepare for reunification and forward.