The author has so far reviewed the ‘making principles’ and the graphic shapes of Hangeul. As Hangeul is a very conspicuous writing system in various aspects and its distinctions were derived from the unique principles of making graphemes, he was bound to focus his discussion on these circumstances.

In order to grasp a unique thing rightly and to describe it correctly, a unique standpoint and a theory suitable for it are needed. Yet in the case of Hangeul, it is pity that it has been described with a general theory and general terms in spite of its uniqueness. As a natural result, it is not easy to grasp and describe rightly the distinctions of Hangeul. If Hangeul by nature has a scientific distinction, its description and application should be scientific. Only this attitude can reveal the true value of Hangeul on the whole. Finally, by ascertaining this point again through the discussion of the sequence of consonants and vowels, he will put an end to this paper.

The sequence of consonants and vowels prescribed in the present <The Orthography of Hangeul> is different from that of ?Hunmin-Jeongeum?. Take a sequence of consonants for example, the present sequence is ‘ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅅㅇ...’, but that of ?Hunmin-Jeongeum? was ‘ㄱㅋ?ㄷㅌㄴ...’. The latter was based upon the theory at that time. In those days initial sounds(=onsets, consonants) were classified according to the point of articulation(牙/舌/脣/齒/喉) and the manner of articulation(全淸/次淸/不淸不濁), and the sequence was determined by these two standards. What is important is that the sequence was theoretical at the time of the invention. Learning the theoretical sequence of consonants and vowels is not to know only the sequence, but to practice the theory involved in the sequence altogether. The theoretical thing, being logical, is easy to teach and learn.

The present sequence was not determined by a specific theory, but by a simple observance of the traditional sequence which had first appeared in ?Hunmongjahwe?(訓蒙字會) and had changed little by little. It is problematic that the writing principle was not followed by a traditional principle but was changed, even though the sequence of consonants and vowels closely related to the writing principle was traditionally observed. In other words, before the revision of the orthography the sequence of letters had had a theoretical basis, but the revision of the orthography deprived the sequence of its theoretical and logical basis.

In ?Hunmongjahwe? consonants and vowels were classified into three groups: eight letters for both initial and final sounds, eight letters for only initial sounds, and remaining letters for medial sounds. That kind of classification was plausible enough in consideration of the orthography at that time, that only eight letters might be used in syllable final position(終聲). Additionally, even in the inner sequence of three groups a coherent principle could be ascertained. For example, the sequence of ‘ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂ...’ was determined according to the place of articulation and the sequence of making letters. Thus, it was very theoretical, and learning such a sequence could be effective in the study of various areas--the sequence of making letters, the orthography, and the phonological theory at that time, etc.

In the present orthography, all consonants--not just eight consonants--can be used in syllable final position. Therefore, now the classification into two groups and the determination of the alphabetical sequence according to it as shown in ?Hunmongjahwe?, has no theoretical basis and meaning. In fact, the present sequence is somewhat different from that of ?Hunmongjahwe?. In the latter it was ‘ㅋㅌㅈ(?ㅇ) ㅊㅎ’, but now it is changed as ‘ㅈㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ’. In short, the sequential standard of the point articulation(牙-舌-脣-齒-喉) has been broken. As a result the present sequence of consonants and vowels is hard to remember for both beginners and specialists. Because it is not a theoretical sequence, we cannot logically comprehend it and must unconditionally memorize it. Even if we have memorized it with great difficulty, it is no more than a mechanical memorization of a sequence.

This is the result caused by neglecting the distinctions of Hangeul. Hangeul is a writing system based upon a scientific theory, and even though each of its graphic shapes has theoretical information, the present sequence has almost overlooked this point. To cite an example, there is a common trait in the sounds represented by the letters ‘ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄸ, and ㅌ’,namely, that they have the same point of articulation. This information was reflected in the making of Hangeul, and is therefore expressed in the shapes of graphemes. It follows that the graphic shapes are easy to learn and some other side-effects are expected, if these letters(=graphemes) are arranged in parallel in the determination of the sequence of consonants.

The true face of Hangeul could be revealed, if we rightly understood the principles of making graphemes. The principles of making graphemes of Hangeul have not been finished yet. As long as Hangeul is used, they could sustain their life force and value as its basic principles of working. Therefore, study and efforts to understand completely and rightly the principles of making graphemes should be continued forever.