Cover not available

In:Acquisition of Korean: The state of the art
Edited by Soonja Choi
[Trends in Language Acquisition Research 36] 2026
► pp. 54–77

Chapter 2
Word reading and spelling in Korean

The roles of orthographic, phonological, and morphological awareness

 | University of California Irvine
 | Changwon National University
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
This chapter explores the foundational skills of word reading and spelling within the context of the Korean language. Drawing on the triangle model (Plaut et al., 1996), we examine the interplay of orthographic, phonological, and morphological awareness, collectively referred to as code-related emergent literacy skills, in facilitating these foundational literacy skills. We delve into the unique characteristics of the Korean writing system and synthesize empirical evidence from children. We discuss instructional implications based on theory and evidence, underscoring the need for explicit and systematic instruction in orthographic, phonological, and morphological awareness. We advocate for integrated teaching strategies that address orthographic, phonological, and morphological skills, supported by assessment-driven differentiated instruction. Future research is recommended to further elucidate effective practices for diverse learners, enhancing educational outcomes in word reading and spelling.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Korean writing system: Word reading and spelling
  • 3.Theoretical background for word reading and spelling
  • 4.Code-related emergent literacy skills: Orthographic, phonological, and morphological awareness
    • 4.1Orthographic awareness
    • 4.2Phonological awareness
    • 4.3Morphological awareness
  • 5.Theoretical implications for word reading and spelling in Korean
  • 6.Instructional implications
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Note
  • References
References (70)
References
Adams, M. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. The MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Apel, K., Henbest, V. S., & Petscher, Y. (2022). Morphological awareness performance profiles of first- through sixth-grade students. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 65, 1070–1086. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Berninger, V. W., Abbott, R. D., Abbott, S. P., Graham, S., & Richards, T. (2002). Writing and reading: Connections between language by hand and language by eye. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(3), 39–56. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carlisle, J. F. (1995). Morphological awareness and early reading achievement. In L. B. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing (pp. 189–209). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cho, J.-R. (2009). Syllable and letter knowledge in early Korean Hangul reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 938–947. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cho, J.-R., Chiu, M. M., & McBride-Chang, C. (2011). Morphological awareness, phonological awareness, and literacy development in Korean and English: A 2-year longitudinal study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 15(5), 383–408. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cho, J.-R., Kim, Y.-S. & Park, S.-G. (2017). The Korean Test of Literacy Diagnosis (K-TOLD). Korea Guidance.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cho, J.-R., & McBride-Chang, C. (2005). Correlates of Korean Hangul acquisition among kindergartners and second graders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 9(1), 3–16. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cho, J.-R., McBride-Chang, C., & Park, S.-G. (2008). Phonological awareness and morphological awareness: differential associations to regular and irregular word recognition in early Korean Hangul readers. Reading and Writing, 21, 255–274. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Connor, C. M., Morrison, F. J., Fishman, B., Crowe, E. C., Al Otaiba, S., & Schatschneider, C. (2013). A longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled study on the accumulating effects of individualized literacy instruction on students’ reading form first through third grade. Psychological Science, 24, 1408–1419. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Cara, B., & Goswami, U. (2003). Phonological neighbourhood density: Effects in a rhyme awareness task in five-year-old children. Journal of Child Language, 30(3), 695–710. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duff, F. J., & Hulme, C. (2012). The role of children’s phonological and semantic knowledge in learning to read words. Scientific Studies of Reading, 16(6), 504–525. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ehri, L. C. (2000). Learning to read and learning to spell: Two sides of a coin. Topics in Language Disorder, 20(3), 19–36. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. RASE: Remedial & Special Education, 7(1), 6–10. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goodwin, A. P., & Ahn, S. (2013). A meta-analysis of morphological interventions in English: Effects on literacy outcomes for school-age children. Scientific Studies of Reading, 17(4), 257–285. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goodwin, A. P., Petscher, Y., Carlisle, J. F., & Mitchell, A. M. (2017). Exploring the dimensionality of morphological knowledge for adolescent readers. Journal of Research in Reading, 40, 91–117. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Graham, S., Liu, X., Aitken, A., Ng, C., Bartlett, B., Harris, K. R., & Holzapfel, J. (2017). Effectiveness of literacy programs balancing reading and writing instruction: A meta-analysis. Reading Research Quarterly, 53, 279–304. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, A. H. (2016). 일반 초등학생과의 비교를 통한 쓰기장애 초등학생의 철자 특성 연구: 철자 성취도 차이 및 철자 성취도에 대한 예측 변인 연구[A study on spelling characteristics of elementary students with writing disabilities through comparison with general elementary students: Research on spelling achievement differences and predictive variables for spelling achievement]. 학습자중심 교과교육연구 [Journal of Learner-Centered Curriculum and Instruction], 16(1), 697–722.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, A. H., Kim, E. J., Yoo, H. S., Hwang, M. A., & Park, S. H. (2011). 초등학생의 단어인지와 읽기유창성에 대한 예측변인 연구[A study on predictive variables for word recognition and reading fluency in elementary students]. 초등교육연구 [Journal of Elementary Education], 24(1), 277–303.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, A. H., Yoo, H. S., & Kim, E. J. (2010). 음운인식, 빠른 자동 이름대기, 자모지식, 단기기억, 작동기억과 한글 단어인지 능력 간의 관련성에 관한 연구: 읽기장애 조기선별을 위한 기초연구[A study on the relationship between phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, letter knowledge, short-term memory, working memory and Korean word recognition ability: A basic study for early screening of reading disabilities]. 특수교육학연구 [The Journal of Special Education], 45(1), 247–267.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, H. (2005). 단순언어장애 아동의 읽기재인과 읽기이해 관련 특성 변인 탐색. [Exploration of characteristic variables related to reading recognition and reading comprehension in children with specific language impairment] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ewha Womans University.
Kim, M., & Pae, S. (2011). 낱말읽기에서의 초등학생 음운해독력 발달 [Development of phonological decoding ability in elementary students’ word reading]. 한국 언어 청각 임상학회 [Korean Journal of Communication & Disorders], 16, 143–153.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, S. H., & Jung, K. H. (2015). 초등 저학년 읽기학습부진아동의 형태소인식과 읽기능력 [Morphological awareness and reading ability of elementary school children with reading difficulties in lower grades]. 언어치료연구 [Journal of Speech-Language & Hearing Disorders], 24(2), 35–47. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. (2007). Phonological awareness and literacy skills in Korean: An examination of the unique role of body–coda units. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 67–93. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). Cat in a hat or cat in a cap? An investigation of developmental trajectories of phonological awareness for Korean children. Journal of Research in Reading, 31, 359–378. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2009). The foundation of literacy skills in Korean: The relationship between letter-name knowledge and phonological awareness and their relative contribution to literacy skills. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 22, 907–931. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2010). Componential skills in early spelling development in Korean. Scientific Studies of Reading, 14, 137–158. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2011). Considering linguistic and orthographic features in early literacy acquisition: Evidence from Korean. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 177–189. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y. S. (2017). 찬찬히 체계적으로 배우는 읽기 & 쓰기 교육 [Systematic learning of reading and writing]. 학지사 [Hakjisa] Publishing.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G. (2020a). Hierarchical and dynamic relations of language and cognitive Skills to reading comprehension: Testing the direct and indirect effects model of reading (DIER). Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(4), 667–684. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020b). Toward integrative reading science: The direct and indirect effects model of reading (DIER). Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(6), 469–491. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020c). Structural relations of language, cognitive skills, and topic knowledge to written composition: A test of the direct and indirect effects model of writing (DIEW). British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 910–932. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2022). Co-occurrence of reading and writing difficulties: The application of the interactive dynamic literacy model. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 55(6), 447–464. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023). Simplicity meets complexity: Expanding the simple view of reading with the direct and indirect effects model of reading. In S. Cabell, S. Neuman, & N. Patton-Terry (Eds.), Handbook on the science of early literacy (pp. 9–22). Guilford Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2026). Cultivating the reader and writer: Teaching literacy as an integrated science. Guildford Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., & Graham, S. (2022). Expanding the direct and indirect effects model of writing (DIEW): Dynamic relations of component skills to various writing outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(2), 215–238. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S., & Petscher, Y. (2011). Relations of emergent literacy skill development with conventional literacy skill development in Korean. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 24, 635–656. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013a). Language general and specific factors in letter acquisition: Considering child and letter characteristics in Korean. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 26, 263–292. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013b). Considering word characteristics for spelling accuracy: Evidence from Korean-speaking children. Learning and Individual Differences, 23, 80–86. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S., Petscher, Y., Foorman, B., & Zhou, C. (2010). The contributions of phonological awareness and letter-name knowledge to letter sound acquisition — A cross-classified multilevel model approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 313–326. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., & Petscher, Y. (2023). Do spelling and vocabulary improve classification accuracy of children’s reading difficulties over and above word reading? Reading Research Quarterly, 58(2), 240–253. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., Petscher, Y., & Park, Y. (2016). Examining word factors and child factors for acquisition of conditional sound-spelling consistencies: A longitudinal study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 20, 265–282. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., Petscher, Y., Treiman, R., & Kelcey, B. (2021). Letter features as predictors of letter-name acquisition in four languages with three scripts. Scientific Studies of Reading, 25(6), 453–469. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., & Schatschneider, C. (2017). Expanding the developmental models of writing: A direct and indirect effects model of developmental writing (DIEW). Journal of Educational Psychology, 109, 35–50. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., Wolters, A., & Lee, J. (2024). Reading and writing relations are not uniform. They differ by the linguistic grain size, developmental phase, and measurement. Review of Educational Research, 94(3), 311–342. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kim, Y.-S. G., & Zagata, E. (2024). Enhancing reading and writing skills through systematically integrated instruction. The Reading Teacher, 77(6), 787–799. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, J., & Kim, Y.-S. G. (2024). The relations of morphological awareness with vocabulary, word reading, and reading comprehension for Korean-speaking middle school students. Reading and Writing, 37, 2665–2686. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee, J., Wolters, A., & Kim, Y.-S. G. (2023). The relations of morphological awareness to language and literacy skills vary depending on orthographic depth and the nature of morphological awareness: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 93(4), 528–558. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McBride-Chang, C., Cho, J.-R., Liu, H., Wagner, R. K., Shu, H., Zhou, A., Cheuk, C. S.-M., & Muse, A. (2005). Changing models across cultures: Associations of phonological awareness and morphological structure awareness with vocabulary and word recognition in second graders from Beijing, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 92, 140–160. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moon, Y., & Kim, Y.-S. G. (2024). Do the relations of vocabulary and attentional control with word reading and spelling change as a function of development and spelling scoring method? Journal Experimental Child Psychology, 246, 106019. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
National Center for Family Literacy. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. National Institute for Literacy.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00–4769). U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Na, Y. S. (2014). 철자지식과 음운인식이 5~8세 일반아동의 단어 읽기와 단어 받아쓰기에 미치는 영향 [The effects of orthographic knowledge and phonological awareness on word reading and word dictation in typically developing children aged 5–8 years] (Unpublished master’s thesis). Daegu University Graduate School.
Ouellette, G. P. (2006). What’s meaning got to do with it: The role of vocabulary in word reading and reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(3), 554–566. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pae, S., & Kim, M. (2010). 초등 저학년 다문화가정 아동의 읽기와 언어 [Language based reading abilities of Korean school-aged children with multicultural backgrounds]. Korean Journal of Communication Disorders, 15, 146–156.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pae, S. Y., Kim, M., Yoon, H., & Jang, S. (2015). 한국어읽기검사 [Korean Reading Assessment (KORLA)]. 학지사 Hakjisa.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Park, S. G. (2012). 학습부진아동의 문식성 연구 [A study on literacy of children with learning difficulties]. 특수아동교육연구 [Journal of Special Children Education], 14(2), 27, 27–51.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Park, S. G., Cho, J.-R., & Kim, E.-H. (2015). 다문화가정 초등학생의 읽기, 쓰기와 인지처리능력 연구 [A study on reading and writing and cognitive processing from culticultural in elementary]. Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology, 5(2), 157–165. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plaut, D. C., McClelland, J. L., Seidenberg, M., & Patterson, K. (1996). Understanding normal and impaired word reading: Computational principles in quasi-regular domains. Psychological Review, 103(1), 56–115. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ricketts, J., Nation, K., & Bishop, D. V. M. (2007). Vocabulary is important for some, but not all reading skills. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(3), 235–257. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Share, D. L. (2025). Blueprint for a universal theory of learning to read: The combinatorial model. Reading Research Quarterly, 60, e603. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shu, H., McBride-Chang, C., Wu, S., & Liu, H. (2006). Understanding Chinese developmental dyslexia: Morphological awareness as a core cognitive construct. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98 (1), 122–133. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sohn, H.-M. (1999). The Korean language. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stalega, M. V., Kearns, D. M., Bourget, J., Bayer, N., & Hebert, M. (2024). Is phonological-only instruction helpful for reading? A meta-analysis. Scientific Studies of Reading, 28(6), 614–635. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Taylor, I. (1980). The Korean writing system: An alphabet? A syllabary? A logography? In P. A. Kolers, M. E. Wrolstad, & H. Bouma (Eds.), Processing of visible language 2 (pp. 67–82). Plenum Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Treiman, R. (2017). Learning to spell words: Findings, theories, and issues. Scientific Studies of Reading, 21(4), 265–276. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Treiman, R., Kessler, B., & Pollo, T. C. (2022). Prephonological spelling and its connections with later word reading and spelling performance. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 218, 105359. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vaughn, S., & Linan-Thompson, S. (2004). Research-based methods of reading instruction, grades K-3. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yoon, Y.-B., & Derwing, B. (2001). A language without a rhyme: Syllable structure experiments in Korean. Canadian Journal of Linguistics, 46, 187–237. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ziegler, J. C., & Goswami, U. (2005). Reading acquisition, developmental dyslexia, and skilled reading across languages: A psycholinguistic grain size theory. Psychological Bulletin, 131(1), 3–29. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue