0050 - 弟[제/퇴] - 아우 - young brother; junior; i; me

The Story [이야기] :

• Our younger brother is a person 人 who practices with his bow 弓 eight 丷 hours a day.
• If the meaning is "to obey/to yield to", 퇴 is used.

0049 - 兄[형/황] - 형 - elder brother

The Story [이야기] :

• Our elder brother is a person 儿 with a big mouth 口 and he always scolds us.
• If the meaning is "to feel sad/sorrowful about something", 황 is used.

0048 - 母[모] - 어머니 - mother; female elders; female

The Story [이야기] :

• The character is a picture of a kneeling woman 女 with breasts and nipples showing.

0047 - 父[부/보] - 아버지; 아비; 아빠 - father

The Story [이야기] :

• Originally, it was the picture of a hand with an ax.
• It is the picture of a person sitting cross-legged, which my father always does.
• If the meaning is "a courteous designation/title to a male person", 보 is used.

0046 - 火[화] - 불; 열과 빛 - fire; flame; burn; anger; rage

The Story [이야기] :

• The character is a picture of a bonfire with flames.
• When this character is used as part of another character, it can take on the form of 灬.

0045 - 山[산] - 뫼; 메; 산 - mountain; hill; peak

The Story [이야기] :

• The character is a pictogram of mountain peaks.

0044 - 北[북/배] - 북녘; 북쪽 - north; northern; northward

The Story [이야기] :

• Originally, the character is a picture of two people sitting back-to-back.
• There is a road in the middle going from south to north.
• If the meaning is "to escape/flee/run away", 배 is used.

0043 - 南[남/나] - 남녘; 남쪽 - south; southern part; southward

The Story [이야기] :

• Originally, the character is the picture of a musical bell.
• A shepherd is trying to make ten 十 fences with the intention that the sheep 羊 will enter from the south.
• If the meaning is "amen/the end of a prayer", 나 can be used.

0042 - 西[서] - 서녘; 서쪽 - west(ern); westward; occident

The Story [이야기] :

• The character shows the picture of a bird in its nest.  When the sun sets in the west, the birds go back to their nests.
• When this character is used as part of another character, it can take on the form of 襾 or 覀.

0041 - 東[동] - 동녘 - east; eastern; eastward

The Story [이야기] :

• Originally, the character is a picture of a bag tied at both ends.   However, we can also view the character as the sun 日 hiding behind a tree 木.  Accordingly, there is a story that says that when one man looked eastward to find a character for "east", he saw the sun rising behind a big tree.  Hence the character for "east" was created.

0040 - 木[목] - 나무 - tree; wood; lumber; wooden

The Story [이야기] :

• The character is a picture of a tree with branches extending outwards and roots extending downwards (like a banyan tree).

0039 - 水[수] - 물 - water; liquid; lotion; juice

The Story [이야기] :

• This character shows the picture of flowing water.
• When this character is used as part of another character, it can take on the form of 氵.

0038 - 土[토/두/차] - 흙 - soil; earth; items made of earth

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a mound 十 on the ground 一.
• It is the picture of a lump of clay on a potter’s wheel.
• If the meaning is "roots of a tree", 두 is used.
• If the meaning is "trash", 차 is used.

0037 - 門[문] - 문 - gate; door; entrance; opening

The Story [이야기] :

• The character is a picture of a door with two panels.

0036 - 先[선] - 먼저; 미리 - first; former; previous

The Story [이야기] :

• The character represents a person with a young plant 屮 sprouting from him which represents growth and maturity.  Like all things in nature, it takes time for a person to grow and mature.  Hence, let us respect those who came first before us, those who have already grown that "young plant" 屮 they've worked hard for.

0035 - 金[금/김] - 쇠 - gold; metals in general; money

The Story [이야기] :

• Originally, the character showed the presence 今 of four gold nuggets hidden in the earth 土, but now two gold nuggets remain.  Maybe the two missing gold nuggets were stolen by thieves.
• When the character is used as a Korean surname, 김 is used.

0034 - 白[백] - 희다 - white; pure; unblemished; bright

The Story [이야기] :

• The character originally represented the picture of an acorn.  Eventually, it came to mean "white" because of the color of the acorn's  flesh.
• A ray of light ′ from the sun 日 brightens the surroundings and gives us white light.

0033 - 靑[청] - 푸르다 - blue

The Story [이야기] :

• In today's modern society, there is what we call a lively 生 currency 円 called the blue 靑 currency.  The blue currency allows anyone to send and receive money electronically using bluetooth technology.  It was coined "blue currency" because the money passes through the blue sky.
• Lively 生 + currency 円 = blue 靑.
• The character represents a bluish/greenish colour, and by extension suggesting youth/liveliness.  

0032 - 敎[교] - 가르치다 - teach

The Story [이야기] :

• If we were to teach a child 子 properly, we should employ mutual interaction 爻 and tap 攵 the child's hidden potentials.

0031 - 校[교] - 학교 - school; military field officer

The Story [이야기] :

• This is a pictophonetic character.  Tree 木 suggests the meaning, while 交[교] suggests the sound.
• 交 means to intersect, exchange, or communicate.  Meanwhile, schools were usually found in the woods 木 or somewhere solemn convenient for studying.  Hence, people communicating and exchanging ideas 交 in the woods 木 came to represent "school".

0030 - 室[실] - 집; 건물 - room; home; house; chamber

The Story [이야기] :

• 至 is the picture of a bird flying down to earth and reaching for it.  Once the bird arrives, it rests inside a place with a roof 宀 like a room, house, or some chamber.

0029 - 軍[군] - 군사 - army; military; soldiers; troops

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a vehicle/chariot 車 surrounded 冖 by soldiers.  Perhaps they are an army preparing for battle.

0028 - 長[장] - 길다 - long; length; excel in; leader

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a person with long hair 彡 and with a walking stick.
• Our village chief/boss is the eldest son in his family and he has long hair.  Because of old age, he carries with him a walking stick.

0027 - 王[왕/옥] - 임금; 천자 - king; ruler; royal; surname

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a king/ruler ㅣ over the sky 一, man 一, and earth 一.
• If used as a character component, it can take on the meaning of jade 玉 instead.  If the meaning is "jade/precious stone", 옥 is used.  

0026 - 女[여/녀] - 여자 - woman; girl; feminine

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a seated woman/a lady kneeling down. 
• 여 is used if found at the beginning of the word, and 녀 otherwise.

0025 - 韓[한] - 대한민국의 약칭 - fence; surname; Korea

The Story [이야기] :

• In Korea, a day 日 from ten 十 in the morning up to ten 十 in the evening is spent by working hard to earn precious tanned leather 韋.

0024 - 大[대/태/다] - 크다; 심하다 - big; great; vast; large; high

The Story [이야기] :

• It shows a person 人 with outstretched arms to make himself look big.
• 태 and 다 are also pronunciations for the character, but are used less often.

0023 - 小[소] - 작다 - small; tiny; insignificant

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a person with lowered arms because he is small.
• It shows a tool 亅 dividing 八 and cutting something into small pieces.

0022 - 民[민] - 백성 - people; subjects; citizens

The Story [이야기] :

• Numerous clans 氏 make up a nation's "people".

0021 - 人[인] - 사람; 인간 - man; people; mankind; someone else

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a person's legs.
• If this character is used as a part of other characters, it takes the written form of 亻.

0020 - 國[국] - 나라; 국가 - nation; country; nation-state

The Story [이야기] :

• Inside the boundary 囗 of a nation, the people 口 of the land 一 protect it with weapons like spears 戈.

0019 - 中[중] - 가운데 - central; center; middle; in the midst of; hit target; attain

The Story [이야기] :

• There is a vertical line | in the middle of the rectangle.

0018 - 外[외] - 바깥; 밖 - out; outside; external; foreign

The Story [이야기] :

• In the ancient times, divination 卜 was done in the evening 夕 and outdoors.

0017 - 學[학/교/할] - 배우다 - learning; knowledge; school

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a child 子 with thorns on its head indicating the hard labor he puts in studying and learning something.
• It shows the picture of a master laying his hands 臼 crosswise 爻 over the mind of the child 子 to enlighten him.
• If the meaning is "to teach", 교 is used.
• If the meaning is "a Chinese Grosbeak", 할 is used.

0016 - 寸[촌] - 마디 - inch; small; tiny

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a small, tiny hand counting.  It was also used before as a unit of length measurement.
• In Korea, it is also used to "count the distance" of kinship between two people.

0015 - 萬[만] - 일만 - ten thousand; innumerable

The Story [이야기] :

• Originally, the character is a picture of a scorpion 禺 in the grass 艹.  Now it means ten thousand or innumerable.  Anyhow, to see ten thousand or innumerable scorpions would sure be scary.

0014 - 十[십] - 열 - ten; tenth; complete; perfect

The Story [이야기] :

• Cross your hands and count your ten fingers.
• The horizontal stroke 一 represents a long bamboo stick, while a vertical stroke | represents "ten small objects".

0013 - 九[구/규] - 아홉 - nine

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of an elbow, the character's original meaning.
• If the meaning is "to amass/to accumulate", 규 is used.

0012 - 八[팔] - 여덟 - eight; all around; all sides

The Story [이야기] :

• Two separate lines meaning "to divide".  Eight is a single-digit number which can be divided by two twice.  Incidentally, the Hindu-Arabic numeral for eight 8 shows symmetry, both vertically and horizontally.
• If this character is used as part of other characters, it can indeed mean "to divide" instead of meaning "eight".
• It also means all sides or all directions since there are 8 major directions in the compass :  North, East, West, South, North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West.
• When this character is used as part of another character, it can take on the form of 丷.

0011 - 七[칠] - 일곱 - seven

The Story [이야기] :

• The character 七 looks like an upside-down seven 7. 

0010 - 六[육/륙] - 여섯 - number six

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a high mound which can be seen beyond the normal view, just as six goes beyond the normal counting unit of one hand (five).
• Eight 八 minus two strokes above it equals six  六.
• 육 is used if found at the beginning of the word, and 륙 otherwise.

0009 - 五[오] - 다섯; 다섯 번 - five; surname

The Story [이야기] :

• The character 五 has a similar shape with the Hindu-Arabic numeral for five 5.  

0008 - 四[사] - 넉; 넷 - four

The Story [이야기] :

• A square 囗 has four sides, and there is a person 儿 inside the square.

0007 - 三[삼] - 석; 셋 - three

The Story [이야기] :

• Three horizontal strokes.  

0006 - 二[이] - 두; 둘째 - two; twice

The Story [이야기] :

• Two horizontal strokes.  

0005 - 一[일] - 하나; 일 - one; a; an; alone

The Story [이야기] :

• One horizontal stroke.  

0004 - 年[연/년/영/녕] - 해 - year; new-years; person's age

The Story [이야기] :

• This character is a picture of a person carrying the harvest home, an annual event.
• 연 is used if found at the beginning of the word, and 년 otherwise.
• If the meaning is "to flatter", 영 is used if found at the beginning of the word, and 녕 otherwise. 

0003 - 月[월] - 달; 별 이름 - moon; month

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a crescent moon.

0002 - 日[일] - 날 - sun; day; daytime

The Story [이야기] :

• This character shows the picture of the sun.

0001 - 生[생] - 나다 - life; living; lifetime; birth

The Story [이야기] :

• It is the picture of a young plant 屮 rising from the ground 土.