Tongguk chŏngun and the Phonological System of Middle Korean

This paper discusses how the reformed system of Sino-Korean, Tongguk chŏngun, was accommodated into the phonological system of Middle Korean. Tongguk chŏngun readings of characters are usually regarded as artificial but in this paper it is emphasized that they were expected to be learnt and correctly pronounced by everyone who wished to learn the newly created alphabet. By examining various seemingly artificial elements such as entering tone ending –rq, geminate consonants, vowels including a rounded palatal medial sound and so on, it is concluded that the system of Tongguk chŏngun uses only those sounds that are already existing in the native Korean vocabulary, thereby tolerating the constraints on the possible position of occurrence.