An Investigation of the Evolution from Old Spoken Korean to Contemporary Spoken Korean

This thesis analyzes and monitors the evolution of spoken Korean with regards to major political and social changes on the Korean peninsula. The first chapter considers significant historical events prior to 1948 and how they affected spoken Korean. The second chapter discusses how the Korean language has changed since 1948, particularly between North Korea and South Korea. The final chapter examines how the technological revolution has impacted speech in a modern Korea. It also considers modern cultural trends – such as ‘aegyo’ culture and the rise of e-games – into the forming of this dynamic language.