Learn Korean Hangul aims to meet WCAG 2.2 level AA, with Korean text marked for screen readers, keyboard-operable practice tools and no autoplaying audio. This statement describes the commitments in the site's specifications and names the known gaps. No full accessibility audit has been completed yet, so nothing here is a certification.
Our Accessibility Target
The target is level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, published by the W3C. It is a goal that the design and build checks are set up to enforce, not a claim of compliance. Compliance is claimed only after the testing described below has been done on each page template.
Accessibility is built in at the component level. Every button, form control and player follows a shared rule set: everything works from the keyboard, targets are at least 44 pixels in size, nothing needs a drag or a hover, and error messages name the field and the fix.
Next, the Korean-specific features are explained.
How Do Korean Text and Audio Work with Assistive Technology?
Korean text is real page text marked with the language attribute lang="ko", so a screen reader can switch to a Korean voice for it and back to English. Hangul is never placed only in an image, which is why the Hangul charts are real HTML tables that a screen reader can read cell by cell.
Romanization is optional. A toggle hides or shows the Revised Romanization beside the Hangul, so a learner using a screen reader can avoid hearing both forms read out.
Audio follows four rules:
- No autoplay. Nothing plays until you press a button. See the audio methodology for how clips are produced.
- Labelled buttons. A play button's name includes the text it plays, such as "Play 안녕하세요", so the button is clear when read out of context.
- One clip at a time. Starting a clip stops the previous one.
- Text equivalent. The Korean is always shown as text, which acts as the transcript for the short clips.
Next, keyboard use is described.
Keyboard Use and Shortcuts
Every function is designed to be reachable by keyboard, with a visible focus ring and no keyboard traps. The flashcard decks have documented shortcuts, listed in a "Keyboard shortcuts" panel. The table shows the planned map.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space or Enter | Show the answer, then move on |
| Left and Right Arrow | Previous and next card when browsing |
| 1 or 2 | Mark "Not yet" or "Got it" |
| P or A | Play or replay audio |
| S | Slow audio |
| R and T | Toggle romanization and translation |
| ? | Open the shortcuts help |
| Esc | Close settings or help |
Single-key shortcuts work only when focus is inside the deck and not in a text field, and they can be turned off in settings. Every action also has a visible button. Hidden answers are not placed in the page until revealed, so a screen reader cannot read an answer early. A polite live region announces the card number and the front, such as "Card 7 of 20", after each move.
Visit the Hangul flashcard decks to see the shortcuts in use. Next, display preferences are covered.
Does the Site Support Reduced Motion and Dark Mode?
Yes. Every animation has a static end state. Under the browser's reduced-motion setting, or the site's own toggle, card flips and slides are replaced by an instant reveal or a very short fade, and the syllable-building animations stop on their final form.
The site offers a light theme and a dark theme. The dark theme is designed as its own palette, not an inversion, and follows the system setting unless you choose one. The colour pairs for text, interface boundaries and focus rings are specified to meet the WCAG 2.2 AA ratios, and each pair's ratio is recorded in the design specification. Meaning is never carried by colour alone: consonant, vowel and final-consonant chips carry a letter label, and correct and incorrect answers carry an icon and a word. Your choice is saved in your browser only, as the privacy policy explains.
Next, the known gaps are stated.
Known Limitations
These gaps are known, and the list will be updated from real test results:
- No completed audit. No automated or manual audit has been run on the finished site.
- Stroke-order animations are visual. They need a text description of the stroke sequence, which may not exist for every letter yet.
- Isolated letters may be mispronounced by some screen readers, which are built for sentences. This has not been verified with VoiceOver or NVDA.
- Synthetic audio has no recorded accessibility features beyond the text equivalent.
- Tables may scroll sideways at narrow widths, inside a labelled region.
A limitation here is not an excuse for a barrier. If a gap stops you from using the site, tell us.
How We Test
Testing has two layers, and neither has produced published results yet. At build time, automated checks run axe accessibility tests, keyboard checks and link checks on every page template. After that, manual checks are planned for each template: keyboard-only use, a screen-reader pass and a zoom pass at 200 percent. Results will be recorded in this section, with dates.
Automated checks find only a share of barriers, which is why the manual layer exists.
How Do I Report a Barrier?
Tell us about a barrier by emailing contact@learn-korean-hangul.com, or through the contact page. Include the page address, what you were trying to do, what stopped you, and your device, browser and assistive technology. When you are ready to learn, start from the homepage.
Back to About Learn Korean Hangul for the other trust pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the site work with VoiceOver and NVDA? It is designed to, using real headings, tables, labelled buttons and language markup. It has not yet been tested with VoiceOver, NVDA or other screen readers, so nothing is guaranteed. Manual screen-reader checks are planned for each page template, and results will be added to the known limitations above.
Can I enlarge Hangul without breaking the layout? The layout is designed to reflow down to a 320-pixel width and to keep Korean words from splitting across lines. Browser zoom and larger text settings should work, but this has not been audited yet. If text overlaps or is cut off at your zoom level, report the page.
Are there transcripts for audio? Yes, as text on the page. Each clip is attached to Korean text shown beside the play button, and dialogue players are planned to include a text transcript that is always available. Because clips are single words and short sentences, the written Korean is the transcript.
Is there a high-contrast mode? There is no separate high-contrast mode. The light and dark themes use colour pairs checked against the WCAG 2.2 AA contrast ratios, and meaning never depends on colour alone. Windows forced-colours settings are planned to be respected, but that has not been tested.