Setting Up Korean Language and Locale on Linux: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction
Configuring Korean language support on Linux involves two critical aspects: locale settings (for system language/region formats) and input methods (for typing Hangul). This guide covers both, with terminal commands tested on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch-based distributions.

1. Understanding Locales

Locales define language/region-specific formats for dates, times, currency, etc. Korean uses:

• ko_KR.UTF-8 (Standard Korean, UTF-8 encoding)
• ko_KR.EUC-KR (Legacy encoding, rarely used)

Check installed locales:

locale -a

2. Install Korean Locale

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install locales
sudo dpkg-reconfigure locales

→ Select ko_KR.UTF-8 with spacebar, press Enter.

Fedora:

sudo dnf install glibc-langpack-ko

Arch:

Edit /etc/locale.gen → Uncomment ko_KR.UTF-8 UTF-8, then run:

sudo locale-gen

3. Set Default Locale

Temporary Change (Session Only):

export LANG=ko_KR.UTF-8
export LC_ALL=ko_KR.UTF-8

Permanent Change:

Edit /etc/default/locale (Debian/Ubuntu) or /etc/locale.conf (Fedora/Arch):

LANG=ko_KR.UTF-8
LC_ALL=ko_KR.UTF-8

Apply changes:

source ~/.bashrc  # Or reboot

Verify:

locale

→ Output should show ko_KR.UTF-8 for all categories.

4. Install Korean Input Method

Use IBus or Fcitx frameworks. IBus example:

Install IBus + Hangul Engine:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install ibus ibus-hangul

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ibus ibus-hangul

# Arch
sudo pacman -S ibus ibus-hangul

Configure:

1. Run ibus-setup → Add Input Method → Select Hangul (Korean).
2. Set a toggle shortcut (e.g., Super+Space).
3. Add to startup:

   echo "export GTK_IM_MODULE=ibus" >> ~/.bashrc
   echo "export XMODIFIERS=@im=ibus" >> ~/.bashrc
   echo "ibus-daemon -drx" >> ~/.bashrc

5. Test Korean Support

• Terminal Test:

  echo "안녕하세요"  # Should display correctly

• Input Test:
  Press your IBus shortcut → Type gksrmf → Should become “안녕하세요”.

Troubleshooting

Locale Not Generated?

• Regenerate locales: sudo locale-gen --purge && sudo dpkg-reconfigure locales.
• Ensure no typos in /etc/locale.gen or locale config files.

Broken Characters?

• Verify UTF-8 support:

  echo $LANG $LC_ALL  # Must show ko_KR.UTF-8

• Install Korean fonts:

  sudo apt install fonts-nanum*  # Debian/Ubuntu
  sudo dnf install nanum-fonts  # Fedora

IBus Not Starting?

• Reload daemon: ibus-daemon -drx.
• Check for conflicts with other input methods (e.g., remove Fcitx if unused).

Conclusion

You’ve now configured:
✅ Korean locale (system language/format)
✅ Hangul input via IBus
✅ UTF-8 encoding support

Most applications (LibreOffice, browsers, etc.) will now recognize Korean. For GUI tools, use system-config-language (Fedora) or gnome-language-selector (Ubuntu).