Summary: The homonymy phenomenon is interesting from the point of researching as there are very few descriptions and explanations to it in the Korean language linguistics. Its use is difficult to understand for foreign students who are in process of learning the language. While native speakers find the homonyms a natural and clear part of the language, it can be quite hard for foreigners to communicate in Korean for that matter. The article below is an attempt of explanation of the reason why the homonymy appeared in the first place, as well as its characteristics. It depicts the most common issues of homonymy, classifies the general types of homonyms, determines their role in the Korean language and finally illustrates the phenomenon with examples of possible use of these elements in sentences.
Key words: homonymy, polysemy, homonyms, homophones, homographs, homoforms, pun.