What it measures
Briefly shown Korean syllables must be held in your mind and replayed in the original order by tapping from a shuffled set. It's the same working-memory task as digit-based Memory Span, but the stimulus is Korean letters — visually denser symbols that give a Korea-specific angle on working memory.
Why Korean letters are harder than digits
Digits are ten symbols (0–9). Korean combines 19 modern consonants (jamo) with 21 vowels into dozens of syllable blocks, each with a distinct visual shape. A larger symbol set means more visual discrimination load and slower encoding into visual short-term memory.
Korean is also a featural script — consonants and vowels stack into syllable blocks — so a single letter is visually more complex than a digit. Most people score a bit lower on Korean letters than on digits. Don't be hard on yourself.
| Letters | Approximate |
|---|---|
| 2 | Starting level |
| 3–4 | Around average |
| 5–6 | Above average |
| 7–8 | Large visual span |
| 9~ | Rare |
How to hold more
Chunk syllables
Don't memorize one letter at a time — see two letters as one chunk and you'll hold more. "가나" as one unit, "다라" as the next. Working memory holds chunks, not raw items. Same principle as the chunking tip in the Memory Span about page.
Don't rehearse aloud
This game measures visual memory. Converting letters to sound and rehearsing them in your head invites the phonological loop in, blurring the visual-memory signal. Hold the shapes with your eyes instead.
Focus on order
Don't just remember which letters appeared — remember which came first. Order memory is a different load from item memory and takes practice.
FAQ
Why Korean letters instead of digits?
Digit span is the same task everywhere — no originality. Korean letters are visually denser and familiar to Korean users, so the same working memory gets measured from a different angle.
I score lower than on digits — is something wrong?
No. Korean's visual complexity makes spans run shorter for most people. The two games use different stimuli, so track each separately rather than comparing directly.
Why tap instead of type?
Typing takes longer and invites typos. Tapping focuses on retrieving the memory quickly, measuring pure order memory.