What does 육하원칙 (六何原則) mean?

ANSWER: The Principle of the Six Ha's

In the video below, a woman gives really good advice, in Korean, on writing book reviews (독서록). By the way, I love her videos.

Anyway, during the video she mentions 육하원칙 (六何原則), which literally translates as "Principle of the Six 'Ha's (하's).'" In the United States, we would refer to "The Six 하's (六何)" as "The Six W's," which refers to "who," "what," "when," "where," "why," and "how." And "The Six W's" is a checklist that reporters and others commonly use when gathering information to tell a story.

So, why do Koreans refer to "The Six W's" as "The Six 하's"? Because in Classical Chinese and Literally Korean (한문), the Chinese character 何 (하) was an interrogative word that could be used to mean any of "the six W's," depending on the words surrounding it.

The Six Ha's (육하 六何)

• 하인 (何人) - Who
• 하사 (何事) - What
• 하시 (何時) - When
• 하처 (何處) - Where
• 하고 (何故) - Why
• 여하 (如何) - How