It is one of the most frequently asked questions in beginner classes that it is difficult to distinguish between consonants pronounced at the same positions such as ㄱ/ㅋ, ㄴ/ㄷ/ㅌ and ㅁ/ㅂ/ㅍ.
This phenomenon is often found when these consonants are pronounced as the first sound without a preceding sound. It's even more difficult to distinguish when a native Korean speaker has unclear pronunciation or speaks faster than what you can usually listen to in textbooks.
Many learners find it even more frustrating, since these sounds (g,k,n,d,m,b and such) also exist in English. However, it is actually the reason why native English speakers (or many other similar languages) struggle with these sounds. The first thing to think about before diving into the answer is that romanized transcription can be pronounced differently in each language and should not be understood as the exact same sound.
Think of the English word "Tea" and the French word "Thé". They both have the same "T" sound but sound quite differently.
So, Why do they sound different to my ears?
The answer to this question lies in "Voicing".
If you look at English consonant pronunciation, consonants such as /b/, /d/, /g/ are voiced and it makes a distinction between the voiceless sounds such as /p/,/t/,/k/.
On the other hand, in Korean consonants, voicing is only recognized as an allophone within one character and does not bring about any change in meaning. Most native speakers do not consciously distinguish it and many of them actually don't even hear the difference.
In other words, as someone who speaks Korean as a foreign language, it is not always necessary to distinguish them when speaking Korean. What distinguishes ㄱ and ㅋ or ㅂ and ㅍ for a native Korean speaker is not voicing but rather the amount of air and intensity that is used to make the sound.
Voicing in Korean Consonants
English
Voiced : [b][d][ɡ][v][ð][z][ʒ][dʒ] + all vowels
Voiceless : [p][t][k][f][θ][s][ʃ][tʃ]
Korean
Voiced : ㄴ/ㅁ/ㄹ/ㅇ + all vowels
Voiceless : ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅁ/ㅂ/ㅅ/ㅈ/ㅊ/ㅋ/ㅌ/ㅍ/ㅎ/ㄲ/ㄸ/ㅃ/ㅆ/ㅉ
Unlike English, all characters except for ㄴ/ㅁ/ㄹ/ㅇ and vowels are pronounced as voiceless consonants. That being said, sounds like ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ/ㅈ which are often perceived as the equivalent of the English voiced sounds /g/, /d/, /b/, /ʒ/ or /dʒ/, are actually voiceless in Korean.
However, when these sounds are pronounced between two voiced sounds, they tend to be voiced sounds, which are generally recognized by English speakers by the pronunciations of /g/, /d/, /b/, and/ʒ/.
For example,
기차 - /기/is pronounced voiceless, which makes it sound more similar to /k/ for English speakers.
아기 - since /기/ is in between voiced sounds, it is pronounced voiced and sounds similar to /g/ in English. 네 - Since it is a voiced sound, it is often confused with the English /d/ sound which is also a voiced sound in English.
다리 - /다/is a voiceless sound, while the English /d/ is voiced. That is why English speakers often hear it more like a /t/
타다 - /타/ is also a voiceless sound, however, it is clearly distinguished from/다/ by the amount of air and the intensity of the sound.
머리 - Since /ㅁ/ is a voiced sound, it is often confused with the English /b/ sound which is also a voiced sound in English.
바지 - /바/ at the beginning is pronounced voiceless and it sounds similar to /p/ in English.
포도 - /포/ is also a voiceless sound, however, it is clearly distinguished from/보/ by the amount of air and the intensity of the sound.
How to understand them in a real-life conversation
As mentioned earlier, it is common for native speakers to "not distinguish" them. However, when it comes to a foreigner who clearly feels the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds, it will be helpful to understand that those consonants are voiceless by default in Korean and can be voiced in certain conditions.
If you pronounce Korean as a foreign language, it would be no problem to be understood even if you pronounce voiceless/voiced sounds as you already do in your native language. But if you want to sound more native-like at an advanced level, it will be necessary to narrow this gap through constant practice.
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