Adobe-Korea1

Adobe-Korea1
Name	Adobe-Korea1
Style	CJK
Creator	Adobe Systems
Released	1990s
Classification	CID-keyed CJK font collection
License	Proprietary (Adobe)

Adobe-Korea1 is a CID-keyed CJK font collection developed by Adobe Systems for Korean-language typesetting and digital typography. The collection serves as a core glyph repository used in PostScript and PDF workflows, integrated with platform technologies from Microsoft and Apple Inc. and referenced in standards such as ISO/IEC 10646 and Unicode. It underpins Korean text rendering in publishing, desktop publishing, and electronic document exchange involving products like Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, and Apple macOS.

Overview

Adobe-Korea1 is a multi-byte font resource originally supplied by Adobe Systems in coordination with vendors including Monotype Imaging and DynaComware. It maps large sets of Hangul syllables and Hanja ideographs to CID-keyed glyph indices used by PostScript Level 2, Portable Document Format, and OpenType containers. Adobe-Korea1 interacts with character encoding standards such as EUC-KR, ISO-2022-KR, KS X 1001, and Unicode Standard, enabling interoperability among applications like QuarkXPress, Scribus, Foxit Reader, and KDE-based editors. The resource has been bundled with operating system font libraries in Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh distributions and referenced in international standards bodies including the Unicode Consortium and International Organization for Standardization.

Development and History

Adobe-Korea1 originated during the expansion of digital typesetting in the 1990s when Adobe Systems adapted CID-keyed architecture first employed for Japanese and Traditional Chinese to the Korean Peninsula market. Its creation involved collaboration with regional foundries such as DynaComware, HanYang Font, and Sandoll Communications. The collection evolved alongside PostScript Type 1 and later OpenType technologies, and was influenced by national standards like KS X 1001 and international projects by the Unicode Consortium and ISO/IEC JTC 1. Adobe-Korea1 saw revision in response to expansions of Unicode (e.g., Unicode 3.1, Unicode 5.2) and the incorporation of additional Hangul Jamo and CJK Unified Ideographs used in academic, legal, and governmental publications in South Korea, North Korea, and diaspora communities.

Character Set and Glyph Coverage

Adobe-Korea1 provides extensive coverage of modern Hangul syllables, compatibility Jamo, and a large subset of Hanja drawn from CJK Unified Ideographs. The collection aligns glyphs with code points defined by KS X 1001 and related encodings used in EBCDIC-based Korean environments and modern Unicode mappings. Glyph repertoires include compatibility variants required by GB 18030 and regional glyph forms used in North Korea and South Korea typesetting. Adobe-Korea1 addresses typographic needs for publications by supporting precomposed syllables, compatibility with Hanja variants referenced in classical texts, and alignment with ideographic variation sequences cataloged by the Unicode Ideographic Variation Database.

Technical Specifications and Encoding

The collection is implemented as a CID-keyed font set compatible with PostScript interpreters and PDF viewers. Glyph indexing follows CID semantics with mappings to character encodings such as EUC-KR, ISO-2022-KR, and UTF-16BE representations used in PDF text streams. Adobe-Korea1 fonts have been delivered in formats including Type 1, CID Font Format, and later OpenType/CFF and OpenType/TTF. The font resource supports advanced typography features accessible by OpenType tables such as GSUB and GPOS for glyph substitution and positioning, enabling composition in layout engines like HarfBuzz and Uniscribe.

Licensing and Distribution

Adobe-Korea1 is distributed under proprietary licensing terms by Adobe Systems and was bundled with commercial products including Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Reader, and Adobe Creative Suite. Redistribution by third parties is governed by Adobe End-User License Agreement terms and OEM arrangements with foundries such as Monotype, DynaComware, and Sandoll Communications. Licensing variations have occurred for inclusion in operating systems like Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS, and for embedding in PDF documents pursuant to embedding permissions supported by PDF/A and PDF/X profiles.

Usage and Applications

Adobe-Korea1 is used in professional typesetting workflows for newspapers, books, academic journals, legal documents, and government publications produced by organizations such as The Korea Herald, JoongAng Ilbo, Yonhap News Agency, and university presses at Seoul National University and Korea University. It is integral to desktop publishing with Adobe InDesign, vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator, raster editing in Adobe Photoshop, and PDF production with Adobe Acrobat and Foxit Reader. Software internationalization efforts by Microsoft and Apple Inc. have referenced Adobe-Korea1 for fallback glyphs and glyph substitution in rendering subsystems like Quartz and DirectWrite.

Compatibility and Support

Adobe-Korea1 is compatible with rendering engines and layout systems including HarfBuzz, Uniscribe, Core Text, and FreeType. It interoperates with file formats and standards such as PDF/A, PDF/X, OpenType, and PostScript Level 3. Support and mapping tables have been provided to ensure correct display across platforms like Microsoft Windows 10, macOS Big Sur, Linux distributions using fontconfig, and mobile operating systems derived from Android and iOS. Its continued relevance depends on maintenance of mapping alignments with evolving registries from the Unicode Consortium and updates to national standards like KS X 1001 and related amendment processes.

Category:Fonts Category:CJK fonts Category:Adobe products