Iceman,
Howard is exactly right. Most people (Non-Asians that I have encountered in Taekwondo) mispronounce these two quite often. Just for fun, I'll add my lengthy explanation for those who have time to read a lot.
Anyhow, I am sure you understand the difference in meanings for these words, but you were looking for the slight distinction in pronunciation between the two. As Howard said, the vowels are different. In addition to that, note the structure which the Korean Hangul uses to form the "w" that goes with each of these vowels.
"WA" and "WO"
Since the Korean alphabet does not have a separate letter for the "w," they use two vowels in combination to achieve the same (or similar) result.
In "Kwan," the "a" vowel is written as a vertical line with the short stroke to the right:
ㅏ
This is "a" vowel is always pronounced as "ah," like in "father."
However, in order to create the "
wa" sound you might hear in "water," the Hangul combines the long "o" sound as in the English word "no"
It is a horizontal vowel with the short stroke up, and is written like this:
ㅗ
The beginning "K" of "Kwan" looks like this:
ㄱ
(Imagine this is a picture of your tongue bending to touch the back of the roof of your mouth near the throat to make the "k" or "g" sounds).
The ending "n" of "Kwan looks like this:
ㄴ
(Imagine this is the tip of your tongue curving up to press on the roof of your mouth near your teeth to create the "n" sound).
In order to write the word "Kwan" you put these four symbols together, and read it from left to right - top to bottom. In this case, the two vowels are blended together to form the "oh - ah" sound, or "wa."
ㄱ
ㅗㅏ or 관
ㄴ
This might sound similar to saying in English "Go on!" When blended, it becomes "Gwahn" or "Kwan."
For the word "
Kwon," this can be confusing because for a long time now, people have translated the vertical Hangul vowel of "ㅓ" by using the English letter "o." Actually, the "o" should only be used to identify the long "o" sound like in the word "no." This is written with this horizontal line
ㅗ .
In order to translate the vertical vowel "ㅓ" from Hangul to English, we can use a couple of choices. For one, like Howard stated, it can be pronounced like an "aw" sound. Another option is to pronounce it like the short "u" sound as in "up." I always pronounce the word "Kwon" from "Tae kwon do" like saying the number one with a "k" in front of it.
First, you have the letter "k":
ㄱ
Then you blend the "ew" sound from the long "u" like in "June" with the "uh" sound like in "up."
ㅜㅏ
"ew - uh" is blended to become "wuh" or "weo" or even "waw."
The ending "n" is placed at the bottom:
ㄴ
ㄱ
ㅜㅏ or 권
ㄴ
Therefore:
관 = Ko ah n = Kwan
("Family" - to be related or affiliated with)
권 = Kew uh n = Kwon
(Strike with the hand or "Fist")
Last Fearner (<< pronunciation uncertain)
is usually translated as "fist". The vowel sound is similar to the dipthong sound at the beginning of the English word walrus. Think of the sound of "aw" in English.
