Abstract 1. Intorduction 2. Athree-way voiceless contrast of Korean stops 2.1. Phonetic and phonological background 2.2. Consonant-tone correlation 2.3 The problem 3. The analysis 3.1. Re-analysis of Korean stops 3.2. Analysis of Consonant-tone correlation 3.3. Phonetic differences between initial tense and lax stops 4. Further issues 4.1. Other onset consonants 4.2. The notion of minimal pairs 4.3. Difficulty in producing and perceiving voiced sounds by Korean speakers 5. Conclusion References