Leading

리딩 (행간)

The vertical space between lines of text. The name comes from the strips of lead metal printers inserted between lines of type.

Also known as: 행간Line-height
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html
<div class="stage">
  <p id="p" lang="ko">타이포그래피에서 행간(leading)은 줄과 줄 사이의 세로 간격입니다. Line-height controls how airy or dense a paragraph feels.</p>
  <div class="readout">line-height <span id="val">1.15</span></div>
</div>
css
.stage{width:min(90%,560px)}
p{font-size:15px;line-height:1.15;color:var(--fg);margin:0;font-family:-apple-system,system-ui,"Apple SD Gothic Neo",sans-serif;
  background-image:repeating-linear-gradient(to bottom,transparent,transparent calc(var(--lh-px,17px) - 1px),var(--line) calc(var(--lh-px,17px) - 1px),var(--line) var(--lh-px,17px));
  background-position:0 2px}
.readout{margin-top:14px;font:12px ui-monospace,Menlo,monospace;color:var(--muted)}
#val{color:var(--accent);font-weight:700}
js
const p = document.getElementById('p');
const v = document.getElementById('val');
const fontSize = 15;
const start = performance.now();
function loop(now){
  const t = (now - start) / 2200;
  const lh = 1.15 + (Math.sin(t) * 0.5 + 0.5) * 1.15;
  p.style.lineHeight = lh.toFixed(2);
  p.style.setProperty('--lh-px', (lh * fontSize).toFixed(1) + 'px');
  v.textContent = lh.toFixed(2);
  requestAnimationFrame(loop);
}
requestAnimationFrame(loop);

CSS `line-height` controls leading. A unitless number (e.g. `1.5`) scales proportionally with the current font size, which keeps it responsive. Too tight (1.0–1.2) and lines start to visually merge; too loose (2.0+) and the eye loses the thread hunting for the next line within a single paragraph.

Latin body text usually sits around `1.4–1.6`. Hangul syllable blocks pack more visual density than Latin letters at the same size, so the same leading value looks tighter — Korean body copy commonly uses `1.5–1.7` (150–170%), a touch looser than Latin practice.

Larger text (headlines) reads naturally with tighter leading (1.1–1.3), since lines are short and each line holds fewer characters.

When to use

Body text around 1.5, nudging toward 1.6 when Hangul is present. Tighten headlines to 1.1–1.3 for a compact block.