King Sejong creates Hangul
King Sejong invents a simple phonetic alphabet so that ordinary Koreans can write their own language.
- The Korean Language Reform of 1446 — Gari Ledyard, Singu Munhwasa (1998)
- Hunminjeongeum Manuscript (Memory of the World Register) — UNESCO, UNESCO (1997)
- A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present — Michael J. Seth, Rowman & Littlefield (2016)
For centuries Koreans wrote in Classical Chinese, a foreign language mastered only by the educated elite. In 1443 King Sejong completed a new script of twenty-eight letters, published in 1446 in a book called Hunminjeongeum, “The Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People”. Its letters were designed to represent the sounds of Korean, and some consonants even depict the shape of the mouth and tongue making them. Linguists often praise it as one of the most scientific writing systems ever devised.
- The Korean Language Reform of 1446 — Gari Ledyard, Singu Munhwasa (1998)
- Hunminjeongeum Manuscript (Memory of the World Register) — UNESCO, UNESCO (1997)
Many scholar-officials opposed it, arguing that abandoning Chinese characters would make Korea barbarous. For centuries Hangul was used mainly by women, commoners and in popular literature, and was looked down on as “vulgar script”. Only in the late nineteenth century did nationalists champion it, and it became the main script of modern Korea. Today 24 letters are in use; North Korea uses Hangul alone, while the South occasionally adds Chinese characters.
- A Concise History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present — Michael J. Seth, Rowman & Littlefield (2016)
- The Korean Language Reform of 1446 — Gari Ledyard, Singu Munhwasa (1998)
Why it matters today
Hangul is a deep source of national pride in both Koreas and the reason nearly every Korean can read. The South celebrates Hangul Day on 9 October and the North on 15 January. Under Japanese rule, teaching in Korean was suppressed, which made the script a symbol of survival.