Who created Hangeul (the Korean alphabet)?
Yes, King Sejong the Great (r.1418~1450). King Sejong the Great created Hangeul during the Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910). Hangeul was created by King Sejong the Great in 1443 (as the 4th King of the Joseon Dynasty he is the most respected King in Korean history). The first Korean alphabet was proclaimed as “Hunminjeongeum” in 1446, which means “the correct sounds for the introduction of the people”. So “Hunminjeongeum” was the original name of the Korean alphabet, which was renamed Hangeul in the 20th century. “Hunminjeongeum” is registered as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1997.
Before its creation, Korean people had been using Chinese characters to express their feeling but it could not fully express the words and meanings of Korean thoughts. Moreover common people had no way to express their thoughts and feelings because of the difficulty of Chinese characters. King Sejong felt great sympathy for the people. So “Hunminjeongeum” was born. When it was first created, it had 28 letters in all, of which only 24 letters are in use today.
Koreans celebrate October 9 as Hangeul Day. Korean commemorates the invention of its writing system with a special day, Hangeul Day.
Below are the 24 letters of Korean alphabet.
* 14 Consonants
ㄱ(g,k) ㄴ(n) ㄷ(d,t) ㄹ(r,l) ㅁ(m) ㅂ(b,p) ㅅ(s)
ㅇ(ng) ㅈ(j) ㅊ(ch) ㅋ(k) ㅌ(t) ㅍ(p) ㅎ(h)
* 10 Vowels
ㅏ(a) ㅑ(ya) ㅓ(eo) ㅕ(yeo) ㅗ(o) ㅛ(yo)
ㅜ(u) ㅠ(yu) ㅡ(eu) ㅣ(i)
By Editor
* Photo
1. Hangeul
2. Chinese characters
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