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King Sejong (1397-1450) named his alphabet Hun Min Jong Um, "Accurate Sounds to Educate the People," stating his purpose for creating it. It is said that everywhere he went, the king took his portfolio of alphabet notes, and pursued this project that was closest to his heart. Instead of using shapes descended from the North Semitic alphabet, as had much of the world, Sejong invented new shapes for letters. The shapes reveal profound linguistic insights. Korea had been using Chinese characters, but few people could afford the years of study to learn that system. Sejong wanted an easy way to write Korean so that all could be literate. It would also make printing with movable type far
easier. But the men of learning opposed Sejong's alphabet because it was
not Chinese. They said it was too easy. Consequently, it was largely neglected,
almost until the twentieth century. The use of the alphabet for a translation
of the Bible helped popularize it. Now called Hangul in South Korea, and
Choson Muntcha in North Korea, it is the official alphabet in both countries.
The Korean alphabet has been called the most ingenious and scientific
alphabet that is in general use in any country. |
Though
superficially similar to Chinese, which is not alphabetic, Korean is a
true alphabet. It represents the individual sounds of the spoken language,
and it does so in an unusually systematic way. 