Recently, K-pop and the Korean Wave has been becoming popular around the world and a lot of people have been taking an interest in the culture and also to learn the language. Korea has its own writing system “Hangeul.”
The Korean alphabet, also known as Hangeul was created in 1443 by King Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty. Before Hangeul was created, Korea did not have its own writing system. so Koreans wrote using Chinese characters, known as Hanja. Hanja was used among the nobles and royals, which meant that lower-class people did not know how to read or write Hanja. Thus, King Sejong wanted to help commoners become literate, and created and promulgated a new alphabet, the Hunminjeongeum. Hangeul is praised by many linguists for its originality and the combination of symbols.
When Hunminjeongeum was first proclaimed, it had 28 characters. But only 24 characters are used today consisting of 10 vowels, and 14 consonants. The vowels were made on the basis of the symbols of the three correlations of the universe, and the consonants were made according to the five shapes of the human vocal organs. These letters do not have the same appearance and each letter has only one phonetic value but they can express every sound in the world.
Throughout the Korean history, Hangeul has been the root of the Korean culture, helping to preserve its national identity. Hunminjeongeum was designated as the National treasure No. 70 and was registered as a UNESCO Memory of the World. Koreans celebrate October 9th as Hangeul Day.
Written by Jade Min
University of Hawaii at Manoa, 4th year, Korean Language Flagship Major and Asian (Korean) History Major, Exchange student at Korea University. Intern at VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea).