9 Oct, a day which holds a very special place is the hearts of Koreans. This day celebrate the birth of Korean alphabet which is often known as Hangul. Hangul which is invented by King Sejong was of no accident by through a period of systematic and logical process.
Before Hangul was invented, Hanja ( Chinese characters ) were used in writing. However, Hanja was hard to use with Korean language and also difficult to learn for the complicated strokes when it comes to writing, especially for people with little or no access to education. This resulted in uncontrolled illiteracy throughout the country.
In order to solve the problem, King Sejong began to develop a new system that would be easy for learning and also easily access, even for people with limited education. Finally, Hangul was invented and was spread with a detailed explanation of logic behind each stoke of every individual character. Hangul was first published in 1446. Invention of Hangul chipped in significantly to reduce illiteracy in Korea.
What is Hangul?
Korean Alphabet Chart
Hangul consists of 24 consonants and vowel letters. However, instead of writing like of alphabet, Hangul letters are being grouped and written in blocks. Each word can consists of 2 to 5 letters, which include at least 1 consonant and 1 vowel. The word is then arranged and written from left to right ( Horizontally ) and top to bottom ( Vertically ).
Vowel form a line or lines that symbolize the sky, earth and people while consonants reflect on the shape of human mouth during pronunciation.
For example, Han [ 한 ] - It may look like a single character, but it is actually made of of 3 different letters : H [ ㅎ ] + a [ ㅏ ] + n [ ㄴ ].
( It do sound complicated but it is really easy to read and write once you master the different sound. I have to admit it is easier than writing Chinese character. Han [ 한 ] and Han [ 韩 ] - Look at the difference in writing. )
Why the name?
Hangul [ 한글 ] is made up of 2 different words : Han [ 한 ] and Geul [ 글 ]. Han [ 한 ] which means big or great while Geul [ 글 ] means alphabet, therefore Hangul [ 한글 ] means Great alphabet.
Hun-min-jeong-geum ( The proper guiding alphabet of the people ) was used for the Korean alphabet in the start and it consisted of 28 letters instead. However, 4 letters had been dropped from the original system and it is now commonly known and reffered to as Hanguel ( Hangul ).
Hangul not only is easy to learn and also use but also unique. In order to recognize this virtue, UNESCO ( United Nations educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ) inscribed the Guidebook of Hun-min-jeon-geum on Memory of the World Register in Oct 1997.
About the inventor ( King SeJong [ 세종대왕 ] )
King Sejong [ 세종대왕 ] , the 3rd son of King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong, was born in 1397. He was also the 4th king of Joseon Dynasty. King Sejong was kind, diligent and placed a high emphasis on academics. He loved his people and showed deep interest in his people difficulties, and also ruled the nation with a upright government,
Portrait of King SeJong ( Credits to walrusmagazines.com )
Statue of King SeJong at Gwanghwamun Square ( Credits to seoulweathersubwaymap.blogspot.com )
When Hangul was invented, King Sejong faced criticism from the scolar elite, who felt that the new system was improper and crude. However, Hangul was quickly spread among the commoners and also for the population who did not had access to education for the learning of the complicated Chinese characters. Hangul won out in the end and got even more popular among the Korean people.
For your info :
Hangul Day [ 한글날 ] is also celebrated in North Korea, but they named it as Chosongul Day [ 조선글날 ] instead. Chosongul Day [ 조선글날 ] is celebrated on 15 Jan instead of 9 Oct as North Koreans believed that the actual creation of Hun-min-jeong-geum was on 15 Jan 1444 ( Or 1443 in the lunar calendar )
Interesting Note :
Hangul Day [ 한글날 ] was always been proclaimed as a public holiday until the year 1991. It's legal status as a public holiday was removed due to the pressure from major employers to increase the number of working days in Korea. However, Hangul day still maintained a legal status as a national commemoration day.
The Hangul Society has fought for the right to restore Hangul Day [ 한글날 ] as a public holiday but had little impact until 1 Nov 2012. The supporters won their victory for the restoration of Hangul Day [ 한글날 ]. This result set pressure on the Lee Myung Bak administration to make Hangul Day [ 한글날 ] as a public day again. The change had been applied and Hangul Day [ 한글날 ] is now declared as a public holiday again starting in the year 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment