THE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC
IMPORTANCE OF HANGUL
Young Miller
USC
June 24, 2012
Hangul, the Korean Alphabet
• Invented by King Sejong in 1443.
• Phonetic Alphabet.
• 28 letters, 17 consonants and 11 vowels at the
time of invention. Now 24 letters.
• Neglected for over 500 years in the shadow of
Chinese characters.
• Official script of Korea, out of Chinese
domination.
• Foundation of Korean identity.
Map of Korea
China and the Rest
• China – the most advanced and powerful
country in ancient times in Asia.
• Surrounding nation states looked up to China.
• Korea respected China and adopted Chinese
culture and politics as well as Chinese writing
system.
• Sadae Juui – Korean government officials
considered China as ‘Superior’ and blindly
worshiped anything Chinese.
Koreans and Korean Language
• Korean people spoke Korean, not Chinese.
• Korean people wrote in Chinese, not in
Korean, because they did not have their own
writing system.
• Korea adopted Chinese script in the 5th
century.
• Chinese script remained the official script of
Korea until early 20th century.
King Sejong the Great
Inventor of the Korean Alphabet
• 4th king of the Yi Dynasty.
• The only king ever granted the title “the
Great”
• Scholar, Humanist, Human Rights and Equal
Opportunity Advocate.
• Motive to Invent the new alphabet: Universal
Literacy.
• Bibliophile – extensive phonological research.
King Sejong the Great:
The Legacy
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Sejong Cultural Center
Sejong Research Center
Movies
TV shows
Streets named after him
Currency, stamps
A Timeline of Korean History and
Writing Systems
Dynasty, culture
Writing
system
108 BCE – 313 CE
Old Choson:
100 Chinese Han Colonies
North: Chinese Commanderies (c. 108 BCE – 313 CE)
South: Samhan Federation (c. 100 BCE – c. 280 CE)
Chinese
Ca 50 BCE – 668 CE
Three Kingdoms
Kogoryo (37 BCE – 668 CE)
Paekche (18 BCE – 663 CE)
Silla (57 BCE – 668 CE)
Chinese
668 – 936
Unified Silla
Chinese
Idu
936 – 1392
Koryo Dynasty
1392 – 1910
Yi Dynasty
(Reign of King Sejong: 1418-1450)
(Invention of the Korean Alphabet: 1443)
Chinese
Idu
Chinese
Idu
Korean
1910 - 1945
Japanese Colonial Rule
Japanese
Hangul
Chinese
1945 - present
South Korea – Hangul -- currently teaches 1,800 Chinese characters.
North Korea – Chosono --abolished Chinese characters in 1949. currently teaches 2,000.
Hangul
Chosono
Idu
(7th C Silla)
Writing Systems
before the Korean Alphabet
• Chinese characters:
5th-current.
Upper-class literati,
government officials.
• Idu (clerk’s script):
7th-19th
Simplified form of Chinese.
Lower-level government
clerks.
• Hyang’chal (local script): 9th-15th
Folk poetry, Hyang-ga.
• Gugyeol
The Korean Alphabet
Hangul
• Hunmin chongum (Correct Sounds for the
Instruction of the People) – Original name of
the new script and handbook; Sejong’s
preface states his motive-universal literacy.
• Hunmin chongum harye (Explanation of
Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the
People) – Chong Inji’s postface – justifies the
invention of the new script; explains how the
new alphabet works.
Reaction to the new alphabet
Opposition
• Literati
• Government Officials
• Upper-class (Yangban)
• ==================
• Sadae juui
• Classical Chinese and
Chinese Composition
• Scholarly merit
Acceptance
• Women
• Children
• Lower-classes
• Buddhists
• ===================
• Easy-to-learn
• No access to learning
Chinese script
The Class System of the Yi Dynasty
Class
Yangban
(“The Right and Left”)
Chung-in
(“The Middle Men”)
Sang-in
(“The Commoners”)
Choun-in
(“The Lesser Commoners”)
Writing system
Scholars
Military Commanders
Government officials
Physicians, Inspectors,
Auditors, Translators,
Technicians, and others
The greater populace,
Consisting mainly of farmers
Chinese
Private and public servants,
Professional entertainers,
Jesters, butchers, shamans,
and others
illiterate
Idu
illiterate
Different names of
the Korean Alphabet
Hunmin chongum (Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the
People)
amgul (women's script)
achimgul (morning script)
eonmun (vulgar script)
Gugmun (national writing)
Hangul (Great script or Korean script)
Comparison
between Hangul and Chinese I
Hangul
• 24 letters (28 at the time of
invention)
• Phonetic Alphabet
• Simple, easy to learn
Chinese
• Over 60,000 characters
• Ideographic, pictographic
• Cumbersome, complicated,
difficult to learn
Comparison
between Hangul and Chinese II
• Hangul:
훈민정음
• Chinese:
訓民正音
• English:
Hunmin chongum
Hangul:
Foundation of the Korean Identity
• Before Hangul: culturally and intellectually
colonized by China.
• After Hangul: culturally and intellectually
independent; higher level of literacy; higher level
of education.
• Tool for true Korean Literature.
• Means of resistance to Japanese Colonial Gov.
• Hangul movements- active Study and Research
since the early 20th century.
Hangul – tool for true Koran Literature
• Before Hangul was created –
– only Chinese literature was available
– Few had the ability to read and understand
Chinese literature
– Late 18th century, true Korean literature began to
appear
– More people could enjoy Korean novels and other
forms of literature written in Hangul
Hangul-Means of Resistance to
Japanese Colonial Government
• Japan colonized Korea for 36 years, 19101945.
• Japanese Colonial Government banned
Chinese and Korean scripts.
• Forced Koreans to use Japanese only.
• The number of Chinese users decreased.
• The number of Hangul users increased.
• Using Hangul was considered patriotic.
The Hangul Movement
in the 20th century
• Chu Sigyong -- pioneer in the study of Hangul.
Coined the name ‘Hangul’ in 1912.
• Hangul means “Korean Writing” (from the
Sinitic morpheme han and the indigenous
Korean word gul).
• Many research institutes such as the Korean
Language Institute were established to
publish Hangul dictionaries and standardize
grammar, etc.
THE INDEPENDENT
the first Hangul only newspaper
• Created by So Chaep’il (1866-1951), a leader
of patriotic enlightenment movement.
• Published on April 7, 1896. April 7 is
celebrated as Newspaper Day.
• Chu Sigyong’s essays on Korean language –
calling for the promotion of Hangul.
• Its editorial line became critical of government
policies.
Hangul today
• Completely out of Chinese domination.
• Koreans use Hangul exclusively; 1,800 Chinese
characters taught in schools.
• One of 10 major languages in the world.
• Over 750 colleges worldwide offer Hangul
classes.
• Koreans are proud users of Hangul.
• Koreans feel no association with Chinese
characters.
Korea Today
• One of the advanced countries in the world.
• One of the highest rate of literacy and
education.
• Koreans all over the world do well.
• Korean government promotes and supports
Hangul education throughout the world.
• Big name international brands -- Samsung;
Hyundai, Kia, LG
Do Koreans need Chinese characters?
YES – why?
NO – why?
So that the Korean people can
read and understand their
history and cultural
background written in Chinese.
Other than the need to
understand old documents,
the Korean people do not need
to know Chinese characters.