King Sejong and Hangul: How the Korean Alphabet Was Invented

Full transcript

Annyeong, yeoreobun! Yul here, your history nerd. Today's story is my favorite. The story of Hangul, the Korean alphabet.

Let's go back to the 1400s. Back then, Koreans wrote with Chinese characters. The problem? There are thousands of them, and only rich, educated people had time to learn. Ordinary farmers couldn't write a letter, or even read a law that affected their lives.

King Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, thought this was unfair. So he worked on a brand-new writing system. And in 1446, he announced it to the people. He called it Hunminjeongeum, the correct sounds to teach the people.

Here's the genius part. The consonants are shaped like the mouth when you make the sound. Look at the letter giyeok, ㄱ. It shows the tongue touching the back of the mouth. The vowels come from three simple symbols: a dot for the sky, a flat line for the earth, and a standing line for a person. Sky, earth, human!

Not everyone was happy. Some scholars protested, because Chinese characters were a symbol of status. But Hangul survived, and today almost every Korean can read and write.

Yul's tip! Visit Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul and find the giant golden statue of King Sejong. There's a free museum underneath it. And every year on October ninth, Korea celebrates Hangul Day. One more thing: Hangul is so logical that many people learn to read it in one afternoon. Want to try? Hwaiting!