Let's Learn The History of The Korean Alphabet This Hangul Day
Image credit: Real Korean Language on Youtube
Did you know that are only five National Holidays in South Korea? The first one is “Movement Day” celebrated every March 1st to commemorate the movement of Korean independence movement. The second one is “Constitution Day” observed on July 17th to celebrate the proclamation of the South Korean Constitution.
Thirdly, is during August 15th for “National Liberation Day, which commemorates the country’s victory over Japan after World War II. Fourth is celebrated every 3rd of October marking the foundation of Korea’s first state.
Last but not the least, is Hangul Proclamation Day, which is celebrated today, October 9th in remembrance of the invention and proclamation of the Korean writing system.
The History of Hangul
The Hangul alphabet was invented by 15th century monarch King Sejong the Great because he wanted everyone to be able to write despite of social status.
Before its creation in 1446, the Korean language did not have its own characters. Citizens were using Korean to speak. However, they were using Chinese characters to write, which is actually only used and can be understood by people in the upper class.
That is why on the 28th year of his ruling; King Sejong implemented the Hunminjeongeum, a document that describes a native script of Korean. In English, Hunminjeongeum means, “To teach the people the correct pronunciation” which was the ruler’s main goal.
Hangul Changed The Lives of Korean Citizens
As we mentioned above, Chinese characters were used for writing before the creation of Hangul. But because it was complex, not everyone could understand it. Moreover, it was confusing because how Korean is spoken and how it is written are not the same.
Due to this, the people who could not read and write had a hard time when it comes to getting information. In instances where they were accused of crimes, they had no idea how to appeal because they could not comprehend Chinese characters.
So, King Sejong worked diligently to create characters that will be understood by everyone. He did so much research and worked day and night that he almost got blind!
The challenges did not stop there. Even as King Sejong finished Hangul, a lot of ministers and upper class people were against its publication. They did not want those in the lower social status to gain the ability to read and write, as they would be harder to control.
Fortunately, King Sejong did not listen to them and published Hangul in public. Now, it is the alphabet used by Koreans and spoken by more than 75 million people in the world!
Facts About Hangul Day
Image credit: National Museum of Korea
Originally, Hangul consisted of 28 letters. Now, it has 24 - divided into 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The vowel letters are written using vertical or horizontal straight lines. In addition to that, short lines are added on either side of the main line.
On the other hand, consonant letters are written using curved or angled lines.
Although Hangul Day has been celebrated since 1970, it temporarily stopped being a national holiday during 1990 to 2012. The government decided to put a halt on the celebration for 22 years as part of their efforts to maximise business days and boost the growth of the industrial industry.
In North Korea, the invention of the alphabet is also observed. But, they commemorate it every January 15th. In China, the Yanbian prefecture is also celebrating the holiday since 2014 every September 2nd.
Learn Hangul
Image credit: Talk to Me in Korean website
With the continuous rise of K-Pop and K-Drama, more and more people are getting interested with Korea and its culture, including learning how to communicate using their language.
But obviously, learning a new language is not that easy especially the ones where characters are involved. Not only you will need to study how to speak, but you will also need to learn how to read!
Thankfully, there are many resources available if you want to learn how to speak Korean as well as read and write Hangul. One example is Talk To Me In Korean, an educational website that offers lessons for those who are interested in the language.
They have courses ranging from Level 1, if you’re just getting started, to Level 10 if you are already fluent. Of course, there are also lessons for those with intermediate skills! To find out which one is suitable for you, you can take their level test.
On the other hand, if you want a more engaging experience, Talk To Me In Korean also has a Youtube channel where you can watch their videos filled with different topics. As of writing, their account has 1.5 million subscribers.
Watch their “Want To Learn Korean?” video below:
