Hangul Script
Hangul is a script used in writing Korean, a language of 72 million speakers. It is, like the Roman alphabet, an alphabetical writing, consisting of 24 basic alphabet letters, 14 for consonants and 10 for vowels. Unlike the Roman alphabet in which independent alphabet letters are arranged linearly, for the hangul script, consonant and vowel letters are combined to create syllable blocks.
Whereas the origins of most writing systems are unknown, hangul, originally called hunminjongum (meaning "the correct sounds for the instruction of the people"), was invented in 1443 by King Sejong the Great (1397–1450), the fourth monarch (reigned 1419–1450) of the Yi (Choson) dynasty (1392–1910), with his royal scholars.
Although it was promulgated in 1446, it was not until 1894 that the hangul script began to be used in official government documents. The first all-Korean script newspaper, Tongnip Sinmun (Independent News), was published in 1896 by Seo Jaepil (1863–1951). The name hangul ("Korean script") was given by Ju Sigyeong (1876–1914), one of the earliest modern Korean grammarians.
The design of the Hangul letters resulted from a deep understanding of phonetic principles and Chinese cosmological philosophy on the part of the king and his scholars. Originally, 28 basic letters (17 consonant letters and 11 vowel letters) were introduced, of which 3 consonant letters and one vowel letter have disappeared in the current writing system.
The consonant letters for k (or g), n, s (or sh), m, and ng are designed after the shape of the speech organs when they are pronounced. The other consonant letters are made by adding a stroke or two to these or by extending the initial forms. An extra stroke indicates a different articulatory feature, such as aspiration (extra puff of the air in producing a sound). In this respect, the Hangul Script is unique and more refined in representing sounds than any other script.
Vowel letters are designed based on the yin-yang philosophy of universal complementary forces and the East Asian cosmological belief that heaven, earth, and humanity are the three most fundamental features in the universe. The three initial vowel letters are designed after the round shape of heaven , the flat shape of earth, and the vertical shape of a man standing. The other letters are made by combining the three initial letters, with the combinations being guided by the principles of the yin-yang theory as to how heaven interacts either with the human being or with the earth.
Because of its systematic and scientific organization as well as its sophisticated phonetic representation, the hangul script is regarded as one of Korea's cultural treasures. Its linguistic and cultural value is also recognized by scholars outside Korea as a great intellectual achievement.
Further Reading
Ramsey, S. Robert. (1992) The Korean Alphabet. In King Sejong the Great, edited by Young-Key Kim-Renaud. Washington, D.C.: International Circle of Korean Linguistics, George Washington University, 43–50.
Sampson, Geoffrey. (1985) Writing Systems. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Sohn, Ho-Min. (1999) The Korean language. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
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