this the history of Korean language is created korean and chinese has the similarity history even they are from the different land at the very beginning korean people use Chinese charter to read and write as their daily lifestyle but only after there is one ruler by the name of Portrait of King Sejong ,King Sejong was a new kind of king. His visionary concerns were rooted in Neo-Confucian principles of benevolence, pursuit of knowledge, and improvement of society. This led to many scientific, technological, artistic and administrative innovations but none as singularly revolutionary as the invention of the Korean alphabet, which would liberate the written word from nobility down to the masses. In August 1418 CE, Sejong became the fourth king of the Chosŏn Kingdom. He was the grandson of the founder of the Chosŏn Kingdom, Yi Sŏngkye. Sejong’s reign lasted 32 years (1418 – 1450). He became the king when he was twenty two years old. Sejong was the third son and not intended to succeed his father. His older brother was appointed as prince but he was notorious. Sejong was a literary person, always reading and studious, opposite from the older brother. He particularly studied the works of Mencius, a Confucian disciple and philosopher who promoted benevolence. The Invention of Han’gŭl His most significant contribution, however, was the Korean alphabet, Han’gŭl. Until this time, Korean scholars and bureaucrats relied on the use of the Chinese alphabet. Writing and reading were skills exclusive to nobility and not the common man. Universal literacy was not considered necessary or even desirable. It was seen as reckless to put such a politically important and elite tool as writing into the hands of the people. Sejong wanted people to have direct access to their ruler and that could only happen through writing and reading. An easy writing system would allow information to flow. He also wanted to spread Confucian ethics, and to do so he would have to print books with a simple Korean alphabet to ensure that they would reach ordinary people. Sejong surprised his government officials when in the winter of 1443, he unveiled his first invention, Han’gŭl. He worked on it like a secret mission because it was first opposed by his top scholars. Before long, women and the lower class used Han’gŭl to write letters and novels and read public announcements that until then been incomprehensible and inaccessible. Sejong remained committed to helping improve access to ideas and knowledge by making improvements in the printing technology. Korea had produced movable type before Sejong but his craftsmen produced an improved font that would be more firmly attached to the printing plate and could thus produce dozens of sheets a day. He then published a number of works from agriculture, medicine and geography, history, and the Confucian classics. These developments and Han’gŭl contributed to a stronger sense of Korean sovereignty and unique Confucian identity distinct from China.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 03:30:23 +0000
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