Hangeul: a Gold Medal Writing System © Cultural Administration Heritage Korea’S Indigenous Alphabet Is One of Mankind’S Greatest Intellectual Achievements
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© Park Byoung-chul © Park Cover Story Hangeul: A Gold Medal Writing System © Cultural Heritage Administration © Cultural Korea’s indigenous alphabet is one of mankind’s greatest intellectual achievements _ Written by Robert J. Fouser, former associate professor, Department of Korean Language Education, Seoul National University __ Koreans view If there were an “Olympics of writing Th e preamble to the promulgation is as Hangeul as their systems,” Hangeul would certainly sweep famous to Koreans as, say, the Declaration greatest cultural the gold medals. Linguists, Korean and of Independence is to Americans: achievement. The non-Korean alike, have long praised Because the speech of this country is “Hunminjeongeum Hangeul for its uniqueness among writing diff erent from that of China, the spoken Haeryebon,” an systems. Th e late James McCawley, a noted language does not match the Chinese explanatory text linguist at the University of Chicago, held characters. As a result many common people for the alphabet annual Hangeul Day parties with fellow cannot express their concerns adequately. published in 1446, linguists from the 1970s until his death Saddened by this, I have developed 28 was added to the in 1999. In an interview that is available new letters. It is my wish that people may UNESCO Memory on YouTube, he said, “Hangeul is the learn these letters easily and that they be of the World most ingeniously devised writing system convenient for daily use. Register in 1997. that exists.” Similarly, Geoff rey Sampson, Th e preamble has since become a a noted scholar on writing systems, symbol of “Koreanness” and is used as a said, “Hangeul must be unquestionably decorative motif for wallpaper, scarves, and ranked as one of the greatest intellectual even coff ee mugs. Increasing numbers of achievements of humankind.” foreign learners of Korean are discovering Koreans view Hangeul as their greatest the masterful simplicity of Hangeul. cultural achievement. Hangeul Day is celebrated on Oct. 9 every year, and is the only national holiday in the world that A scientifi ,c philosophical writing honors a writing system. (North Korea system celebrates the equivalent of Hangeul Hangeul is unique in many ways. Of the Day on Jan. 15, though not as a national G20 nations, Korea is the only nation with holiday.) King Sejong the Great completed a writing system invented especially for its the development of Hangeul in 1443 and language. All other major languages use promulgated it offi cially in 1446 aft er three writing systems that either evolved slowly years of trial and application to actual use. through years of use or were borrowed KOREA _ October _ 8 This work of Hangeul calligraphy by Park Byoung-chul is the Korean word for “clothing,” but its shape resembles a human being. KOREA _ October _ 9 © Ryu Seung-hoo from other languages. Korea is one of the Economy of word __ Korea is one of few nations in the world with a writing Hangeul is also one of the most economical the few nations system that can truly be called its own. Th is writing systems. All of the letters are in the world with explains why Koreans associate Hangeul combinations of two common shapes: lines a writing system with their national identity. and circles. Hangeul has only 24 distinct that can truly be Th e most extraordinary feature of letters (four of the original 28 letters have called its own. Hangeul is that the letters indicate the become obsolete and are no longer used), This explains why shape of the tongue and mouth in making 14 consonants and 10 vowels, making it Koreans associate the particular sound. In linguistics, this is easy to learn and easy to write. Hangeul is Hangeul with their referred to as the “place of articulation,” also easily adapted to computers, mobile national identity. and Hangeul is the only writing system phones and other electronic devices. Some that shows this. In categorizing the world’s researchers in the history of information writing systems, Geoff rey Sampson created technology have argued that the ease of a category, “featural writing system,” just for Hangeul. Th is is what linguists are referring to when they describe Hangeul as “scientifi c.” ㄱ Th e letter , for example, shows the a g tongue being raised in the back of the h mouth when pronouncing the /k/ and /g/ eu sounds. Th e letter ㄴshows the tongue raised toward the front of the mouth when n l The statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Plaza pronouncing the /n/ sound. Th e letter ㅅ /h/ + /a/ + /n/ /g/ + /eu/ + /l/ suggests a pointy tooth and indicates the location of the tongue right behind the teeth © Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism © Ministry Sports and of Culture, in pronouncing the /s/ and /sh/ sounds. A more abstract example is the letter ㅁ, which ㅁ roughly shows the shape of the lips and the low position of the tongue in pronouncing the /m/ sound. Th e addition of extra lines in Hangeul letters indicates the addition of a new /g, k/ /n/ /m/ /s/ /ng/ phonetic element to a basic sound. Th e addition of a short line to ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ and ㅈ, for example, indicates aspiration, or the sound of air fl owing, for ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ and ㅊ. Likewise, the doubling of the letters ㄱ, ㄷ, /k/ /d, t/ /b, p/ /j/ ㅂ and ㅈ to form ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃand ㅉ indicates a strong sound. Hangeul also has a philosophical side, /t/ /p/ /ch/ /h/ ㄱ which is unique among writing systems. Th e vowels are divided into “light” and “dark” vowels, refl ecting the ideas of “yin” and ㅈ “yang,” the two polar opposites that coexist /l, r/ and complement each other in nature in East Asian philosophy. Letters for light vowels all have short lines, which were originally dots, facing up or to the right, whereas letters for dark vowels are all written with short lines /kk/ /tt/ /pp/ /ss/ /jj/ facing down or to the left . Principles underlying the Hangeul system KOREAYou _ October can explore _ 10 the past, present and future of Hangeul at the National Hangeul Museum. KOREA _ October _ 11 © The KingThe Sejong Institute Foundation © inputting Hangeul into a computer or mobile phone stimulated the early diff usion of IT in Korea. ㅣ ㅏ Another economical aspect of Hangeul ㅣ ㅑ is its effi cient use of space. Th e letters ㅣ ㅓ are organized into syllables that fi t into ㅣ ㅕ squares. Th e syllables are then lined up ㅡ ㅗ to make words, and, unlike in Chinese ㅡ ㅛ and Japanese, spaces are placed between words. Th e grouping of letters into syllable blocks saves space and makes Hangeul easy ㅇㅣ 아 to read because syllables oft en contain a ㄹㅡㅁ 름 meaning. Th e word “Hangeul,” for example, ㄷㅣ 다 is composed of two syllables: “Han” which ㅇㅡ ㄴ 운 means “Korea,” and “geul,” which means ㅎㅣ ㄴ 한 “letter.” Some researchers in communication have argued that the economy of Hangeul ㄱㅡㄹ 글 allows more meaning to be conveyed in a limited space, which contributed to the early spread of social media in Korea. Since Hangeul allows users to compose letters from just a handful of basic forms, it’s easy to write using even the small keyboard of a mobile phone. Participants in a lesson on Hangeul calligraphy at the King Sejong Institute in Bonn, Germany, show off their work. Growing international interest Hangeul was not always revered in Korea KingThe Sejong Institute Foundation © as it is today. Th e promulgation of Hangeul News © Yonhap caused a fl urry of experimentation with the new writing system, but it failed to dislodge classical Chinese as the dominant written form. Hangeul was used in diaries, poetry and popular stories during the Joseon period (1392-1910). Th e Japanese imperialist invasion of Korea in the late 19th century destroyed the centuries-old Sinocentric world, causing a nationalistic awakening to resist Japanese infl uence. Nationalists adopted Hangeul as a symbol Student at the King Sejong Institute in Algiers, Algeria of Korea’s independence, and promoted its use as the primary writing system in News © Yonhap Korea. During the dark years of Japanese __ Korea’s rise colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, the in stature after Korean Language Research Society democratization promoted Hangeul through classes and the and the Seoul publication of books and dictionaries. Aft er 1988 Olympic liberation, Hangeul became dominant, Games moved though Chinese characters continued to more foreigners be taught, mainly for cultural literacy. to learn Korean, Founded in 1991, the National Institute which has helped of the Korean Language is responsible spread global for standardizing Hangeul orthography awareness of and promoting the proper use of Hangeul Students study Korean at the University of Dodoma in Tanzania. Hangeul. KOREA _ October _ 12 Students take a Korean language exam at the Korea Education Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan. KOREA _ October _ 13 © Korea Craft Foundation & Design © Korea News © Yonhap among the people. 1 Korea’s rise in stature aft er Yoon Min Goo’s “Original Drawing in democratization and the Seoul 1988 Lab Typography © AG City” is on display at Olympic Games moved more foreigners the 2015 International to learn Korean, which has helped spread Typography Biennale. global awareness of Hangeul. Universities in Korea and overseas started Korean 2 language programs and the number Yeo Tae-myong’s “Model of of learners gradually rose. Interest in 4 1 Hunminjeongeum learning Korean took a jump in the 2000s © Lee Seung Ho © Lee Vowels and as Korean TV shows became popular in Consonants” on __ In 2015, some Asia and more foreigners began to live display at the Hangeul 91,000 foreign and work in Korea.