Hunminjeongeum

Before Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was created, Koreans used Chinese letters to record their words.[2] Since Chinese language and Korean language share few similarities, borrowing Chinese characters proved to be inefficient to reflect the spoken language. [2] In addition, the Ming Dynasty had just come to power in China at the time when King Sejong was inventing Hangul, which changed the pronunciation of Chinese characters making it harder for Koreans to learn the new standard pronunciation to record their words.[3] The illiteracy level also stayed high since reading and learning Chinese characters were restricted to the ordinary people and were generally used in official documents by the ruling class.[2][4] The ruling class took advantage of this and learning the Chinese characters became a symbol of power and privilege.[2] In order to make written language more accessible for common people, King Sejong started creating Hangul secretly, since the ruling class would be appalled by the news.[2] Although it is widely assumed that King Sejong ordered the Hall of Worthies to invent Hangul, contemporary records such as the Veritable Records of King Sejong and Jeong Inji's preface to the Hunminjeongeum Haerye emphasize that he invented it himself.[2]

Hangul was personally created by Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, and revealed by him in 1443.[5][6][7][8] This is stated in Book 113 of The Annals of King Sejong (Sejongsillok) on the 9th month and the 28th year of reign of King Sejong and at the end of An Illustrated Explanation of Hunminjeongeum (Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon).[3]Afterward, King Sejong wrote the preface to the Hunminjeongeum, explaining the origin and purpose of Hangul and providing brief examples and explanations, and then tasked the Hall of Worthies to write detailed examples and explanations.[7] The head of the Hall of Worthies, Jeong In-ji, was responsible for compiling the Hunminjeongeum.[8] The Hunminjeongeum was published and promulgated to the public in 1446.[7]The writing system is referred to as “Hangul” today but was originally named as Hunminjeongeum by King Sejong. “Hunmin” and “Jeongeum” are respective words that each indicate “to teach the people” and “proper sounds.”[3] Together Hunminjeongeum means “correct sounds for the instruction of the people”[9]

The publication is written in Classical Chinese and contains a preface, the alphabet letters (jamo), and brief descriptions of their corresponding sounds. It is later supplemented by a longer document called Hunminjeongeum Haerye that is designated as a national treasure No. 70. To distinguish it from its supplement, Hunminjeongeum is sometimes called the "Samples and Significance Edition of Hunminjeongeum" (훈민정음예의본; 訓民正音例義本).

The Classical Chinese (漢文/hanmun) of the Hunminjeongeum has been partly translated into Middle Korean. This translation is found together with Worinseokbo, and is called the Hunminjeongeum Eonhaebon.

The first paragraph of the document reveals King Sejong's motivation for creating hangul:

• Classical Chinese (Original):

國之語音
異乎中國
與文字不相流通
故愚民 有所欲言
而終不得伸其情者多矣
予爲此憫然
新制二十八字
欲使人人易習便於日用耳

• Mix of hanja (Chinese characters) and Hangul (Eonhaebon):[10]

國_귁〮之_징語_ᅌᅥᆼ〯音_ᅙᅳᆷ이〮
異_잉〮乎_ᅘᅩᆼ中_듀ᇰ國_귁〮ᄒᆞ〮야〮
與_영〯文_문字_ᄍᆞᆼ〮로〮不_부ᇙ〮相_샤ᇰ流_류ᇢ通_토ᇰᄒᆞᆯᄊᆡ〮
故_공〮로〮愚_ᅌᅮᆼ民_민이〮有_ᅌᅮᇢ〯所_송〯欲_욕〮言_ᅌᅥᆫᄒᆞ〮야도〮
而_ᅀᅵᆼ終_쥬ᇰ不_부ᇙ〮得_득〮伸_신其_끵情_쪄ᇰ者_쟝〯ㅣ多_당矣_ᅌᅴᆼ〯라〮
予_영ㅣ爲_윙〮此_ᄎᆞᆼ〯憫_민〯然_ᅀᅧᆫᄒᆞ〮야〮
新_신制_졩〮二_ᅀᅵᆼ〮十_씹〮八_바ᇙ〮字_ᄍᆞᆼ〮ᄒᆞ〮노니〮
欲_욕〮使_ᄉᆞᆼ〯人_ᅀᅵᆫ人_ᅀᅵᆫᄋᆞ〮로〮易_잉〮習_씹〮ᄒᆞ〮야〮便_뼌於_ᅙᅥᆼ日_ᅀᅵᇙ〮用_요ᇰ〮耳_ᅀᅵᆼ〯니라〮

• Rendered into written Korean (Eonhaebon):[10]

나랏말ᄊᆞ미中_듀ᇰ國_귁에달아
文_문字_ᄍᆞᆼ와로서르ᄉᆞᄆᆞᆺ디아니ᄒᆞᆯᄊᆡ
이런젼ᄎᆞ로어린百_ᄇᆡᆨ姓_서ᇰ이
니니르고져호ᇙ배이셔도
ᄆᆞᄎᆞᆷ내제ᄠᅳ들시러펴디
몯ᄒᆞᇙ노미하니라
내이ᄅᆞᆯ爲_윙ᄒᆞ야어엿비너겨
새로스믈여듧字_ᄍᆞᆼᄅᆞᆯᄆᆡᇰᄀᆞ노니
사ᄅᆞᆯ마다ᄒᆡᅇᅧ수ᄫᅵ니겨날로ᄡᅮ메
便_뼌安_ᅙᅡᆫ킈ᄒᆞ고져ᄒᆞᇙᄯᆞᄅᆞ미니라

• Translation (metaphrase):

  Because the speech of this country is different from that of China, it [the spoken language] does not match the [Chinese] letters. Therefore, even if the ignorant want to communicate, many of them in the end cannot state their concerns. Saddened by this, I have [had] 28 letters newly made. It is my wish that all the people may easily learn these letters and that [they] be convenient for daily use.

• Translation (paraphrase):

  The language of [our] people is different from that of the nation of China and thus cannot be expressed by the written language of Chinese people. Because of this reason, the cries of illiterate peasants are not properly understood by the many [in the position of privilege]. I [feel the plight of the peasants and the difficulties faced by the public servants and] am saddened by the situation.

  Therefore, twenty eight [written] characters have been newly created. [My desire is] such that, each [Korean] person may become familiar [with the newly created written language of Korean] and use them daily in an intuitive way.

The manuscript of the original Hunminjeongeum has two versions:

• Seven pages written in Classical Chinese, except where the Hangul letters are mentioned, as can be seen in the image at the top of this article. Three copies are left:
  • The one found at the beginning of the Haerye copy
  • The one included in Sejongsillok (세종실록; 世宗實錄; "The Sejong Chronicles"), Volume 113.
• The Eonhaebon, 36 pages, extensively annotated in hangul, with all hanja transcribed with small hangul to their lower right. The Hangul were written in both ink-brush and geometric styles. Four copies are left:
  • At the beginning of Worinseokbo (월인석보; 月印釋譜), an annotated Buddhist scripture
  • One preserved by Park Seungbin
  • One preserved by Kanazawa, a Japanese person
  • One preserved by the Japanese Ministry of Royal Affairs

Wikisource has original text related to this article: ko:훈민정음

Look up hunminjeongeum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Scanned copy of the Eonhae
• Scanned copy of the Eonhae – NAVER website
• National Memory Heritage Service provides the pictures of the book