❓ Why Do We Learn Foreign Languages?
Is language just a tool for communication?
In reality, the language we learn and use is shaped by the dominant powers of the era.
We can see this clearly even today:
- English became the global lingua franca due to British colonial expansion and American dominance.
- German was once the leading language of European science and philosophy.
- Portuguese and Spanish spread across South America and Africa during the Age of Exploration.
Behind every widely spoken language lies political, economic, and cultural power.
Korea’s history reflects this as well.
For centuries, Chinese characters were used because China was the regional superpower.
And in the modern era, under Japanese colonial rule, Koreans were forced to use the Japanese language.
Foreign languages have often followed the shadow of power and cultural dominance.
👑 The Era of King Sejong
When King Sejong took the throne in the 15th century, Korea was still deeply tied to China’s Ming dynasty.
All official documents were written in Classical Chinese,
and without knowledge of Chinese characters, it was nearly impossible to participate in governance, law, or scholarship.
For the common people, Chinese characters were overwhelmingly difficult:
- They couldn’t file petitions or legal documents for injustice.
- Knowledge was monopolized by a small elite class.
- Literacy was a privilege of the few.
King Sejong saw this injustice and asked himself:
“How can my people speak Korean but depend on a foreign script?”
✨ A Script for the People: The Birth of Hunminjeongeum
So King Sejong made a bold decision:
He would create an entirely new script that anyone could easily learn and use.
In 1443, he began a secret project with scholars of the Hall of Worthies (Jiphyeonjeon),
and in 1446, the Hunminjeongeum (“The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People”) was officially published.
It was truly a script for the people.
🌍 Why Hangul Is Unique Among World Scripts
Here’s what makes Hangul truly extraordinary:
Most world scripts have unclear origins.
- The Latin alphabet traces back to Phoenician script, but no one knows exactly who created it.
- Chinese characters evolved over thousands of years without a single inventor.
But Hangul is different.
- We know exactly who created it (King Sejong and his scholars)
- We know when it was created (1443)
- And we know the precise linguistic principles behind it
What’s more, Hangul was created relatively recently,
so unlike ancient scripts that evolved chaotically, it was designed from the start with scientific logic and efficiency.
🔬 Why Hangul Is Called a “Scientific Script”
🗣 1) Consonants mimic the shape of speech organs
- ㄱ shows the tongue blocking the throat.
- ㄴ shows the tongue touching the gums.
- ㅁ shows closed lips.
- ㅅ represents the shape of teeth.
- ㅇ represents the open throat.
Adding extra strokes creates aspirated sounds:
- ㅋ (ㄱ+stroke), ㅌ (ㄴ+stroke), ㅍ (ㅁ+stroke), ㅊ (ㅅ+stroke)
This means consonants are directly linked to how they’re pronounced, making them intuitive for learners.
☯ 2) Vowels reflect the philosophy of Heaven, Earth, and Human
- ㆍ (Heaven)
- ㅡ (Earth)
- ㅣ (Human)
By combining these basic symbols, you get vowels like ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ.
So vowels are not random marks—they embody a cosmic philosophy of harmony.
🔄 3) Hangul is a combinatorial script
Consonants and vowels can combine freely to create syllables.
This makes it:
- Easy to adopt foreign words
- Simple to read and write phonetically
Thanks to this design, Hangul is often called the easiest writing system in the world to learn.
⏳ But It Wasn’t Widely Accepted Immediately
Despite its brilliance, Hangul faced strong resistance from the elite.
- Knowing Chinese characters was a symbol of power.
- If everyone could read and write, the social hierarchy would collapse.
So the new script was dismissed as “Eonmun (vernacular script)”,
used mainly by women and commoners in private letters and folk literature, not in official documents.
King Sejong’s dream of widespread literacy didn’t come true right away.
📜 Late Joseon and Modern Revival
Centuries later, during the late Joseon dynasty, practical scholars (Silhak) rediscovered Hangul as a tool for educating the people.
Agricultural manuals, medicine books, and guides for daily life were translated into Hangul.
In the modern era, the rise of newspapers and magazines finally brought Hangul to the public:
- The first Hangul newspaper, The Independent (1896), was published.
- It became the language of public enlightenment.
🇰🇷 Japanese Colonial Rule: Hangul as a Weapon of Identity
In 1910, Korea fell under Japanese colonial rule.
The Japanese government tried to erase the Korean language and culture to strengthen its control:
- Schools forced Japanese-language education.
- Korean language classes were reduced and later abolished.
- All official documents were written in Japanese.
- Even names were forcibly changed through the Sōshi-kaimei policy.
In this oppressive time, teaching and writing in Hangul became an act of resistance and a way to preserve national identity.
The Korean Language Society (Joseon Eohakhoe) fought to protect the language:
- They created a unified Hangul orthography and compiled a standard dictionary.
- But the Japanese government saw this as nationalist activity, leading to the Korean Language Society Incident (1942) where members were arrested.
Despite the risk,
- Underground Hangul education continued.
- Churches and activists printed Hangul materials to inspire national pride.
Hangul became the last stronghold reminding Koreans who they really were.
“When we speak Japanese, we are colonial subjects.
When we write in Hangul, we become Korean again.”
✊ After Liberation
After Korea’s liberation in 1945, Hangul was no longer oppressed.
It became:
- A symbol of independence and national pride
- The foundation for education, governance, and culture in modern Korea.
What King Sejong created for his people became
- a weapon of resistance under colonial rule,
and later, the core of Korea’s identity in the modern era.
🌟 Hangul Today: A Global Cultural Treasure
Now, Hangul is recognized as one of the most logical and efficient scripts in the world.
- It’s celebrated for its simplicity and scientific design.
- It spreads globally alongside K-pop, Korean dramas, and Korean culture.
The script King Sejong invented 580 years ago to help commoners
has now become a cultural asset admired around the globe.
💡 What We Learn from King Sejong
King Sejong defied the norms of his time and prioritized the needs of his people over elite privilege.
His small act of care changed history:
- It empowered a nation,
- Preserved identity through colonial oppression,
- And now connects Korea to the world.
Language is never just letters.
It’s about who it serves—and that choice can change the course of history.
✨ Final Thought
“The sounds of our language differ from China…”
King Sejong didn’t create Hangul just to make a new script.
He created a language of equality for his people.
That is his true legacy.