The Korean Alphabet, Hangeul

Oct 12, 2026

The Korean alphabet, known as Hangeul, is presented as a uniquely outstanding phonetic writing system distinguished by scientific design, geometric balance, and high efficiency for learning and literacy. The text explains why Hangeul deserved broad recognition and summarizes expert praise for its organic principles. It then traces the creation by King Sejong, outlines the testing and official promulgation in 1446 through the Hunminjeongeum, and describes the structure of letters and their subsequent reduction to the modern 24-letter system.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages31

Reading Time11 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

History of Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet

Characteristics of Hangeul

Organic Alphabet of Distinctive Features

Towards Future: Korean Phonetic Alphabet

Concluding Remark

Saving dying tongues with Hangeul

The progress of the Hangeul sharing project with the Cia-Cia people

The prospect of the Hangeul sharing project

Table of Contents The Korean Alphabet, Hangeul (Lee Hyun-bok) ··············· 3 1. Introduction 2. History of Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet 3. Characteristics of Hangeul 4. Organic Alphabet of Distinctive Features 5. Towards Future: Korean Phonetic Alphabet 6. Concluding Remark Saving dying tongues with Hangeul (Lee Ho-young) ····· 23 1. Introduction 2. The progress of Hangeul sharing project with the Cia-Cia people 3. The prospect of the Hangeul sharing project The National Institute of the Korean Language [www. korean.go.kr](www. korean.go.kr) The Korean Alphabet, Hangeul Lee Hyun-bok (Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University) 1. Introduction The Korean alphabet, known in Korean as "Hangeul" (Unique and Great Alphabet) is really outstanding and unique in many respects and it certainly deserves to be more widely and appropriately known. Many renowned linguists and phoneticians in the East and West have been unanimous in praising the Korean alphabet Hangeul, and some of their complimentary comments may be summarized as follows: The Korean alphabet Hangeul is: 1) "The greatest masterpiece of human intellect", 2) "A phonetic alphabet that is unique in that it is created on the basis of the human speech organs. No other alphabet in the world shows this", 3) "A truly scientific alphabet ever created and unrivalled by any other", 4) "A simple and geometrically balanced alphabet", 5) "The most efficient alphabet known to us, especially, the one used in North Korea (where Chinese characters are not used)", 6) "A remarkable alphabet that displays the organic principles, which were utilized by Bell and Sweet in devising an organic and visible alphabet at a much later date, i. e. about 600 years later in England", 7) "An alphabet so simple and easy to learn that a bright child can master it in one morning and a normal child in a fortnight. No wonder, the illiteracy rate in Korea is incredibly low, i. e. , close to zero" Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Korean alphabet is that it provides clear-cut and ready answers to the following inquiries: Who, Why(for Whom), When, Where, and How the Korean alphabet was invented and officially promulgated. Let me deal with each of these before I go on discussing the most striking linguistic features of the Korean alphabet. 4 2. History of Hangeul, the Korean Alphabet 2.1. King Sejong the Great Invented Hangeul King Sejong [Photo by King Sejong the Great Memorial Society] King Sejong the great(1397-1450), the fourth king of the Lee dynasty, created a new phonetic alphabet in the 15th century. A distinguished phonetician and linguist himself among others, the king took up the historical task of creating a new writing system for the Korean people. Despite ill health and eye disease from which he suffered perennially, the King devoted himself to the task for several years. It could be surmised that in the course of the venture the king was helped to certain extent by some of the brilliant scholars around him such as Jeong In-ji, Sin Suk-ju, Lee Gae, etc. , but all the documented evidence confirms that the King was the dominant project leader singularly responsible for the making of a new writing system that was named "Hunminjeongeum (訓民正音)", which means "Right Sounds to Teach the Nation" or "Teaching the People the Right Sounds". 2.2. Jeongeum was Promulgated in 1446 The king Sejong invented the new alphabet of 28 letters in 1443 in the 25th year of his reign. But care was taken by the king to test the new alphabet before he made it public. After three years of test period, the new alphabet Hunminjeongeum(Jeongeum for short) was officially promulgated at the king's command by Jiphyeonjeon, "Hall of the Worthy" in 1446, in the form of a 33-page book written in Chinese. The book Jeongeum consists of two parts. The first part, written by King Sejong himself, contains a preface stating his purpose for creating the new a

FAQs

What is Hangeul and what makes it distinctive?

Hangeul is the Korean phonetic alphabet called the “Unique and Great Alphabet.” The text highlights its scientific design, simple geometric structure, and efficient, easy learning.

Who created Hangeul and when was it officially promulgated?

King Sejong created Hangeul in the 15th century, and the alphabet was officially promulgated in 1446 after a period of testing.

What does the Hunminjeongeum book contain?

The Hunminjeongeum includes a purpose and main text by King Sejong, explaining the 28 letters and vowel-consonant combinations, followed by scholarly chapters detailing letter design principles and usage examples.

Oct 12, 2026

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