The Korean alphabet, Hangeul, is one of Korea’s most significant cultural gems. “Hangeulnal” (Korean Alphabet Day) celebrates the birth of the alphabet and falls on October 9th. It was originally established in 1945 and celebrated every year until 1991, which was when it lost its status as a holiday. It was reinstated as a national holiday starting 2013.
Created in 1443 by King Sejong the Great, Hangeul provided a means for Koreans to become literate without having to spend hundreds of hours learning Hanja, the classical Chinese characters that were being used to write Korean during the Joseon dynasty. Before the implementation of Hangeul, literacy was extremely low in Korea as only the wealthy were able to afford the education required to be able to write in Chinese. Today, Hangeul is still used as the official alphabet of Korea (with a few Hanja mixed in occasionally in signage and newspapers), and the country currently boasts a soaring literacy rate of around 98%.
Hangeul is considered to be one of the most systematic writing systems in the entire world, using 24 characters to represent all the possible sound combinations of the Korean language. These characters are written based on the movements and placement of the tongue while speaking, making them easy to remember and associate with their accompanying sound. It was once said, in reference to the characters of the alphabet: “A wise man can acquaint himself with them before the morning is over; a stupid man can learn them in the space of ten days.”
See how fast you can learn to read Hangul using the chart below!
Leave a comment