| Hunminjeongeum | |
|---|---|
| Gansong Art Museum, Seoul, South Korea | |
 The first page of the foreward written by King Sejong the Great | |
| Also known as | The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People |
| Date | October 9, 1446 (government of Joeson) |
| Place of origin | Seoul, Joseon |
| Scribe(s) | Hall of Worthies |
| Author(s) |
|
| Script | Classical Chinese |
| Contents | Introduction of the native Korean writing system Hangul |
| Korean name | |
| Hunminjeongeum | 훈〮민져ᇰ〮ᅙᅳᆷ |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Hunminjeongeum |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hunminjŏngŭm |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 훈민정음 |
| Hanja | 訓民正音 |
| Revised Romanization | Hunminjeongeum |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hunminjŏngŭm |
Hunminjeongeum (Korean: 훈민정음; Hanja: 訓民正音; lit. The Correct/Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People) is (1) an old name for Hangul, and it is also (2) the name of a 15th-century historical document/book that introduced the principle of the creation and usage of the Hunminjeongeum.
Hunminjeongeum was commissioned and supervised by Sejong the Great based on a writing system (Hunminjeongeum) he invented in 1443 and was published in 1446.[1]
Hunminjeongeum was intended to be a simpler alternative to the incumbent Chinese-based Hanja, in order to promote literacy among the general populace. It originally included 28 letters , but over time, four of those were abandoned, leading to the current 24 letters of Hangul.
Sejong the Great ordered the Hall of Worthies to publish a book called Hunminjeongeum Haerye, which is an explanatory book for Hunminjeongeum.[1] A copy of the Hunminjeongeum Haerye was discovered in Andong, Gyeongsang Province, in 1940 after 500 years.[1] An original copy of the document is currently located at the Gansong Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea.[1]
In 1962, Hunminjeongeum Haerye was designated a National Treasure in South Korea[1] and was registered by UNESCO in the Memory of the World Programme in 1997.[3]
_Geunjeongjeon(hall).jpg)
Before Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was created, Koreans used Chinese characters to record their words.[4] Since Chinese language and Korean language share few similarities, borrowing Chinese characters proved to be inefficient to reflect the spoken language.[4] In addition, at the time when Sejong the Great was inventing Hangul the Ming dynasty had just come to power in China, which changed the pronunciation of Chinese characters, making it harder for Koreans to learn the new standard pronunciation to record their words.[5] The illiteracy level also stayed high since reading and learning Chinese characters was restricted among the ordinary people. They were generally used in official documents by the ruling class.[4][6] The ruling class took advantage of this and learning the Chinese characters became a symbol of power and privilege.[4] In order to make written language more accessible for common people, Sejong the Great started creating Hangul secretly, since the ruling class would be appalled by the news.[4]
Hangul was personally created by Sejong the Great, the fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, and revealed by him in 1443.[7][8][1][9] Although it is widely assumed that Sejong the Great 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.[4] 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; Hunminjeongeum Haerye).[5] 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.[1] The head of the Hall of Worthies, Jeong In-ji, was responsible for compiling the Hunminjeongeum.[9] The Hunminjeongeum was published and promulgated to the public in 1446.[1] 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."[5] Together Hunminjeongeum means "correct sounds for the instruction of the people."[10]
There are three versions of Hunminjeongeum.
Hunminjeongeum Yeui is written in Classical Chinese/Hanja and contains a preface, the alphabet letters, and brief descriptions of their corresponding sounds.[12]
The first paragraph of the document reveals Sejong the Great's motivation for creating Hangul:
| Classical Chinese/Hanja[14] | 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 |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Kwúyk ci ngě qum / Í hhwo tyung kwúyk / Yě mwun ccó pwúlq syang lyuw thwong / Kwó ngwu min wǔw swǒ ywók ngen / Zi cyung pwúlq túk sin kkuy ccyeng cyǎ ta ngǔy / Ye wúy chǒ mǐn zyen / Sin cyéy zí ssíp pálq ccó / Ywók sǒ zin zin í ssíp ppyen qe zílq ywóng zǐ. |
The Classical Chinese (Hanja) of the Hunminjeongeum has been partly translated into Middle Korean. This translation is found together with Worinseokbo: an annotated Buddhist scripture and is called the Hunminjeongeum Eonhae.[15]
| Hanja + Hangul[16] | 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우ᇢ〯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 |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Kwúyk ci ngě qum í / Í hhwo tyung kwúyk hó yá / Yě mwun ccó lwó pwúlq syang lyuw thwong hol ssóy / Kwó lwó ngwu min í wǔw swǒ ywók ngen hó ya dwó / Zi cyung pwúlq túk sin kkuy ccyeng cyǎ y ta ngǔy lá / Ye y wúy chǒ mǐn zyen hó yá / Sin cyéy zí ssíp pálq ccó hó nwo ní / Ywók sǒ zin zin ó lwó í ssíp hó yá ppyen qe zílq ywóng zǐ ni lá. |
| Middle Korean[16] | 나랏〮말〯ᄊᆞ미〮 中듀ᇰ國귁〮에〮달아〮 文문字ᄍᆞᆼ〮와〮로〮서르ᄉᆞᄆᆞᆺ디〮아니〮ᄒᆞᆯᄊᆡ〮 이〮런젼ᄎᆞ〮로〮어린〮百ᄇᆡᆨ〮姓셔ᇰ〮이〮니르고〮져〮호ᇙ〮배〮이셔〮도〮 ᄆᆞᄎᆞᆷ〮내〯제ᄠᅳ〮들〮시러〮펴디〮몯〯ᄒᆞᇙ노〮미〮하니〮라〮 내〮이〮ᄅᆞᆯ〮爲윙〮ᄒᆞ〮야〮어〯엿비〮너겨〮 새〮로〮스〮믈〮여듧〮字ᄍᆞᆼ〮ᄅᆞᆯ〮ᄆᆡᇰᄀᆞ〮노니〮 사〯ᄅᆞᆷ마〯다〮ᄒᆡ〯ᅇᅧ〮수〯ᄫᅵ〮니겨〮날〮로〮ᄡᅮ〮메〮便뼌安ᅙᅡᆫ킈〮ᄒᆞ고〮져〮ᄒᆞᇙᄯᆞᄅᆞ미〮니라〮 |
| Transliteration | Na lás mǎl sso mí / Tyung kwúyk éy tal á / Mwun ccó wá lwó se lu so mos tí a ní hol ssóy / Í len cyen chó lwó e lín póyk syéng í ni lu kwó cyé hwólq páy i syé twó / Mo chóm nǎy cey ptú túl si lé phye tí mwǒt holq nwó mí ha ní lá / Náy í lól wúy hó yá ě yes pí ne kyé / Sáy lwó sú múl ye túlp ccó lól moyng kó nwo ní / Sǎ lom mǎ tá hǒi GGyé sǔ Wí ni kyé nál lwó pswú méy ppyen qan khúy ho kwó cyé holq sto lo mí ni lá. |
| Translation |
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