Hangeul Day: Honoring King Sejong The Great
Did you know that one of the easiest alphabets to learn is hangeul or the Korean alphabet? It only has 24 letters with 10 consonants and 14 vowels. October 9 is the commemoration day of the creation of hangeul, the native alphabet of the Korean language. The person behind this is no other than one of the most honored rulers in Korean history, King Sejong the Great . While ruling during the Joseon era, King Sejong thought that the Chinese characters, used before the creation of hangul, did not fit the Korean language because of its complexity. The ordinary people do not have the time to learn thus, leaving them illiterate. During that time, only the yangban or the male aristocrats and scholars have the luxury of time to learn to read and write fluently. The commoners had no way of communicating their concerns through written complaints and only relied on oral communication. Also, they could not record their experiences and agricultural wis...
