Today is 한글날 or Hangul Day, which is a Korean holiday dedicated to celebrating the Korean writing system and its creator King Sejong! So to commemorate I’ll go through a bit on Hangul’s history, King Sejong, and some resources on how to learn Hangul yourself.
Kbarends at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Why is Hangul Day Celebrated?
The holiday is of course dedicated to the creation and history of Hangul. Because it’s one of the few writing systems where the founding date is known it is always celebrated on the 9th. On October 9, 1446, King Sejong officially released his manuscript, which introduced Hangul to the public.
훈민정음 (Hunminjeongeum) which literally means “The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People”, explains the design, characters, and usage of Hangul. It was written out in 3 different ways; introducing the language with Chinese characters as Koreans wrote with them before, an illustrated version, and a fully Hangul version.
The holiday became a national holiday in South Korea since 1970. Koreans get the day off from work, and there are usually some events hosted to celebrate the day. On October 9, 2009, a King Sejong statue was revealed at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. With a museum about him and his work right nearby to match! Many people go there on Hangul Day to learn more about the history of its development and usage in Korea.
How Did People Write and Read Before Hangul?
As I mentioned before Koreans used to use Chinese characters (or in Korean – Hanja) to write. But because of the differences between Korean and Chinese, and the large amount of characters to master, it took people years to learn the writing system. Only the elite, rich, or royalty could take the time to learn. It was because of this King Sejong wanted to boost literacy in the general public and decided to make Korea’s writing system.
Although it wasn’t all smooth after its release. Initially, the elite didn’t like it, seeing it as for commoners and liking the status of writing in Hanja. It was restricted in the 16th century, then saw a resurgence in the 19th century. Finally, it became a tool of rebellion during the Japanese occupation. But still, Hanja was used regularly and paired with Hangul, until the 1970’s when usage declined more until now it’s barely used at all.
Why is Hangul Special?
Hangul is special in many different ways! Firstly hangul is one of the youngest alphabets, and so one of the few with a known invention date. It was invented to be simple and easy to learn, read and write. The script itself builds off of itself and relates to other characters (such as ㄱ ㄲ ㅋ, ㅏ ㅑ, ㅜ ㅠ). Because of this Hangul is praised among linguistics as one of the most efficient writing systems!
It is also wholly made for Korean and does not pull from any other existing script. So while originally Koreans used Chinese writing similar to the Japanese, the Japanese decided to pull from Chinese characters to create Hiragana and Katakana (to still be paired with Chinese characters) to make their writing system. King Sejong decided to fully make something new, and not use the Chinese system as inspiration, pushing for it to be the sole writing system.
Quick Resources for Learning 한글!
Want to learn to read Korean or just refresh yourself? Here are some easy resources to get you started:
Does North Korea celebrate Hangul Day?
North Korea has its own Hangul Day but on a different day! In North Korea, it is celebrated on January 15 and is called 조선글날 or Chosongul Day. North Korea uses 조선글 as opposed to 한글 possibly inspired by the Joseon dynasty before the Japanese occupation and WW2.
North Korea is officially titled 조선민주주의인민공화국; thus 조선글 instead of South Korea (대한민국) 한글.
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