Hunminjeongeum () is a 1446 work that formally introduced the first native Korean alphabet. That alphabet was originally also called "Hunminjeongeum", although it is now widely called "Hangul" (international spelling; spelled in South Korea "Hangeul") or "Chosŏn'gŭl" (in North Korea).

The term Hunminjeongeum is used in a number of different ways, often due to the various editions and sections of the text. The term is sometimes used to refer to only the first two sections of the text: the preface and description of Hangul. That "base" Hunminjeongeum is sometimes referred to as the Yeui (). There is also a commentary section, the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, that was published alongside the base Hunminjeongeum. Sometimes, the base Hunminjeongeum and Haerye together are referred to only as Hunminjeongeum.

The base Hunminjeongeum was first published around October 1446 (Gregorian calendar) and authored by Joseon king Sejong the Great (). It was originally written in Classical Chinese using the Hanja script. It was later translated to the Korean language using Korean mixed script; such translated editions are called Eonhae (). While the base Hunminjeongeum remained in the historical record, the Haerye was lost and forgotten. It was only rediscovered in 1940.

The Hunminjeongeum and Haerye are considered to be among the most important works in the study of the Korean language. A copy of the full text, including the Haerye section, was designated a National Treasure of South Korea in 1962 and entered into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 1997.

History

Background

Before the invention of Hangul, Korea had been using Hanja (Chinese characters) since antiquity. The difficulty of the script limited its use to mostly upper-class people; commoners were largely illiterate. Hanja is not well suited for representing the Korean language; the Chinese and Korean languages are not closely related and differ in significant ways. For example, Classical Chinese uses subject–verb–object word order while Middle Korean uses subject–object–verb word order.

Due to a lack of records, it is unknown when work on Hangul first began, nor what that process looked like. Joseon king Sejong the Great () was responsible for and significantly involved in Hangul's creation.

Hangul was first introduced, likely in a mostly complete form, to Sejong's court in the 12th month of 1443 of the Korean calendar (around December 30, 1443 to January 28, 1444 in the Gregorian calendar). Work then began on applying the script and developing official documentation for it; this would eventually culminate in the creation of the Hunminjeongeum and Haerye.

Publication date

An exact publication date for the Hunminjeongeum and Haerye is not known. The base Hunminjeongeum claims to have been published in the 9th month of 1446 (Korean calendar). The postface to the Haerye is dated to the first ten days () of that month; it does not specify which day in that range the postface was completed. If the 10th day is assumed, that is October 9 in the Gregorian calendar; that day is celebrated as Hangul Day in South Korea.

Content

The base Hunminjeongeum text was authored by Sejong and is composed of two parts: a brief preface and a description of the alphabet. In the Hunminjeongeum Haerye edition, the base Hunminjeongeum consists of four leaves (sheets of paper). The contents of the text are summarized below.

The preface is as follows:

After the preface, the 28 letters are introduced. Each letter has their shape and brief description of their sound given using a Hanja character for reference. The 17 consonants are introduced first in the following order: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Then the 11 vowels are introduced in this order: , , , , , , , , , , .

After the letters are introduced, these orthographic principles are given in the following order:

  • Initial consonants can also be used as terminal consonants.
  • The light labial letters () letters, , , , and , are introduced. These letters are formed by adding directly underneath the labial consonants , , , and , and indicate lighter sounds.
  • Initial and terminal consonants can be combined; when they are, they are written horizontally side-by-side.
  • The vowels , , , , , and are written underneath the initial consonant, while , , , , and are written just to the right of it. An initial consonant must always be paired with at least a vowel to form a syllable.
  • , called bangjeom or pangchŏm (), are placed to the left side of Hangul characters in a system called gajeom or kachŏm ():
  • Level tone () is indicated with no dots
  • Departing tone () has a single dot ()
  • Rising tone () has two dots ()
  • Entering tone () does not receive its own dot indication. Pronunciation of characters in entering tone is quick and tense.

Versions and copies

There are various surviving pre-modern versions and copies of the text. Many of them were lost to the historical record and have been gradually rediscovered even into recent history.

The extant versions of the text can be broadly categorized as follows:

  • Yeui (): the base Hunminjeongeum by Sejong,