Hunminjeongeum Haerye (), or simply Haerye, refers to either a commentary section on the text Hunminjeongeum or to copies of the Hunminjeongeum that contain the commentary section. The Hunminjeongeum and commentary were published together as a single text around October 1446 (Gregorian calendar). Together, they introduce the native Korean alphabet Hangul.

The Joseon king Sejong the Great () authored the preface to the overall text as well as the basic introduction of the letters. The following members of the government agency Hall of Worthies coauthored the Haerye section: Chŏng Inji, Ch'oe Hang, Pak P'aengnyŏn, Sin Sukchu, Sŏng Sammun, Kang Hŭian, Yi Kae, and . The text's postface was written by Chŏng Inji. The commentary and postface describe how the shapes of Hangul's letters were derived.

The base Hunminjeongeum was republished separately from the Haerye on a number of occasions and consistently remained in the historical record. However, the Haerye section was eventually lost and forgotten, possibly by the early 16th century. A copy of the full Hunminjeongeum Haerye text was only rediscovered in 1940. Its rediscovery revolutionized scholarship on Hangul. As it is now in the collection of Kansong Art Museum, it is known as the "Kansong copy".

A second copy, the "Sangju copy", was discovered in 2008, although its discoverer has continually refused to show much of it to others. The South Korean government agency Korea Heritage Service was ruled the legal owner of that copy in 2019. A number of police raids to seize the copy from the discoverer have failed.

The Kansong copy of the Haerye was designated a National Treasure of South Korea in 1962 and entered into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 1997.

Publication date

An exact publication date for the work 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.

Contents

The Hunminjeongeum Haerye edition consists of two main parts: the base Hunminjeongeum and the Haerye. The Haerye has six sections. Several sections of the Haerye are written in seven-syllable lines in irregular rhyme. The sections are:

  • "Explanation of the Design of the Letters" ()
  • "An Explanation of the Initials" ()
  • "An Explanation of the Medials" ()
  • "An Explanation of the Finals" ()
  • "An Explanation of the Combination of the Letters" ()
  • "Examples of the Uses of the Letters" ()

After the sections there is a postface by Chŏng Inji. and a UNESCO Memory of the World in 1997.

Sangju copy

History

thumb|Some pages of the Sangju copy (photo taken in 2009)

On July 28, 2008, book dealer Bae Ik-gi () announced that he discovered that he was in possession of another copy of the Hunminjeongeum Haerye. Bae revealed only a limited number of pages of the work to the public and to researchers, and otherwise refused to show it, as he sought a financial reward for it.

On August 1, book dealer Jo Yeong-hun () claimed that the copy belonged to him, and that it had been stolen from him. According to Jo, the copy had been lying around in his bookstore and Bae took it without paying whilst purchasing boxes of other books. Jo filed criminal complaints against Bae that were dismissed. Jo then filed a lawsuit against Bae on February 5, 2010. On May 13, 2011, the Supreme Court of Korea ruled that Bae had indeed stolen it, and ordered Bae to return it to Jo. Bae refused. Jo filed a criminal report against Bae on July 5. Police conducted three raids on Bae's properties on August 30, but failed to locate the copy.]]

On March 26, 2015, a fire destroyed Bae's home within 30 minutes.