King Sejong of Korea

King Sejong of Korea (1397-1450) wanted his people to be literate, but knew that the Chinese system took too long for most people to learn. He tried to promote literacy by creating an entirely new, scientific alphabet, representing the individual sounds of the spoken language, in an unusually systematic way that reveals profound linguistic insights. He named his alphabet Hun Min Jong Um, “Accurate Sounds to Educate the People.”

Korean scholars had been using Chinese characters, but few people could afford the years of study to learn that system. Contemporary scholar's opposed Sejong’s alphabet because it was not Chinese. They said it was too easy. Consequently, it was largely neglected, almost until the twentieth century. The use of the alphabet for a translation of the Bible helped popularize it, and it is now in general use in both North and South Korea.