During the meeting, Vivian and I watched a youtube video about teaching British high school students to read Korean in a day. Through the video I got to know the origin of the Korean alphabet and some interesting tricks in memorizing the Korean alphabet. I also searched for more information after the meeting.
King Sejong the Great devised the Korean alphabet, typically referred to as Hangul, as a distinctive writing system in the 15th century. Hangul is a phonetic writing system with 24 letters that communicate sounds, in contrast to other Asian writing systems like Chinese or Japanese, which rely on complicated symbols. Other Asian writing systems include Chinese and Japanese. Because of this, it is much easier to learn and apply, which is one of the reasons why it is still used as Korea's official writing system today. The development of Hangul, which made it possible for the general population to become more literate, is considered to be one of Korea's most significant cultural achievements. Only scholars and nobles could grasp the difficult Chinese characters employed at the time, hence they were the only ones who could read and write before Hangul. On the other hand, the Korean writing system known as Hangul was designed to be straightforward in both its acquisition and its use in order to promote increased education and literacy across the country.
But there was significant controversy concerning the creation of Hangul. At the time, Chinese characters were viewed as a signal of great culture, and many academics resisted the introduction of a new, inferior writing system. Some even went so far as to set fire to newly printed books featuring Hangul printing. King Sejong and his adherents persevered in the face of these challenges, and ultimately, Hangul was generally accepted as the country of Korea's official writing system.
Hangul is currently a crucial component of Korean society, being taught in schools and used often. It appears in sources like newspapers, novels, television series, and even Korean fashion and design. In actuality, a number of Korean fashion designers incorporate Hangul in their designs, integrating it into patterns, logos, and even clothes. The visual attraction of Hangul is one of its special traits. The letters are created to be easily recognizable and visually stunning, and they are usually compared to little works of art. The simple and beautiful letterforms are supposed to have drawn inspiration from the human body's curves and lines.
The method that Hangul represents Korean language and culture is another unique element of the alphabet. For instance, the letter forms are patterned by the lip and tongue motions needed to enunciate the sounds they stand for. This underlines the relationship between language and identity and reflects the centrality of speech and communication in Korean culture.
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