King Sejong The Great

Thoughts and legacies of King Sejong, the most enlightened ruler in five thousand years of Korean history.

This book is about Korea's cultural hero, King Sejong (r. 1418-1450), the inventor of the Korean alphabet. Written by internationally known scholars, it contains 14 chapters, with numerous color plates & illustrations. King Sejong is best known & loved by the Korean people for his invention of the Korean alphabet, usually considered the most scientific writing system the world has ever known. It was an extraordinary intellectual achievement but it was also an act of compassion. Sejong created the alphabet as an expression of love for his people & as part of an ideal theory of governance. For these same reasons, Sejong also ordered astronomical instruments & rain gauges assembled, rituals & music reformed, & movable metal type created. Sejong wanted his subjects to understand the natural world so they could interact efficiently, appropriately, & harmoniously with their environment. Sejong took the throne in the Choson dynasty's third decade & put it on such a strong foundation that it lasted for over five centuries, a remarkable record not just in East Asia but in world history. Through this concise & informative reader, the English-speaking public will understand why the very name Sejong evokes an image of human perfection in Koreans' minds. To order: call (202) 994-7107, FAX (202) 994-1512, or write: Young-Key Kim-Renaud, E. Asian Lang. & Lit. Dept., George Washington Univ., Washington, DC 20052.

In 15th-century Korea, King Sejong was distressed. The complicated Chinese characters used for reading and writing meant only rich, educated people could read--and that was just the way they wanted it. But King Sejong thought all Koreans should be able to read and write, so he worked in secret for years to create a new Korean alphabet. King Sejong's strong leadership and determination to bring equality to his country make his 600-year-old story as relevant as ever.

With the help of a scholar and a young gardener, the wise king of Korea introduces an alphabet that will enable his people to read and write in their own language. Based on Korean legends.

Thoughts and legacies of King Sejong, the most enlightened ruler in five thousand years of Korean history.

Writing is a cornerstone of civilization, a crucial invention that better allows peoples to accumulate and pass down knowledge and preserve cultures. There are currently some 6,909 living languages in the world, yet only a minority of these are written, and of these just a handful have their own unique writing systems. Hangeul, the indigenous writing system of Korea, is one of them. Promulgated in 1446, Hangeul is an ingenious system that utilizes forward-thinking and scientific linguistic theories and principles of Korean traditional culture to perfectly express the sounds of the Korean language. Invented by the brilliant King Sejong the Great, the alphabet has been widely lauded by scholars the world over for its advanced phonetic system and ease of use.