King Sejong was born in 1397, the third son of King Taejong, the third king of Korea's Joseon Dynasty, and Queen Wongyeong. In 1418 he became the fourth King of the Joseon Dynasty. He was kindhearted, diligent, and placed a high emphasis on academics. His interests and talents were in many fields. He loved the Korean people and showed deep interest in their difficulties, ruling the nation with a righteous government.
King Sejong's portrait adorns Korea's 10,000-won bill.
He established Jiphyeonjeon to encourage study and nurture many talented individuals. He created Hunminjeongeum(the first name for Hangul and also the name of the Chinese commentary book on Hangul), the foundation for taking Korea's culture to a higher level. He also installed Jujaso (a place for making type during the Joseon Dynasty) to progress development of typography by improving printing type (a more advanced printing type than the printing type developed in 1455 by Gutenberg). He improved agricultural and scientific technology by inventing and developingCheugugi (equipment to measure amount of waterfall) and a sundial. In military matters, he strengthened the national defense by placing military outposts in the North to protect from China and elsewhere for trading with Japan. His achievements in the fields of medicine, music, extensive compilation projects, and law helped establish a firm foundation for Korea as a nation.
He died in 1450 and was buried in Yeongneung (Tomb) in Neungseo-myeon, Yeoju-gun, Gyeonggi-do (Historical Landmark 195).HunminjeongeumHunminjeongeum is the original name for Hangul, as well as the name of the Chinese commentary book on Hangul.Hunminjeongeum was completed in 1443 and distributed throughout Korea in 1446. The meaning of Hunminjeongeum is the "right sound to teach people of the nation." Originally, there were 28 letters, but these days only 24 letters are used.
Intent and Process of the Creation of Hangul
The sprit of the creation was written well in the introduction of Hunminjeongeum. The purpose was to create proper characters for writing the Korean language. Prior to this, Chinese characters were used to write Korean. As addressed in the introduction of Hunminjeongeum, Chinese characters were not proper for writing Korean. So Hunminjeongeumwas created to have the right characters for writing Korean. Also, Hunminjeongeum was easier to learn than Chinese characters, so it was created for the people who could not afford difficult Chinese lessons. It shows the independent spirit of Korean and sprit of valuing the nation's people.JiphyeonjeonJiphyeonjeon was academic research institute installed in the royal court in early Josenn Dynasty by King Sejong. Established in 1420 to establish ceremonies and systems rooted in the Confucian ways that the Joseon Dynasty was adopting for Korea, its purpose was also to cultivate talented individuals and stimulate an academic atmosphere. The process of creation was deeply rooted at Jiphyeonjeon. The scholars of Jiphyeonjeon carried on the research of King Seojong's projects continuously. Jiphyeonjeon as the academic research institute had roles of storing and using books, developing academic activities, and preparing the consultation of the King. Scholars at Jiphyeonjeon worked on compiling various books that became the model for politics for the following generations.
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