| Hunminjeongeum | |
|---|---|
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 훈민정음 (modern Korean) / 훈민져ᇰᅙᅳᆷ (original name) |
| Hanja | 訓民正音 |
| Revised Romanization | Hunminjeong(-)eum |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hunminjŏngŭm |
Hunminjeongeum (lit. The Correct/Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People) is a document describing an entirely new and native script for the Korean language. The script was initially named after the publication, but later came to be known as hangul. It was created so that the common people illiterate in hanja could accurately and easily read and write the Korean language. Its supposed publication date, October 9 1446, is now Hangul Day in South Korea.
Contents |
The publication is written in Classical Chinese and contains a preface, the alphabet letters (jamo), and brief descriptions of their corresponding sounds. It is later supplemented by a longer document called Hunminjeongeum Haerye. To distinguish it from its supplement, Hunminjeongeum is sometimes called the "Samples and Significance Edition of Hunminjeongeum" (훈민정음예의본; 訓民正音例義本).
The Classical Chinese (Hanzi/Hanja) of the Hunminjeongeum has been partly translated into Middle Korean. This translation is found together with Worinseokbo, and is called the Hunminjeongeum Eonhaebon.
The first paragraph of the document reveals King Sejong's motivation for creating hangul:
| “ | Because the speech of this country is different from that of China, it [the spoken language] does not match the [Chinese] letters. Therefore, even if the ignorant want to communicate, many of them in the end cannot state their concerns. Saddened by this, I have [had] 28 letters newly made. It is my wish that every man may easily learn these letters and that [they] be convenient for daily use | ” |
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The manuscript of the original Hunminjeongeum has two versions: