What is 한글날 (Hangeul Day)? King Sejong and the Korean alphabet

You can probably read 한글 already, or you are learning it now. But who made it, and why do the letters look this way? The answers are simple and surprising.

Who made Hangeul, and why?

Hangeul was made by 세종대왕 (Sejong Daewang, King Sejong the Great). He was a king of the Joseon dynasty.

Before Hangeul, Koreans wrote with Chinese characters. These characters were hard to learn. Only a small group of people could learn them. Most people could not read or write. They could not put their own thoughts on paper.

King Sejong made Hangeul so that ordinary people could write their own language. That is the heart of the story.

Why are there two years, 1443 and 1446?

The two years mark two different steps.

At first, the letters were not called 한글. The original name was 훈민정음 (Hunminjeongeum). It means "the correct sounds to teach the people."

The 1446 book has the same name, Hunminjeongeum. It explained why the letters were made and how they work. A special copy with a long explanation is called the Hunminjeongeum Haerye (해례본, haeryebon). 해례 means "explanations and examples."

In 1997, UNESCO added this book to its Memory of the World Register. This list protects very important documents from around the world. The book is kept at the Kansong Art Museum in Korea.

How do the letters work?

The first alphabet had 28 letters: 17 consonants and 11 vowels. The shapes follow two clear ideas.

Idea 1: Consonants copy the mouth

The five basic consonants show the shape of your mouth when you say them.

Try it now. Say "g" slowly. Feel the back of your tongue rise. Now look at ㄱ again.

Next, Sejong added a line for a stronger sound. For example:

• ㄱ + one line = ㅋ (k, with more air)
• ㄴ + one line = ㄷ (d / t), + another line = ㅌ (t, with more air)
• ㅁ → ㅂ (b / p) → ㅍ (p, with more air)

This is why letters that sound alike also look alike.

Idea 2: Vowels come from heaven, earth and people

The three basic vowels come from three things:

• · (a dot) — the round sky, or heaven
• ㅡ (a flat line) — the flat earth
• ㅣ (a standing line) — a person standing up

The other vowels are mixes of these three. For example, the dot sits next to ㅣ to make ㅏ (a). It sits above ㅡ to make ㅗ (o). In modern writing, the dot became a short line.

A few simple shapes make the whole alphabet. This is one reason many learners find Hangeul quick to learn.

How did October 9 become Hangeul Day?

The holiday has a long history.

1. 1926: A Korean language group started 가갸날 (Gagyanal). The name comes from the first letters, 가 and 갸.
2. 1928: The name changed to 한글날.
3. 1945: After Korea's liberation, the date was fixed as October 9.
4. 1949: It became a public holiday, a day off.

Why October 9? The 1446 book says it was finished in the first ten days of the 9th lunar month. People took the last of those days, the 10th day. Experts later changed that lunar date to the solar calendar and chose October 9.

Hangeul Day was not always a day off. In 1990, it was taken off the list of public holidays. The reason given was that it slowed down industry. In 2005, it became one of Korea's five national days. The rules changed again in late 2012, and it became a day off again from 2013.

Today, October 9 is a day off in South Korea. It is a good day to write your name in Hangeul for the first time.

What to say on Hangeul Day

Notice the sound change in 한글날. You write 한글 + 날, but you say "한글랄" (Hangeullal). The ㄴ sound changes to ㄹ next to ㄹ.

Quick check

1. What is the date of Hangeul Day in South Korea? → October 9
2. Which year did King Sejong share the new letters in a book? → 1446
3. The vowel ㅣ shows what? → A person standing up