The King's Alphabet

King Sejong the Great is considered, well, the greatest king in Korean history. And his greatest contribution of all might have been twenty-four letters. Support Noble Blood: —Bonus episodes, stickers, and scripts on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/noblebloodtales — Noble Blood merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/noble-blood — Order Dana's book, 'Anatomy: A Love Story' https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250840578/anatomyalovestory/and its sequel 'Immortality: A Love Story' https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250861016/immortalityalovestory/ See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• 0:00Dana Schwartz?

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• 0:35Dana Schwartz?

  Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Listener discretion advised.

• 0:47Dana Schwartz?

  Jun Hyung-pil had to move quickly, but without bringing too much attention to himself or his mission. He had 10,000 won on him, which was enough money to buy several beautiful homes. But that money was for something far more valuable than a city block of mansions, something far more precious than he could let on. Jun headed south from Seoul toward the city of Eondoong with his cash in tow and his mind set on purchasing one of the most important documents in Korean history.

• 1:24Dana Schwartz?

  The year was 1940, and Korea was in its 30th year under official Japanese imperial control. As is fashionable for imperial rulers to do, the Japanese government had made it a policy to suppress the Korean people and Korean culture, going so far as to outlaw Korean names. The government had also been chipping away at Korean heritage and history through a variety of programs, including taking national artifacts from the Korean peninsula to mainland Japan. If the government knew about the existence of John's desired possession, they would

• 2:09Dana Schwartz?

  surely seize it and whisk it away, perhaps even destroy it. As a collector of Korean antiques and artifacts, and an ardent believer in the beauty of Korean art and history, Jun could not let Japan’s colonial regime steal an item so essential to Korean heritage. So, as he traveled out of Seoul, Jun tried to contain his excitement and his anxiety. Once in Emdong, Jun headed for the antique dealer’s store. The 10,000 won he carried felt heavier and heavier the closer he got, and Jun couldn’t help but look over his shoulder

• 2:53Dana Schwartz?

  every time he turned a corner. The anticipation was gnawing at him. Was the document actually real? Could someone have beaten him to it? What if he was too late? His thoughts went silent as he stepped into the shop. Before the door could even close behind him, Jun made eye contact with the shopkeeper and introduced himself. The antique dealer disappeared into a back room and returned moments later, holding a book. He flipped open the pages of the book and explained: “It was an heirloom of the House of Kim there in Emdong.” But Jun already knew that.

• 3:35Dana Schwartz?

  He also knew that they had only been asking 1,000 won for the book, but Jun had sent a telegram ahead, promising 10,000 if they held it for him. After admiring the book for a few moments, Jun handed the man the money and watched as the shopkeeper carefully wrapped the book up for him. Now that the document was his, he wouldn’t let it out of his sight. He would protect it with his life. As he headed back to Seoul, Jun couldn't believe what he was now holding, what was now his. This piece of Korean heritage was worth far more than the 10,000 won he had shelled out for it.

• 4:20Dana Schwartz?

  He now owned the only known copy of the Humeonjungum Hara, first published in 1446, the text that explains King Sejong's greatest invention, a new alphabet. Quote, "The spoken language of our country is different from that of China and does not suit the Chinese characters. Therefore amongst uneducated people, there have been many who, having something they wish to put into words, have been unable to express their feelings in writing. I am greatly distressed because of this, and so I have made 28 new letters. Let everyone practice them at their ease and adapt them to their daily use." End quote.

• 5:05Dana Schwartz?

  While his creation was underappreciated at the time, King Sejong's new alphabet, now called Hengul, was a revolutionary way to codify human language. Never before had humans invented a script for which the exact reasoning behind each aspect of it could be articulated. Modern scholars, but especially modern linguists, recognize King Sejong's alphabet to be one of humanity's greatest achievements. With his purchase of the Humeonjungum Hara, Jeong Hyong-pil saved an artifact not only

• 5:45Dana Schwartz?

  crucial to Korean history, but also to our understanding of one of humanity's most ingenious creations. I'm Dana Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood.

• 6:02Dana Schwartz?

  Only one monarch in Korean history bears the moniker "the great." Sejong, the great, fourth monarch of the Jossian Dynasty. He ruled over Korea for 32 years, from 1418 to 1450, and is still heralded as a ruler who put the well-being of his subjects before all else. For our American listeners, his status in Korean society can be compared to George Washington's. He is a foundational figure in Korea's collective conscience. Sejong inherited the throne at a crucial point in the Jossian Dynasty's history. The Jossian Dynasty, which controlled modern-day North and South Korea,

• 6:47Dana Schwartz?

  had toppled the previous dynasty just 30 years earlier, which in dynasty times is pretty much nothing. And most of the turmoil that came with the dissolution of one dynasty and the rise of another had, by this point, pretty much subsided. So now, Sejong needed to establish the identity of the Jossian Dynasty and weave it together with that of Korea's. Fortunately, Sejong was up to the task. Despite being young when he first rose to power, he was an incredibly wise ruler. His mentality is summed up well by this quote attributed to him, which is:

• 7:29Dana Schwartz?

  "If the people prosper, how can the king not prosper with them? And if the people do not prosper, how may the king prosper without them?" That quote captures exactly how Sejong's commitment to his subjects' well-being drove both his politics and his personal actions. We have the incredibly detailed and organized silak, or annals, of the Jossian Dynasty to thank for such specific quotes from King Sejong as well as for detailed descriptions of his life. While we should take the writings in those annals with a grain of salt, given that they were written for the express purpose of "recording for posterity the king's greatness",

• 8:14Dana Schwartz?

  they are useful sources in that they demonstrate which traits and accomplishments King Sejong valued and therefore wanted to be portrayed as being and having done.

• 8:28Dana Schwartz?

  I will say, King Sejong did have a lot of accomplishments to be proud of. He was a thoughtful politician, careful not to overtax his subjects, and compassionate in his policies. He also strengthened the country’s army with innovative and improved weaponry. But that’s not all. Sejong was also accomplished outside the areas typically within a monarch’s purview. He had a deep regard for wisdom, and he formed a royal academy known as the Hall of Worthies, where scholars would provide lectures for him and participate in debates with him. The scholars could write books, conduct research, and they would invent any number of things

• 9:13Dana Schwartz?

  that would better the lives of everyday Koreans. Some of those inventions include the world’s first standardized rain gauge, an updated calendar system, and a new type of printing press. Scholars in the Hall of Worthies also published treatises on farming, specifically in Korea, as well as on traditional Korean medicinal knowledge. While scholars in the Hall of Worthies ultimately created many of the achievements attributed to Sejong’s reign, we can’t ignore that it was Sejong’s patronage that fostered their creativity. Artists were also beneficiaries of Sejong’s support, as his patronage resulted in the

• 9:58Dana Schwartz?

  publication of many books, the creation of hundreds of new musical compositions, and the invention of a new musical instrument. But one of his contributions stands head and shoulders above the rest. Of all of King Sejong’s inventions and contributions, there’s one that’s the most dazzling: the invention of an entirely new writing system. Hangul is a script whose modern version contains 24 basic letters, 14 consonants, and 10 vowels.

• 10:37Dana Schwartz?

  The script is both alphabetic, since specific symbols symbolize certain sounds, and syllabic, because symbols can get combined to create a syllabic unit.

• 10:51Dana Schwartz?

  Traditionally, Hangul was written like other Asian scripts: top to bottom, right to left. But nowadays, Hangul is typically written left to right. You might be asking yourself, "Dana, why do I care that King Sejong created a new script in the 1500s? Out of everything he did, it seems pretty cool, but otherwise not particularly life-changing." And you'd be right, that perhaps creating a new writing system isn't the most consequential thing a monarch can do, but King Sejong and his Hall of Worthies accomplished something never done before: inventing a script for which the theory and motives for it are

• 11:36Dana Schwartz?

  fully articulated. Okay, if you're not a linguistics nerd, let me walk out why this is so cool. So, almost all other alphabets and scripts that humans have used have evolved over thousands of years with no overarching theoretical guidelines dictating its structure. Hangul is the first alphabet of its kind. There's a systemic reasoning behind each facet of the script, and we know all of those reasons. Furthermore, the theory behind the script is pretty impressive: the symbols represent the shape that human speech organs (like the tongue and throat) make when various

• 12:21Dana Schwartz?

  sounds are made. So technically, if one knows what sound every symbol represents, one could write many different languages using Hangul. Most linguists and scholars agree that Hangul is an immensely creative achievement that should be counted among humankind's greatest creations, which is some pretty high praise. I should note that the more commonly-used name for this script, and the name I'll be using, Hangul, was actually coined in 1912 by Korean linguist Ju Sejong. Hangul's original name was Huminjigangum, which translates to "correct sounds for the instruction of the people."

• 13:07Dana Schwartz?

  If you recall, the document that Jeong Hyung-pil traveled across Korea to buy in the introduction to this episode was called the Humeojanghure, which translates to “explanations and examples of the proper sounds for the instruction of the people.” The translation of Hangul’s original name illuminates King Sejong’s motivation behind his invention. I mean, most monarchs dedicated their free time to leading hunting expeditions or luxuriating with their mistresses, not personally having a hand in creating a new writing system unlike anything seen before in human history.

• 13:50Dana Schwartz?

  But King Sejong’s motivation as a king was to better the lives of his subjects, and he believed that a writing system, custom-designed for the Korean language, would be a crucial tool for achieving betterment through education. At the time he lived, the vast majority of published material in Korea was written in Chinese. If we’re being more specific, Koreans were reading classical Chinese texts and writing new texts in the Chinese language or in Hanga, a Chinese script retrofitted to represent the Korean language.

• 14:32Dana Schwartz?

  So, in order to be literate, one had to memorize thousands of Chinese characters. It should be no surprise then that literacy was a difficult skill to achieve and a skill reserved for the elites in Korea. King Sejong hoped to bring literacy to the masses with a writing system that had a smaller number of symbols, therefore infinitely easier to learn, and made specifically for the Korean language. So, in 1443, Hangul was officially announced, and the books detailing the logic behind the script and how to read and write it

• 15:15Dana Schwartz?

  were published a few years later, in 1446, aka the book that Jeong Hyung-pil bought.

• 15:23Dana Schwartz?

  Interestingly, we aren't entirely certain who specifically invented Hengul, because there is no record of the project before it was announced as completed. Was it Sejong all by himself? Or did one or more of the scholars in the Hall of Worthies invented at his behest? Or maybe it was a collaboration? Most scholars believe that Sejong and his scholars collaborated on the language, but that the king did indeed play a large, personal role in creating the script. In fact, records indicate that Sejong pushed through neuralgia, diabetes, and worsening

• 16:06Dana Schwartz?

  eyesight in order to work on the language even after it was announced, going so far as to bring his linguistic books with him on a trip to Hot Springs when he was trying to recover his health. As you might be able to guess, Korean elites were not thrilled with the king's new invention. The creation of a new script disrupted centuries of custom that privileged the Chinese language over Korean, which they knew. On top of that, they weren't thrilled with the idea that the general population could now have access to the politically powerful tools of reading and writing.

• 16:49Dana Schwartz?

  Such a change threatened their status. Now elites couldn't just come out and say that they felt threatened by the language, so instead they crafted other arguments against the new script. Famously, Choi Manly, an associate professor in the Hall of Worthies, expressed this critique: "Since the new alphabet is so easily understood, I fear that the people will fall into laziness and never make efforts to learn. Those who do not use Chinese characters but other letters and alphabets are all barbarians without exception. To use new letters would surely make us barbarians ourselves."

• 17:35Dana Schwartz?

  Why does your highness seek to alter a language that has been used since early antiquity and has no ill effects? And place alongside it a set of coarse and vulgar characters of no worth at all? In other words, if reading and writing is easy, that'll make us lazy barbarians. But King Sejong was not deterred by his critics. Beyond believing in his mission, he was not about to abandon a project he dedicated years to. And so the king stuck to his guns and began publishing all of his royal edicts in both Chinese Hangul and in Hangul.

• 18:18Dana Schwartz?

  He commissioned classical works of literature transcribed into Hangul and made Hangul a required portion of the state exam. For the remainder of his reign, Sejong went out of his way to promote Hangul in the hopes that his fellow nobles would come to see the beauty and benefits of his greatest creation.

• 18:44Dana Schwartz?

  Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, when King Sejong passed away in 1450, so too died the push to use Hangul. The script fell into disuse by the elites, who gave the language nicknames that translate to, quote, "The vulgar script", "The woman's script", and "The children's script". Eventually, things went beyond just social ostracism when, in 1504, an anonymous writer published criticisms of the then-king in Hangul. The king was so furious with this publication that he outlawed the script.

• 19:25Dana Schwartz?

  So, for the four centuries after Hangul was created, the nobility in Korea relegated the language to the dusty storage room of history. But, listener, fear not. King Sejong’s magnificent creation was not lost to society entirely. And we can thank religious minorities, women, and, my favorite people, writers and artists, for that. Like I just mentioned, one of the supposedly derogatory nicknames for Hangul used to be the “women’s script.” Looking past the fact that being associated with women was supposedly a bad thing,

• 20:07Dana Schwartz?

  this nickname actually reveals that women were substantial in keeping Hangul in use. Further, it appears that women across social classes used Hangul. From records referencing “intercept personal notes,” we know that women in the royal family used Hangul for their everyday writing. So too did women in lower classes, who were less likely to receive an education in the “complicated Chinese characters.” Additionally, Korean Buddhists were some of the first advocates of Hangul after King Sejong, and they played a large role in the preservation of Hangul from King Sejong’s

• 20:51Dana Schwartz?

  time onward. Although the official policy of the Joseon Dynasty was to promote Confucianism and repress Buddhism, Buddhism still managed to maintain a significant foothold amongst the general population. When translating and printing scripture meant to serve the common people, Buddhist monks used Hangul. Thus, in their efforts to bring people to Buddhism, these monks preserved and taught Hangul throughout Korea. European missionaries also relied on Hangul to teach the Bible and teach Christian practices, ultimately spreading Hangul in the same way Buddhist monks did.

• 21:35Dana Schwartz?

  While those with religious motivation saw the usefulness of Hangul, they weren't alone. Starting in the late 16th century, there was a renaissance of literature and poetry in Korea, and many of those forms utilized Hangul. Gasa and Sijo forms of poetry in particular used the language. A continuation of that renaissance, Hangul novels came into popularity in the 17th century. Korean readers were looking for stories similar to those from Chinese novels of the time that told love stories and adventures. Some of those first novels were just translations of Chinese stories into Hangul,

• 22:19Dana Schwartz?

  but soon a flourishing industry of original Hangul novels developed. Hangul novels specifically meant for a female audience were also quite popular and further helped disseminate the language to populations even less likely to be literate. While books and religious texts are some of the easiest artifacts demonstrating Hangul's usage, there were other, less remarkable ways that people preserved and used Hangul. The script was popular amongst the urban middle class of bureaucrats and administrators for records and bookkeepings. All of these groups— poets, Buddhists, women,

• 23:02Dana Schwartz?

  Christians, the middle class, bureaucrats, and more— kept Hangul alive and in use for centuries after Sejong's passing. In the 19th century, as nationalism in Korea rose, so too did people's usage of Hangul. Finally, in 1849, the script was adopted as the national writing system of Korea, and it was used for the first time in the modern era for official government documents.

• 23:34Dana Schwartz?

  There was a period under Japanese colonial rule when Hangul was outlawed. But since Korea's liberation in 1945, Hangul has been the official writing system of Korea. Now, North Korea and South Korea, respectively. In South Korea specifically, the country's literacy rate at the end of World War II was roughly 22%. Now, the country has a literacy rate of 97.9%. Now, I'm not attempting to attribute that growth to just Hangul becoming the official writing system by any means. I only mention it because all I can think is that King Sejong

• 24:16Dana Schwartz?

  would be so proud to know just how many people use his creation every day, just like he wanted. Anyone who, quote, "having something they wish to put into words" is now able to express their feelings in writing.

• 24:35Dana Schwartz?

  Keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear about the current court case going on in South Korea over the second known copy of the Humeon Jungham Hare and the fire which threatened its very existence.

• 24:54Speaker 03

  Hey, it's Niall Rogers, host of Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series. I'm driving across the country, meeting some of today's most fascinating artists. We're exploring the stories before the moment that changed everything. This week, I'm joined by my friend, John Legend. What still makes you just sit down at the piano?

• 25:17Speaker 04

  If you sat down at 9:00 a.m. and then at noon, you had a full song that you recorded and put in your voice recorder or you recorded at your studio, you just created something brand new that didn't exist when you woke up. What a beautiful feeling it is. I'm always excited to write something new. I've been writing for Broadway, which has been a new challenge with new collaborators and these amazing performers who are triple threats, who can sing and dance and act and do all these amazing things. And I want to keep feeling that. And so that means not resting on my laurels, going out there and continuing to create something new.

• 25:52Speaker 03

  Experience Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series on the iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 26:02Speaker 03

  Hey, it's Niall Rogers, host of Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series. I'm driving across the country, meeting some of today's most fascinating artists. We're exploring the stories before the moment that changed everything. This week, I'm joined by Miguel.

• 26:20Speaker 05

  My small experience with the discrepancy in the business of music made me angry in the best way, and I wanted to, I wanted to finish. So I started really like leaning into my therapy, trying to get down to like what matters now. Somewhere, Miguelito felt like he didn't have a place to say how he felt, and music was the place that I went to, to say how I felt.

• 26:43Speaker 03

  Experience Before the Moment, a Lincoln original series on the iHeartRadio app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 26:53Dana Schwartz?

  As I mentioned in the introduction to today's episode, until Jun Hyung-pil found a copy of the Humeonjungum Hare in 1940, that important part of Korean history was believed to have been lost to history forever. And until 2008, Joan's copy was believed to be the only remaining copy of that text in the world. That is, until another collector stepped forward with a second copy. In 2008, Bei Ikji, a rare book collector and scholar with a specialization in classic Chinese literature, declared to the world that he had found a copy of the Humeonjungum

• 27:38Dana Schwartz?

  Hare tucked away amongst two boxes of ancient books that he had found earlier that year. After Bei went public with his find, South Korea's Cultural Heritage Administration, also known as the CHA, visited his home to inspect the document. The CHA ultimately validated that document's legitimacy. They declared it to be, quote, "authentic, in good shape, and even has a footnote." The administration even went so far as to compare it to the copy found in 1940. Quote, "This copy seems to be in better condition than the current national treasure,

• 28:21Dana Schwartz?

  despite its loss of four pages of the preface and one page of the latter part." The footnote on the newly-discovered version was particularly exciting because the copy Jeong had purchased in 1940 did not have that footnote. It appears to have been written by a scholar contemporary with King Sejong, therefore adding to our understanding of how scholars interpreted Hangul when it was first announced. But unfortunately, almost everybody has been unable to see that footnote because Bay's copy of the Humeon Jungum Hare

• 29:02Dana Schwartz?

  has courted controversy almost from the moment its existence became public knowledge. As I mentioned, Bay claimed that he had found the manuscript, essentially hidden away and forgotten about, in a box of rare books that he happened to buy. A month after the announcement of the manuscript's discovery, the antique dealer who had sold him that box of books came forward and stated that the Humeon Jungum Hare was not supposed to be in those boxes. Bay had stolen it from him. The antique dealer promptly filed civil and criminal suits against Bay.

• 29:42Dana Schwartz?

  In the criminal case, it was initially ruled that Bay was guilty and should serve 10 years in jail. However, the case was appealed all the way to South Korea's Supreme Court, who declared Bay innocent. The civil case, on the other hand, turned out in the antique dealer's favor. That antique dealer, named Joe, ultimately won, and judges from the lower courts all the way to the Supreme Court ruled that the document should be returned to Joe. Upon being awarded legally-recognized ownership of the Humeon Jungum Hare in 2011,

• 30:22Dana Schwartz?

  Joe announced that he would donate the document to the CHA. And in 2012, they held a donation ceremony shortly before Joe passed away. So if Joe donated the book to CHA, why haven't many people seen it? The donation ceremony was purely ceremonial. None of them actually had the book. Despite the fact that Bay was found legally responsible for returning the rare document to Joe, Bay refused, and he hid the manuscript away. CHA has conducted multiple raids on Bay's home and office,

• 31:07Dana Schwartz?

  but they've been unable to find anything. To this day, Bay still has the document hidden away. But I am not done regaling you with the journey of this Huanjungumhure. Things got even messier in 2015, when a fire broke out in Bay's home, where he was presumably hiding the document. Bay claims that he broke into his home while it was on fire, so that he could save the document. To prove his claim, he released a photo to the news, showing the Huanjungumhure still intact, but with its edges seared by the flames. After releasing those photos, Bay hid the document away again,

• 31:52Dana Schwartz?

  and it is still in his possession to this day, despite many attempts by the CHA to recover it. Negotiations between Bay and the CHA over the document are still ongoing, but constantly stall out, with Bay asking for only 100 billion yuan, which is only 1/10 of the document's supposed 1 trillion yuan value. But the CHA is only offering him 100 million yuan. We will have to stay tuned to see what twists and turns come next in the drama surrounding the document, but we can all hope that one day, it'll be available to the public,

• 32:36Dana Schwartz?

  to anyone who wishes to see a critical part of Hangul's history. After all, the language itself was meant to empower the people. Its documents and its history should be available, in my opinion, to the people as well.

• 32:58Dana Schwartz?

  Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me, Dana Schwartz, with additional writing and research by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Amy Height, and Julia Milani. The show is edited and produced by Jesse Funk, with supervising producer Reema Ilkayali, and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Trevor Young, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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