Korean language intrigues me. During my brief holiday visit, I would stare at the characters for hours (read: long bus rides) and trace the writing with my finger on my thigh. Looking at Hangeul from a Chinese perspective, each character appears to assemble like the Chinese characters do, but in an entirely unique way. There are circles ㅇ and there are squares ㅁ. Fragments of Chinese-ish constructs ㅅㅆ , strokes ㅓ ㅔ. And many unique symbols ㄹ and ㅙ. Putting them together, it is just beautiful. Like 안녕하세요, which means hello.
Of all the pictures I have taken in Gyeongbokgung Palace, this particular one is my favorite one. This is where Hangeul, the Korean alphabet was invented under King Sejong 569 years ago. I could imagine the historical moment of scholars (perhaps) getting together and designed a new system to phonetically transform the then-current language into a new one. What sort of debate went on in that office? How long did the entire process take place? How many generations did it take to educate the entire nation on how to use this new language? Whatever the answers are, this structure you see marks the birth of a language that exists till today.
Of all the government offices inside the palace, Jiphyeonjeon, the Hall of Worthies, is the only one remaining. It is where Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, was invented under King Sejong. Rebuilt in 1867, its name was later changed to Sujeongjeon. It served as the cabinet office during the Reform Movement of 1894.
Unlike my previous trips, this time round, I have intended to separate the photograph processing work (that includes adding captions to each picture) from the travel journal writing work. I hope this way, I am able to share the pictures in a more timely fashion. I frequently publish the processed photographs in Google+. For those who are not connected with me over in Google+, you may keep checking out the photograph section of my website. I update the links there as and when new albums are published.
2 replies on “The Birth Of A Language – Hangeul (Korean)”
I could never figure out the written characters in Korean language – they are like icons and symbols rather than words but that’s because I am not familiar at all!!!
I was also intrigued by the spoken Korean language when I heard similarity to the Chinese-dialect e.g. Hokkien. Maybe it’s just me and my ears. :O Too much K-drama, I guess. I can watch 20 episodes in Korean language solely depending on English subtitles to follow through.
Tigerfish – I suppose Korean language, while has evolved to be an unique one, still originates from Chinese.
My friends told me that Korean written language is not as hard to learn as Chinese. I mean, you should be able to pronounce the language as you read. Perhaps we shall give it a try!