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40 Hangeul: Korea’s Unique Alphabet
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Chapter Four
KIng SEJong ThE gREAT
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n the case of King Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon era, the appellation “The Great” is no self-indulgent exaggeration. Ruling from 1418 to 1450, Sejong was the epitome of the Confucian scholar-king, overseeing a cultural golden age of learning and social development. One of the most enlightened men of his age, he had interests extending far beyond politics and into the realms of science, culture and linguistics. His greatest achievement—and the most relevant to this book—was the creation of the Hangeul writing system. Sejong was born in 1397, the third son of King Taejong, Joseon’s energetic—if perhaps Machiavellian—third monarch. Ordinarily, the presence of two older brothers would have precluded the studious Sejong from ascending to the throne. Fortunately for him, however, his brothers recognized both his skills and their lack thereof. Both intentionally got themselves banished from the royal
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