Hunmin jeongeum:

Hunmin jeongeum 訓民正音 is one of the most important elements that characterize the Korean people and nation. This article examines the process in which Hunmin jeongeum had been disseminated and taught since its invention through the late nineteenth. In terms of dissemination policy during the reign of King Sejong 世宗, he wrote and published important official documents and literary books in Hunmin jeongeum. He also had major books including the Four Books of Chinese Classics translated into Hangeul. For education, King Sejong ordered the court ministers and princes to learn Hangeul. Hunmin jeongeum was also included in the official state examinations during the reign of King Sejong. In addition, many significant efforts for the spreading of Hunmin jeongeum were made after King Sejong. As a result of the King Sejong’s dissemination policies and ensuing efforts by many of his successors, Hunmin jeongeum spread widely among the Korean people during the Choseon 朝鮮 dynasty. It is also due to Hangeul’s own merit that this official script reform was so successful that it had been persistently used and taught in the everyday life of ordinary people from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries.