Welcome to YCC Baltimore Branch!: 11월 2015

Hello, it's been a while!

Last month on Friday, October 9th, was a special day for Koreans.
Yes, true, students in Korea got a day off from school and work. For me, who's in Baltimore, I had to go to class and face the exams. :(

On that day, Koreans celebrate what is known as Korean Alphabet Day, or Hangeul Day. Hangeul (한글) is the Korean alphabet used in the Korean language today.

What is so special Hangeul? Why celebrate the alphabet?

From the old days, native Koreans have been using the pictographic Chinese characters for writing. Indeed, the Chinese characters are beautiful like a work of art, yet it was quite complicated.

Chinese Characters

Even if the royalty and the nobles were able to read and write with the Chinese characters, the majority population could not. The rate of illiteracy increased and hindered the education of the common people.

Sejong the Great (reign: 1418-1450)

In the year 1443, the Korean (Joseon Dynasty, at that time) monarch Sejong the Great lamented about the lack of pure Korean written language, and established a group of scholars to create a new alphabet.

It was then in 1446, three years later, when Sejong announced the creation of the official alphabet of Korea, known as "Hun-min-jeong-eum" (훈민정음),

Early written document of Hun-min-jung-eum

Although different from the modern Hangeul used today, Hun-min-jung-eum was utilized by many commoners, who could finally learn to read and write. Unfortunately, the creation of these new letters sparked controversy within the royal court, as officials argued that it was barbaric to create a new alphabet contrary to the given, traditional Chinese letters.

The modern name "Hangeul" came a few centuries later, in the 20th century during the Japanese Annexation (1910-1945). A scholar and independence movement leader named Ju Si-gyeong emphasized the importance of the Korean language for the freedom cause. He recollected and confirmed the usage of proper Hangeul, which are now used today.

Scholar Ju Si-gyeong

So that was a brief summary and history of Hangeul. As you may have seen in history, the language reflected on the wisdom and national spirit of Korea. It provided the uniqueness and special beauty that a country could ever have, and Koreans feel pride in it.

Here in JHU, the Korean Students Association held an event in honor of Hangeul Day. They wrote people's names in Korean, which is pretty nifty and cool for non-Koreans. I mean, how awesome is it to see your name written in a different language?

KSA permitted me to hold the poster for a photo :)

Meanwhile in Seoul, South Korea, people celebrated their proud language in various ways. As an honorary mentioning, Bomin Song (the same YCC student who created the logo) wrote a few Korean phrases with her calligraphy skills. As always, I was amazed by her talent!