king sejong the great

the following is an article i wrote for the korea sun magazine. i really liked researching this guy; his life story has so much more that can be squeezed into 500 words or less (this one is way over the limit!), but i hope i did it justice.

King Sejong ‘the Great’

They Don’t Give This Title Out to Just Anyone

The history of Korea dates back thousands of years and has been shaped by a host of influential characters. Among the most significant of these is King Sejong, the only ruler to have ever been given the title ‘Great’ by the people of Korea. Thanks to the Sillok, or ‘Annals of the Choson Dynasty’, there is a lot of historical data written on the king, allowing a clear window in which through view his life, character and spirit. What relevance does a king from six hundred years ago have in today’s modern Korea? You might be surprised.

The life of King Sejong is like a beacon from the past, still visible in today’s progressive culture. One of the ways he is viewed today is through his achievements and innovations. Sejong began his reign with many ambitions. Being a well educated man he could see that there was much to be improved on in his newly acquired kingdom. In order to make his objectives come to pass, he established a royal institute of research called the Chiphyonjon, or ‘Jade Hall’. This building housed up to thirty-two scholars who served as the king’s research team, helping his projects come to fruition.

With this team of academics, Sejong was able to complete many of these undertakings, although nothing happened quickly. The reorganization of the taxation system took twenty-six years to complete, and it was thirty years before the national ceremonies were standardized. However long it took, the king was determined to meet the challenging targets he had set for himself.

What sets him apart from other rulers of this time is his true concern for his people, and his actions and achievements confirm this. Some of his accomplishments include contributions to medical science, advances in agriculture, astronomy, and the development of standard musical notes. Understanding the importance of literacy, Sejong improved the standard of printing technology, even creating larger fonts to aid the elderly in reading. All these triumphs greatly benefited the culture and the nation, but surprisingly these are not what he is remembered by.

The Korean alphabet or Hangul is widely considered the greatest legacy of King Sejong the Great. Ten years in the making, the new Korean written language was published in 1446, in the 28^th year of Sejong’s reign. At this time Chinese characters were the only form of a written language. The king was greatly distressed because amongst the uneducated people there were many who were unable to read or write. The creation of a basic 28 letters was to level out the class differences, allowing the commoner to be just as literate as the nobleman.

Hangul is the only alphabet created by an individual for which the motives behind its creation were clearly set out and explained. Each consonant symbol resembles the shape of the mouth or throat while pronouncing that particular sound, while the vowels were formed after the fundamental characters of heaven, earth and man. Compared to Chinese characters, the written language prior to Hangul, these few symbols are incredibly easy to learn and understand. Unlike any other writing system in the world, scholars have called Hangul one of the greatest achievements in the field of linguistics. To King Sejong, it was so much more. Hangul is the embodiment of the king; it is the response to, and the atonement for injustices and inequalities within the Korean kingdom.

King Sejong the Great undoubtedly deserves his title. With thirty-two years in power, he was able to inspire a nation, remove class barriers, and set down examples of how a population should be governed and cared for. By ruling with understanding and compassion, Sejong clearly sets a precedent as to how any kingdom should be run; the love for people comes before the love of self.