the Anecdotes of King Sejong.

SeJong The King(1397.5.7-1450.4.8)

the Anecdotes of King Sejong.

King Sejong is regarded as the most outstanding king in 5,000 years of Korean history.
Among his many achievements, the invention of Hangul(korean alphabet's name) is considered the best; UNESCO gives King Sejong Literacy Prize to those who have contributed to the eradication of illiteracy.

His biography and achevements list can be read in detail by clicking on the link below: 

the King Sejong's BIOGRAPHY

I would like to introduce the anecdotes that is not his biography but his legend that I want to talk about him today. 

The real features of King Sejong?
Unfortunately, there is no real portrait of him.

The official portrait of King Sejong is below the picture drawn by the late Kim Ki-chang.

public portrait

However, if you analogize his appearance through the true records of Joseon Dynasty, the appearance in the official portrait is very different.

So, the portrait drawn by the records is as follows.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOL...... =)

He was much like his second brother, he loved meat so much that he didn't eat meal without meat and he didn't like hunting, the one below the official portrait is much more credible. Of course, I like all his portraits! (It is a pitiful that there is no portrait to know his real appearance.)

Did he make Hangul with his scholars?

Hangul is the only letters that can know the person who made the letter, the reason why it made and the meaning of each letter in human history. Phonologically and phonologically, it is perfect and unique in shape.
Hun-Min-Jeong-Eum (the old name of Hangul) There is no place where it does not work, and it can express all the wind sounds, the crying of the crane, the crying of the chicken and the barking of the dog.

It is also true that king Sejong did not believe that king Sejong had invented such an unprecedented letters alone. So, later Koreans thought that he might have made letters by co-researching with his scholars.
So, at one time, the students learned that Sejong and scholars co-researched and invented letters in school. However, the most reliable "True Record of the Joseon Dynasty" and "Hun-min-jeong-eum He-rye-bon" were surveyed and the result was "Sejong alone". So these days, people learns that King Sejong alone invented Hangul. (Hun-min-jeong-eum He-rye-bon is a really precious book that records all of Hangul, including who made Hangul, why he made Hangul, the meaning of consonants and vowels, and how to make sounds.) However, it can be guessed that King Sejong's children helped him. In fact, one of his daughters has a record of helping his father to create letters. Anyway, these letters were gathered and named "Hun-min-jeong-eum". Since the 20th century, they have been called "Hangul".
Hangul was created in the 15th century, but 600 years later, all modern linguists have become admirable letters. King Sejong was a genius linguist who preceded the times.

A prize for Literacy

The story of his childhood, a bookworm.
He had liked reading books since he was a young child, and once he had read and read them until they were punctured, and in the meantime, it was essential to stay up all night.

After the lack of sleep, he finally fell ill and lay down, but when he was still looking at the book, his father, Taejong took all the books in his son's house. He was so surprised that he did not know what to do and cried. In the meantime, he found a book that father's servants could not take, and read it until character were erased. So Taejong had to surrender to his son.
His love for books was so different, even if there was no book in Joseon that he wanted to read, he would ask diplomats to get books to China. Sejong read books in various fields such as history, philosophy, music, language, astronomy, military, mechanics and agriculture etc. Later, the achievements he made when he became king are just the result of his unbiased amount of reading.

Why he is considered a GREAT king.
Hun-min-jeong-eum means the right sound to teach the people. He created letters for those who do not know the letters.
The 15th century he lived in was not a democratic country in the world. The times are different, like Louis XIV, who said, "Jim is the country," the people had to sacrifice for the king and the nobles so that the birds that flew would fall. It was not common to meet kings and nobles who knew the sacrifice of the people and took care of their convenience.
Sejong was the king, who knew the sacrifices of the people and tried to relieve their difficulties. The people were trials three times to avoid unfair work, made laws for the welfare of the elderly, children, and the disabled, and made maternity leave for slave women. He also gave their husband paid leave. Hunminjeongeum was made for the people, never for the nobles. President and public officials who are for the people are very desperate in modern times.

I think, my king, as an king of heaven, the system and facilities are superior to any other king, and the production of Hunminjeongeum is not made by the self of human behavior because there is no place that does not make any sense because it made alone without copying the character of others.     - Jung InJi, in the preface to the Hunminjeongeum-HeRyeBon.

King Sejong was the most wise and great king in history.
First, he invented the Hunminjeongeum(Hangul),
Second, he paved the way for Confucianism politics and led a variety of publishing business,
Third, he developed scientific techniques,
Fourth, he organized the pandects and expanded the territory.
Because of his achievements, the Joseon Dynasty could be maintained for over 500 years. (exactly 519 yrs.) He was not a lucky man who has become a king.
He Is Born to Become a King.
How happy are the Koreans who were the ancestors of King Sejong!




p.s. The Korean government has designated 9 October as Hangul Day and is honoring the invention of Hangul every year.