한국국제교류재단 KF

A special exhibition at the National Hangeul Museum shed light on the current status ofHangeul as a fast-changing script and its future as the alphabet of a unified Korea. “HangeulDesign: Prototypes and Future of the Korean Alphabet,” held from February 28 to May 28,2017, offered visitors a chance to look back at the birth of Korea’s unique writing system andinto its future through the works of young design artists.

Transparent acrylic sheets stand in the dimly-litentrance to the special exhibition “Hangeul Design:Prototypes and Future of the Korean Alphabet”at the National Hangeul Museum, showing all 33pages of “Hunminjeongeum Haerye,” a commentaryexplaining the principles of the new Koreanwriting system published in 1446 when the scriptwas promulgated.

In 1443, King Sejong, the fourth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, completedthe invention of a new Korean writing system called Hunminjeongeum,the original name of Hangeul. It was the fruition of painstakingefforts by a wise monarch who had tried to solve social inequalityand challenges in state administration. Most people had difficultiesexpressing themselves freely because the nation had been relying onChinese characters or an archaic writing system called Idu, a combinationof Chinese characters and grammatical markers used by thelearned elite. In 1446, after three years of extensive research and experiments,Sejong published “Hunminjeongeum Haerye,” a book explainingthe phonological features of the letters and examples of their usage.In his preface, the king said: “Despite their desire to communicate,many of our poor people cannot express themselves in words freely.Taking pity on them, we have d a new set of 28 letters. My onlywish is that all the people may learn these letters with ease and usethem conveniently in their everyday lives.”

As I stepped into the dimly-lit exhibition hall, I felt as if I was hearingthe voice of the great king.

“톱” (Top; “Saw”) by Chae Byung-rok portrays the meaning of the word “톱” by dissecting it into three parts — “ㅌ,”“ㅗ” and “ㅂ” — corresponding to the initial, medial and fi nal sounds.

creation of a New Writing System

“장석장” (Jangseokjang; “Ornamental Furniture”) by Ha Jee-hoon is a piece of wooden furniture decorated withmetal ornaments in the shape of Hangeul consonants and vowels, in similar fashion to the traditional wooden furnitureof the Joseon Dynasty.

Since its opening on Hangeul Day on October 9, 2014, the NationalHangeul Museum has devoted itself to promoting the history and valueof Hangeul through special exhibitions and other events. The museumfocused on the originality and usefulness of Korea’s unique writing system,which is all too easily forgotten as people use it in their everydaylives like breathing air or drinking water.

At the entrance of the exhibition, which marked the 620th anniversaryof the birth of King Sejong (1397–1450; r. 1418–1450), an installationof the 33 pages of “Hunminjeongeum Haerye” made visitors feelas if they were entering a time machine taking them back to the dayswhen Sejong invented the new writing system for his people. The displayseemed to reverberate with the joy the king must have felt as he proclaimedthe creation of the new alphabet after the nation had relied onChinese characters for a long time, making his lofty sprit of self-reliance and pragmatismas well as his love for his people palpable.

The scholar-officials who helped the king invent the new letters must have felt deeplyexcited, too. In another preface to the book, written by Jeong In-ji (1396–1487), one of theroyal retainers who participated in the hefty task overcoming many difficulties, expresseshis joyful pride by saying: “A quick-witted person can learn it before the morning is over, andeven a slow-witted person can learn it in just ten days.”

the Only Alphabet with Invention Records

Experts from around the world have expressed their views on the significant value ofHangeul as “the world’s youngest and most scientific alphabet.” Robert Ramsey, a professorof East Asian linguistics at the University of Maryland, in the United States, said,“Hangeul is Korea’s gift to the world. While Hangeul is a symbol of Korean culture of thehighest order, it has a significance that transcends any one country.” Jean-Marie Gustave LeClézio, a French novelist and 2008 Nobel laureate in literature, noted, “One day is enough tomaster reading in Korean. Hangeul is a very scientific and convenient alphabet system forcommunication.” John Man, a British history writer and author of “Alpha Beta: How 26 LettersShaped the Western World,” has commented, “Hangeul is the best alphabet that allthe languages have dreamed of." Furthermore, it is the only writing system whose inventionrecords are still preserved.

Hunminjeongeum literally means “proper sounds to instruct the people.” The scriptoriginally consisted of 28 letters, 17 consonants and 11 vowels, based on the basic forms ofdots, lines, and circles. Its composition is featured in Part 1 of the exhibition, titled “EasilyLearned and Conveniently Used: Letters of Consideration and Communication.”

“버들” (Beodeul; “Willow”) by Yu Myung-sang experiments to see to what extent letters can be melted into imageryby using various images of willow leaves.

The 17 consonants were derived from five basic phonemic symbols resembling theshapes of the concerned vocal organs. Then, another stroke was added to the basic phonemicsymbols, depending upon the sound intensity. For example, with the addition of anotherstroke, “ㄴ” (ni-eun) becomes “ㄷ” (di-geut), whose sound is more intense than “ㄴ.” Withstill another stroke, “ㄷ” becomes “ㅌ” (ti-eut) whose sound is even more intense than “ㄷ.”The characteristics of each sound are reflected in each letter.

Starting from three basic symbols — “•,” “ㅡ,” and “ㅣ,” representing heaven, earth, andman, respectively — 11 vowels were developed. Joined together, the 17 consonants and 11vowels canover 10,000 syllabic blocks, thus allowing for an almost unlimited number of combinations. Hangeul is a unique syllabic writing system composedof initial, medial, and final sounds. To quote Jeong In-ji’s preface,“With these 28 letters, the alterations are limitless.”

These design teams infused new life into theprototypes of Hunminjeongeum, buildingtwo- and three-dimensional structures ina fascinating attempt to test the limits ofHangeul as a theme for artistic inspiration.

Rebirth as a Design Theme

Under the title “Limitlessly Altered: Expandability of HangeulReinterpreted Through Design,” the second part of the exhibitionshowcased these innumerable alterations through 30 workspresented by 23 design teams. These teams infused new life intothe prototypes of Hunminjeongeum, building two- and threedimensionalstructures in a fascinating attempt to test the limits ofHangeul as a theme for artistic inspiration.

Their artworks represent a meaningful start. It seems clearnow why Chung Byung-kyu, a book and typeface designer, asserts,“Let’s go back to Hunminjeongeum!” As Chung argues, “Exploringthe new potential of Hangeul is our best tool in breaking away fromWestern influence, which has long dwelt in our subconscious as thebasis of thinking."

“힘, 믈” (Power, Group), by Kang Goo-ryong, expresses the energiesof different sounds. His work gives shape to the meanings andimages of letters by using the vertical structure of “힘” (him) and the horizontal framework of “믈” (meul). It is intriguing to see thatthe shapes of Hangeul letters do indeed have their own distinctmeanings and personalities.

“감” (Gam; “Persimmon/Feeling/Fabric”) by Jang Soo-young attempts torevive the original style of Hangeul by placing different tonal markings, animportant element in the Korean writing system in its early days, besidethree identical syllables carved in relief on separate wooden panels todistinguish among their different meanings.

Through his work “버들” (Willow), Yu Myung-sang experimentswith the extent to which letters can be melted into imagery by usingdifferent images of willow leaves. His work attempts to overcomethe limits of letters that do not easily blend into image-centereddesigns.

“감” (Persimmon/Feeling/Fabric), by Jang Soo-young, attemptsto revive the style of the original Korean script at the time of its creationby using the extinct system of tonal markers. The syllable“감” is carved in relief on three wooden panels with tonal markersto distinguish their different connotations, with graphs showing differentpronunciations of the word produced by a sound analyzerreflected in the carvings.

The woodwork series “장석장” (Ornamental Furniture), by HaJee-hoon, and “거단곡목가구 훈민정음” (Hunminjeongeum onKerf-bent Wooden Furniture), by Hwang Hyung-shin, both applyingthe artistic features of Hangeul to everyday life, attracted a lot ofattention from visitors. Ha decorated the surface of furniture pieceswith Hangeul consonants and vowels, reminiscent of the Joseonperiod’s simple wooden furniture embellished with metal ornaments.Hwang produced wooden stools, benches, and chairs borrowingthe shapes of Hangeul strokes and dots. In different combinations,these pieces canvarious letters.

This exhibition first opened in October 2016 at the Korean CultureCenter in Tokyo. Curators at the National Hangeul Museumhad worked for over seven months with the 23 teams of youngdesigners to prepare the exhibition. Carrying out projects of thismagnitude on a continual basis would help to assert the raisond’etre of the National Hangeul Museum as a separate institution,although it is currently located in the vast compound of the NationalMuseum of Korea. Aside from that, such projects could have animpact on society as a whole, beyond art and culture.

A visitor looks at various Hangeul word-image combinations.

Another Noteworthy Exhibition

Despite being Korea’s pride nowadays, Hangeul has undergone many hardships over the past centuries. Just think of Korean people’s arduous struggle to protect their language and writing system against Japan’s ethnic and cultural assimilation policy during the colonial period (1910–1945), which is considered a significant part of their independence movement. In 1940, after a great deal of effort, Chun Hyung-pil (1906–1962), a leading collector of Korean cultural treasures, famously spent a fortune to secretly buy the original copy of “Hunminjeongeum Haerye.” He protected the invaluableat all costs until Korea’s liberation. He said at the time, “I could harden my conviction that our nation would regain independence, thinking about the future of Hunminjeongeum.”

An exhibition featuring the original copy of “Hunminjeongeum Haerye” is being held at the Design Museum at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul from April 13 to October 12, under the title “Hunminjeongeum and Nanjung Ilgi: Look, Again.” It is a rare opportunity for visitors to see the original copies of the two classics, both national treasures of Korea that have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. “Nanjung Ilgi” is the war diary of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who led many hard-fought battles to repel the Japanese during the Hideyoshi invasions from 1592 to 1598.

Just as many Koreans saw the light of national liberation in the Hunminjeongeum, one can argue that Hangeul has been underpinning their national identity throughout the past 70 years of territorial division. In the South, May 15 was designated as Teachers’ Day in 1965 to commemorate King Sejong’s birthday. Back in 1926, while the nation was under Japanese rule, October 9 was designated a national holiday marking the anniversary of the proclamation of the Korean script, under the initiative of nationalist scholars of Hangeul. Just as the nation gained courage from Hangeul to overcome the ordeals of the past century, icreation of a New Wt is once again time to look back at the script’s creation to garner the national strength necessary to tide over the challenges of the 21st century.