VERBALLY RIGHT SOUNDS - THE BIRTH OF AN ALPHABET

The 9^th of October 1446 saw the birth of an alphabet.

Five hundred and sixty six years ago, the hangul alphabet was published in Korea.

Hangul (Korean: 한글 [haha:n.gwl]); transcribed as Han-geul in South Korea), also known as Chosŏn'gŭl (조선글) in North Korea, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It was created during the Joseon Dynasty in 1443, and is still the official alphabet of Korea.

Hangul is a true alphabet of 24 consonant and vowel letters. However, instead of being written sequentially like the letters of the Latin alphabet, Hangul letters are grouped into blocks, such as 한 han, each of which transcribes a syllable. That is, although the syllable 한 han may look like a single character, it is composed of three letters: ㅎ h, ㅏ a, and ㄴ n. Each syllabic block consists of two to five letters, including at least one consonant and one vowel. These blocks are then arranged horizontally from left to right or vertically from top to bottom. The number of possible blocks is 11,172, though there are far fewer possible syllables in Korean, and not all possible syllables actually occur.

Sejong the Great 

Sejong the Great (May 15, 1397 – April 8, 1450, r. 1418–1450) was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. During his reign, he reinforced Korean Confucian policies and executed major legal amendments (공법; 貢法). He also oversaw the creation of Hangu and used the advancement of technology to expand Korean territory. He was the third son of King Taejong and Queen Consort Wonkyeong. Sejong is one of only two Korean rulers posthumously honored with the appellation "the Great", the other being Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo.

Sejong supported literature, and encouraged high class officials and scholars to study at the court. King Sejong created the written language of hangul and announced it to the Korean people in the Hunminjeongeum (Hangul:훈민정음, Hanja: 訓民正音), meaning 'The verbally right sounds meant to teach the people.'

Hunminjeongeum (lit. The Correct/Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People) is a document describing an entirely new and native script for the Korean language. The script was initially named after the publication, but later came to be known as hangul. It was created so that the common people illiterate in hanja could accurately and easily read and write the Korean language. Its supposed publication date, 9^th October 1446, is now Hangul Day in South Korea.