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Hangeul, Korea's official language, was first
invented by King Sejong during the mid-15th century. Originally
called Hunminjeongeum, the language was fully conceived in 1443, and
further promulgated by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty in 1446. At
the time of its inception, the language consisted of 17 consonants
and 11 vowels. Currently, 3 of the originally established consonants
and 1 vowel are no longer in use, bringing the total number of
characters to 24. Korea's Hangeul vocabulary is formed by the
selective combination of vowels and consonants to create words.
The official name for the Korean language was changed to
'Hangeul' in 1910. Hunminjeongeum Proclamation Day was called 'Gagya
Proclamation Day' up until 1926, and it wasn't until 1928 that it
was changed to its current celebration, 'Hangeul Proclamation Day'.
The chart below represents the 24 Hangeul characters
together with their romanized equivalents. 'The Hunminjeongeum,' a
historical document which provides instructions to educate people on
the use of Hangeul, is registered with UNESCO. UNESCO awards a 'King
Sejong Literacy Prize,' every year in memory of the inventor of
Hangeul.
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