FAYE MOSS: Hello! Welcome to Superstars in History! I'm your host, Faye Moss, and you're in for a royal treat today—another exclusive interview with a famous person from the past. Today's guest was a caring king who worked hard to improve life in his kingdom. In fact, he was so devoted to his people, he invented a brand-new alphabet for them. Straight from history, here is His Majesty King Sejong the Great!
KING SEJONG: It pleases me to be here, Faye.
FAYE MOSS: The honor is all mine, Your Majesty. I'm so excited to interview the most beloved king from the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. But I have to say, the surprising thing is that you became a king at all, since you were the third son of your father, King Taejong. How did you end up on the throne?
KING SEJONG: As a child I was studious and serious, and my father looked kindly upon this. Meanwhile my oldest brother, Prince Yangnyeong, who was the heir to the throne, was carefree and lacked the temperament required of a king. In 1418 the court officials were so exasperated by his behavior, they appealed to my father, saying the prince was unfit to rule. At the urging of these officials, my father stripped Prince Yangnyeong of the title crown prince and named me the heir instead. Two months later my father abdicated, and the throne passed to me.
FAYE MOSS: You were only 21 when you became king. That must have been a huge responsibility!
KING SEJONG: It was, and it happened very suddenly. I did not feel ready to become king, but my father gave me no choice. After his abdication he stayed involved in state affairs and daily governance for a few years to make the transition smooth. In 1422 he fell ill and died, and from then on, I ruled alone.
FAYE MOSS: Can you tell us about some of your accomplishments as king?
KING SEJONG: Certainly, Faye. I'm sure you want to know about my alphabet, but even before I invented it, I had a deep interest in learning. As a child I loved to read and often read all through the night! To promote learning I established the Hall of Worthies early in my reign. This was a group of scholars whom I chose to advise me on policy, and research ways to improve the lives of my people. I recruited scholars from all backgrounds since their abilities were more important to me than their social class.
FAYE MOSS: Your reign saw advances in science and technology—a lot like the Renaissance!
KING SEJONG: I do not know what "the Renaissance" is, young lady, but you are correct. I believed that science and technology would help to strengthen our nation. A talented inventor named Jang Yeongsil invented a great many things at my request. He built water clocks, astrolabes, and sundials. He also made a rain gauge and a water gauge that allowed us to better manage our water supply. And he improved the metal printing press so that books could be printed even faster.
FAYE MOSS: Now that you've mentioned books, let's move on to your alphabet, Hangeul!
KING SEJONG: Hangeul? No, no. The name for my writing system is Hunminjeongeum, which means "correct sounds for the instruction of people." Back in my time, our language had no writing system of its own—we wrote with Chinese characters. But Chinese characters did not represent our speech accurately because our language was very different from Chinese. And learning Chinese characters was challenging; only elite men had time for this kind of study. I was saddened by the fact that so many of my subjects were trapped in illiteracy with few opportunities to acquire new knowledge. With some help from my children, I invented a new writing system that would be easy for everyone to learn. My creation was released to the public in 1446.
FAYE MOSS: Your alphabet is unique among the world's writing systems. The shapes of the letters come from the sounds they make.
KING SEJONG: You are a very bright young lady! You would make an excellent addition to the Hall of Worthies. Indeed, the shape of each consonant is inspired by the shape or position of the speech organs when making its sound. For example, nieun, the consonant for n, is shaped like the tongue when making a n sound. And mieum, which is for m, is meant to look like the lips when making a m sound.
FAYE MOSS: I bet everyone was thrilled to have such an easy-to-learn alphabet!
KING SEJONG: Hardly! Many nobles and elites at court enjoyed the power of being literate while the common people were not. So my invention was met with much opposition. I tirelessly promoted the alphabet, but I’m sorry to report it was slow to spread.
Literacy was only one of the areas where I tried to improve the lives of my people. I made the tax system fairer for the common people. I had a textbook on farming published to help farmers succeed in producing food for the kingdom. I even enacted laws to give government slave women maternity leave and their husbands paternity leave.
FAYE MOSS: It sounds like you were really ahead of your time. Some people think it’s easy to be a king. But you worked really hard!
KING SEJONG: It was a very hard job—and not a healthy one. As king, I was constantly reading documents, often in poor lighting, which weakened my eyesight. I was served delicious, rich food but had little opportunity for exercise. Needless to say, I wasn't always in the best of health. But as king, I felt a duty to my people, and I'm proud to have improved their lives where I could.
FAYE MOSS: With all that you accomplished, no one can accuse you of slacking off on the job! Thank you for sharing your story with us, Your Majesty. We'll let you get back to history now.
KING SEJONG: Good-bye!
FAYE MOSS: King Sejong spent the last third of his life suffering from blindness and diabetes, and his son and heir, Prince Munjong, ruled as regent for him. King Sejong died in 1450, after 32 years on the throne.
His reign is remembered for its advances in science, technology, and literacy. In fact, October 9 is a national holiday in Korea, Hangeul Day, celebrating the day that Hunminjeongeum was published. And King Sejong's alphabet is still so admired that one of UNESCO's international literacy prizes is named after him.
I hope you enjoyed today's guest. Be sure to tune in again next time for another blast from the past on Superstars in History!