To establish the foundation of his country, King Sejong in Joseon Dynasty of Korea created Hangul (Korean alphabet) despite his heavy workload. King Sejong was fluent in reading and writing Chinese characters, so he did not need to create Hangeul when managing governmental affairs. Then, why did he invent Hangeul?
“Since Chinese is not the language of our country, Chinese characters cannot fully express Korean words. Thus, many illiterate people are unable to express themselves when they are trying to say what is in their minds. I felt sorry about them and created a new set of twenty-eight alphabets, so that everyone can easily learn and use it in their daily lives.” Preface of Hunminjeongeum
The reason King Sejong created Hangeul was to communicate with his people. In human history, King Sejong was the only one that created alphabets for the people. Professor James McCorley, a linguist at the University of Chicago in the United States, admired the excellence of Hangeul. Every year, He would cancel his lectures on October 9 for about 20 years before he died, and invited fellow professors and students to hold a feast for Hangeul Day.
King Sejong was a true teacher of the nation. His birth date on May 15 was established as Teacher’s Day in Korea.