The Creation of Hangeul

Koreans use Hangeul ( Hangul) like alphabets in English. Now, Hangeul, Korean alphabets are considered as the most scientific letter in the world by lots of linguists.

Hangeul consonants :

Hangeul vowels :

Korean is really easy to read, for example 한글 : ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ   (+ )  ㄱ+ㅡ+ㄹ = ( Hangeul)
I'll tell you simple words and sentences in Korean later .!

Then, who came up with these amazing alphabets ? Hangeul was created in 1443 by King Sejong, one of the greatest kings in Korea's history.
King Sejong was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty. Since he was very young, he had great passion for books. He was a thoughtful king who cared for his people.

In Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910), there were four social classes : Noble ( Yangban) , Middle class ( Jungin ) , the common people ( Sangmin ) and the lowest class ( Cheonmin ) .
At that time, Joseon was using Chinese characters and it was too complicated and hard for ordinary people. Vast majority of Koreans were illiterate.  King Sejong was aware of this situation.

He and the scholars at Jiphyeonjeon created Hangeul with the structure of the human throat.
For instance, when we speak 'ㄱ' , our vocal organs change into  'ㄱ' shape..

First, when King Sejong promulgated Hangeul, his retainers opposed against this idea because they only wanted the elite society to be able to read and write. Also they served in the Ming dynasty ( china ).  Sejong persuaded to change their mind.

He promulgated Hangeul as the name ' Hunminjeongeum' which means ' a set of proper sounds for the education of the people' .. So basically, it was the original name of Hangeul !

- 'Hunminjeongeum Haerye'.... it is registered as UNESCO world heritage records !


This is the history of creating Hangeul. I'm really proud of myself and the people of Korea because we use this amazing scripts.



 



                                                                                                                               photos by Naver

Dokdo, Beautiful Korean Island

  The fact that Dokdo is an integral part of Korean territory is irrefutable in every aspect ; historically, geographically and under international law.

Dokdo is an island of Korea located at the eastern edge of the Korean Peninsula. Starting in 1905 Japan has claimed that Dokdo is a Japanese Island. Japan made Dokdo as their territory from ' Notification No. 40 of Shimane Prefecture' in 1905. It was the year when Japan forced Korea to sign the imperialist 'Eulsa Treaty' (을사늑약) that deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty. Korea was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910~1945.( I'll get in more details about this later )

"Then, Why is Japan claiming Dokdo's dominium" ?
There are several reasons. First, Dokdo is in an important location.  Japan and Russia were at war with one another from 1904~1905. To Japan, Dokdo was so important for military purposes. That's why Japan made Dokdo as their territory from 'Notification No. 40 of Shimane Prefecture' .  Korea government couldn't do anything because we were deprived of our diplomatic sovereignty.

Also Dokdo is known for rich fishing grounds and there are lots of natural resources under Dokdo like Methane Hydrate.

The evidences that prove Dokdo is an Korean island.:

1. Evidences by international law

- 1n 1900, before Japan announced the claim of Dokdo, Korean government announced to the world that Dokdo is part of Korean territory with issuing an Imperial Decree No.41 .

- In 1941, January, The allied powers headquarters excluded Dokdo from Japan's territory in ' Scapin No.677, The definition of Japan'  .. As you can see in the map , Dokdo is in Korea's border.

* Now, Dokdo has been governed by Korean government

2. Historical Evidence
- In 512, Isabu, a general of Silla ( one of the countries that was in Korean Peninsula at the time ) occupied the Kingdom of Woosan ( Woosan was governing Ulleungdo and Dokdo ). Japan is asking if there are any evidence that Dokdo was included in the occupation and evidence that Woosan was governing these two islands. But we have proved it.
  There is a document  called ' 만기요람'( Mankiyolam) published in 1808 . It said Dokdo and Ulleungdo were the territories of the Kingdom of Woosan. ( At the time, Dokdo was called ' Woosando ' and' Songdo' )

 

 

Also, International law said ' A place where people can see and live in a stable manner ' is an annexed island.

As you can see, Dokdo is much more closer to Korea's territory Ullengdo than Japan's Island, Oki..
Dokdo can be seen from Ullengdo but not from Oki Island.


* There are many official government documents to prove that Dokdo is a Korean island.
I'd like to point out one thing as you could see in the video I've attached,
Japan never claimed the title to Dokdo prior to 1905. Lots of Japan's documents found in Japan like  'The Map of Japan 1877' stated that Dokdo is a Korean Island.


# Japan calls 'Dokdo' as 'Takeshima' and also calls 'East Sea ' as ' Sea of Japan' ( sea between Korea and Japan)..
I wish the island and the sea are called by their correct name , ' Dokdo' and ' East Sea'

* If you were to ask a Japanese student , most likely they would answer that Dokdo is a Japanese island because they are learning from a distorted history textbook.

* Dokdo is a natural monument No.336 of South Korea.

* Don't get confused by the spelling of Dokdo cause sometimes it's referred as "Tokdo". These are the same word...

I've attached a video and a website made by Korean Foreign Ministry about Dokdo and I'm sure it'll help you understand more about Dokdo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEF9FDh4nZc&t=63s
http://dokdo.mofa.go.kr/eng/

Photos by Naver

Part of Korean Culture~Traditional Clothes "Hanbok"

Today, I'd like to share some information about our traditional clothes called Hanbok. It is an attire for the  Korean people so that's the reason why it is also called ' Joseon clothes' .  Hanbok's beauty and artistry has been recognized outside of Korea as well. The tradition of Hanbok has lasted over 1600 years and it is the longest history of traditional clothes.

We wear Hanbok on special occasions like Seollal ( Korean New Year's day ) and Chuseok ( Korean thanksgiving day ) .  Some people wear it on daily basis.
Hanbok can be classified into two categories. Formal and Non-formal.
Also it can be further classified by gender, age, and season.
There is also modernized Hanbok .


*Notice the difference between Hanbok, Kimono ( Japanese traditional clothes) and Qipao ( Chinese traditional clothes).

 

Hanbok

 

 

Kimono

 

 

Qipao

 

 

 

 

 

*Photos by Google and Naver