Changes

''Hangul'' is the chief writing system employed in Korea. Devised by [[King Sejong]] in the 15th century, it uses consonant and vowel elements which combine to form syllabic characters. Traditionally used alongside [[Kanji|Chinese characters]] (K: ''hanja''), in recent times Korea has largely turned to using ''hangul'' almost exclusively.

''Hangul'' is the chief writing system employed in Korea. Devised by [[King Sejong]] in the 15th century, it uses consonant and vowel elements which combine to form syllabic characters. Traditionally used alongside [[Kanji|Chinese characters]] (K: ''hanja''), in recent times Korea has largely turned to using ''hangul'' almost exclusively.

''Hangul'' was first developed in [[1443]], but ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'', a book organized by King Sejong which formally describes and explains the writing system, went through three years of further testing and improvements before being published three years later. Many scholar-officials in the court expressed strong opposition to this shift, citing [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] principles, and concerns about the impact on relations with [[Ming Dynasty|China]]. Nevertheless, their opposition was eventually overruled. Meanwhile, in [[1445]], Sejong released an epic entitled "Songs of Flying Dragons" (K: ''Yongbi Eocheonga''), which describes the founding of the [[Joseon Dynasty]] in five books (ten volumes, 125 chapters), in both ''hangul'' and ''hanja''.

''Hangul'' was first developed in [[1443]], but ''[[Hunminjeongeum]]'', a book organized by King Sejong which formally describes and explains the writing system, went through three years of further testing and improvements before being published three years later. Many scholar-officials in the court expressed strong opposition to this shift, citing [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] principles, and concerns about the impact on relations with [[Ming Dynasty|China]]. Nevertheless, their opposition was eventually overruled. Meanwhile, in [[1445]], Sejong released an epic entitled "[[Songs of Flying Dragons]]" (K: ''Yongbi Eocheonga''), which describes the founding of the [[Joseon Dynasty]] in five books (ten volumes, 125 chapters), in both ''hangul'' and ''hanja''.

A dictionary called ''Dongguk Jeongun'', published in [[1448]], was the first book to detail Korean pronunciations, in ''hangul'', for Chinese words.

A dictionary called ''Dongguk Jeongun'', published in [[1448]], was the first book to detail Korean pronunciations, in ''hangul'', for Chinese words.