Hunminjeongeum is the 1446 royal document, and the original name of the script now called Hangul, meaning "the correct sounds for the instruction of the people". King Sejong designed the letters, and the document announced them to the Korean people.
What Is Hunminjeongeum?
Hunminjeongeum is three things that share one name: the script, the document that announced it, and the explanatory edition of that document. The script is the alphabet created under King Sejong, with 28 letters, which Koreans later renamed Hangul. The document is the royal announcement of 1446. The explanatory edition, called the Haerye (해례본), adds detailed explanations of why each letter looks and sounds as it does.
How the Hunminjeongeum Text Is Organised
The text has two parts. The first is the short main text, called the Yeui (예의), written by King Sejong in Classical Chinese. It contains the preface and a list of the letters with their sounds. The second part is the Haerye, the commentary, which explains the design in terms of the sounds and shapes of speech. The preface states the purpose in plain terms. In paraphrase: the spoken language of Korea is different from Chinese, so ordinary people often have things to say but cannot write them with Chinese characters, and the king therefore made 28 letters for everyone to learn easily.
The commentary was written by eight scholars, most of them members of the Jiphyeonjeon, the king's research institute, and you can read about them in the entry on Jiphyeonjeon. The Haerye explains how the letters were designed.
What Does the Name 훈민정음 Mean?
The name 훈민정음 means "the correct sounds for the instruction of the people". It has four Sino-Korean parts:
| Syllable | Hanja | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 훈 | 訓 | teach, instruct |
| 민 | 民 | people |
| 정 | 正 | correct |
| 음 | 音 | sounds |
The word "sounds" matters: the name describes a system for writing the correct sounds of speech, not a new Chinese-style character set.
Why Does Hunminjeongeum Matter Today?
Hunminjeongeum matters because few writing systems have a surviving document that records their design and the reasons behind it, and Hangul is one of them. The 1446 text lets readers check how each letter was meant to work. The Haerye copy was rediscovered in Andong in 1940, and the best-known original copy is now held by the Kansong Art Museum in Seoul. UNESCO listed it in the Memory of the World Register in 1997.
The date matters for the calendar as well. Hangul Day (한글날) on 9 October in South Korea is based on the 1446 promulgation, not on 1443, when the script was completed. See Hangul Day for the full story.
Hunminjeongeum vs Hangul
Hunminjeongeum is the original name and the 1446 document, while Hangul is the modern name of the script. The table shows how they differ.
| Feature | Hunminjeongeum | Hangul |
|---|---|---|
| What it names | the document, and the script in 1446 | the script today |
| Date | completed 1443, promulgated 1446 | name popularised in the early 1910s |
| Letters | 28 | 24 basic letters in modern use |
| Used for | historical and academic reference | everyday writing |
The four letters that left the alphabet are covered under four obsolete letters. Learn how the new name replaced the old one in the name Hangul.
Examples of What the Text Explains
Three examples show what the Haerye explains. First, the consonant ㄱ is described as the shape of the root of the tongue blocking the throat. Second, the vowels are built from three symbols: a dot (·) for heaven, a flat line (ㅡ) for earth, and an upright line (ㅣ) for a person. Third, the 28-letter count includes the dot letter ㆍ, which is now obsolete. These descriptions are why Hangul is called a designed, not an evolved, alphabet.
Was Hunminjeongeum Written in Hangul?
No. Learners often assume the 1446 document was written in the new letters, but both the Yeui main text and the Haerye commentary were composed in Classical Chinese, the scholarly written language of the court, and they show the new letters only as examples. A Korean-language translation of the main text, the Eonhae edition (언해본), came later.
Related Hangul Terms
The full story of who invented Hangul starts with this document, and the broader history of Hangul continues from it. For related definitions, browse the Hangul terms glossary. In short, Hunminjeongeum is the 1446 text and original name of the Korean alphabet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hunminjeongeum a book or an alphabet? Both, depending on context. Hunminjeongeum was the original name of the alphabet that Koreans now call Hangul, and it is also the title of the 1446 document that announced and explained it. Writers separate them by saying "the script" for the alphabet and "the Hunminjeongeum text" or "the Haerye" for the book.
Who wrote the Haerye? The Haerye explanations were written by eight scholars, most of them from the royal research institute, the Jiphyeonjeon, with Jeong In-ji writing the postscript that names the team. King Sejong designed the letters and wrote the short main text, so the Haerye is best described as the scholars' detailed explanation of his design.
Can I see the original Hunminjeongeum? The best-known original Haerye copy is held by the Kansong Art Museum in Seoul. Fragile manuscripts are not always on display, but facsimiles and digital images are public, and the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul presents the text with reproductions. Check the museum's current exhibits before travelling.
Why did the name change to Hangul? Over the centuries the script was also called 정음, 언문 and 국문. In the early 1910s the linguist Ju Si-gyeong popularised the new name 한글, which means "great script" or "Korean script". It gradually replaced the older names. Hunminjeongeum is still used when referring to the 1446 document and its original name.
