nPostednon October 9, 2013
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nSome kids in Korea don’t have classes today…
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n…Butnthey still go to school – to participate in calligraphy contests!nEven adults often compete today, Alphabet Day, a day to celebrate thenKorean alphabet!
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nOnnthis date in 1446, King Sejong the Great issued a proclamation to hisnkingdom, establishing a new alphabet that his linguists had created.
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| Hanja |
nBeforenthis date, Koreans had used Chinese characters called hanja—butnthey didn’t match up perfectly with the sounds of the Koreannlanguage. Hangul was a new, simpler alphabet of just 24nletters. King Sejong explained that the better sound-character matchnand the simpler system would allow even commoners to learn to readnand write. He wanted everyone to be literate instead of just the nelite.
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nApparently,nmany of the literary elite didn’t like this idea. I suppose they feltnthreatened by the concept that everyone would be able to read andnwrite, and so they would no longer be special. But Hangul didntake off in popularity, being used especially by women and writers ofnpopular fiction.
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nSeveralnlater kings decided that they didn’t like the “riffraff” being soneducated, and several made the study and use of Hangulnillegal.
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nSincenthat early, rocky start, the Korean alphabet has waxed and waned innboth popular use and governmental approval. In other words, it wasn“in,” and then it was “out,” in and out. n
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nDuringnthe 1600’s revival of Hangul, literature flourished. WhennKoreans were striving to be an independent nation, use of Hangulnbecame a matter of national pride. When Japan colonized Korea in thenearly 1900s, Hangul and even the Korean language itself werenat times banned from schools and official events. When Korea becamenindependent in 1946, an official modern Hangul alphabet wasnpublished. n
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nNowadaysnmost people use Hangul or mixed Hangul, and hanjanis becoming more rare.
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nAlsonon this date:
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World Post Day
World Post Day
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nNautilus Night
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JohnnLennon’s birthday
JohnnLennon’s birthdayn
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nLeifnEricson Day
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National Bring Your Teddy Bear to School / Work Day
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n(Unite Against Bullying)
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nPlannAhead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nn Octobern holidays
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nn Octobern birthdays
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- n Historicaln anniversaries in October
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nn Novembern holidays
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nn Novembern birthdays
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- n Historicaln anniversaries in November
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