II. Research Projects of the Sejong Studies Institute

1. Rationales for the Research Projects of the Sejong Studies

Before describing the Sejong Studies Project, several elements of great importance which make the starting position of our project unique should be emphasized.

The Sejong Studies which is a major branch of Korean Studies that documents, researches and advances one of the most precious cultural heritages of Korea. King Sejong is known for his monumental creation and promulgation of the Hwunmin Cengum, the Korean Alphabet of 1446. Leading scholars in linguistics and scientific journals praised the invention of the Korean writing system for its underlying uncanny rational spirit.

What makes the study of Sejong unique is the fact that all his cultural innovations issued forth from a central idea of “rectification”, as exemplified in the official name of the Korean alphabet, “The Ortho-phonic/Correct Phonetic Alphabet for the Instruction of the People.”

The grand scheme of this Nurigeul script was to visualize all human speech sounds and sounds of the universe correctly, i.e., according to the immanent law of correlations that exists in nature, of which human speech organs and functions are an integral part. Because such pervasive idea of correct correlations is most consistently followed through in the Korean alphabet, the “ Cengum Thought” may be called the paragon of Korean thought in general.

There has been ongoing research on Sejong Culture in Korea , but its systematic development has been hampered for two reasons.

The first is that the research method was mostly antiquarian, at best trying to preserve what was accomplished in history. The universal applicability of the OPA, Hwunmin Cengum for the transcription of speech sounds and of its underlying generative theory, i.e., the minimal, finite rules to swift language acquisition is first brought to light by Dr. Sek Yen Kim-Cho, with the means of modern cine-radiographic tracing in her Buffalo dissertation (1977). From a comparative perspective, Sejong's creative thoughts can be regarded as preceding such contemporary theories in linguistics as the generative theory advocated by Noam Chomsky (MIT Professor of Linguistics).

The second is the piece-meal approach of today's scholars to the many facetted works of Sejong. If sinologists take Chu His as the representative Chinese philosopher who represent the diverse developments of Neo-Confucianism, we have an even stronger studies. Not only did Sejong's thoughts encompass the neo-Confucian cosmology and reflected the Yin-Yang and Five Agents dynamics in the formation of the Korean scripts, but he proceeded to apply what may have been initially Chinese philosophical ideas to Korean culture in such a creative way that Chinese would never have dreamt of. It is this systematic and comprehensive vision of Sejong touching all aspects of the socio-cultural life in the middle of 15 th century and henceforward-giving Korea distinctive identity that makes the Sejong Studies at once historically relevant and productive in terms of the future advance of Korean studies.

In a recent critical article in Chosun Ilbo (Dec. 5, 1996), an influential daily newspaper in Korea . Professor Jung-Ho Choi of Yonsei University called attention to the timeliness for the “globalization” of Korean culture by boozing the “collective image” of King Sejong. For, he said, Sejong was a world figure as universal genius, a towering giant who combines in his one person “the statesmanship of de Gaulle and Kennedy with the artistic genius of da Vinci and linguistic acumen of Strauss.”

Just as the recent research in the Korean alphabet has yielded the valuable insight into the generative underpinning of its script design, so also will significant gain be expected with stepped-up research into the way Sejong has promoted medicine, literature, phonology and other areas by fostering the “rectification idea.”

2. Summary of the Research Projects of SSI

The tasks and projects that the Sejong Studies Institute will undertake are

• Systematic and academic reassessment of Sejong's scholarly achievements

• Developing the original text, Hwunmin Cengum (translated: Ortho-phonic Alphabet (OPA) for the Instruction of the People ) into the contemporary use in terms of establishing as the global script based on its generative design principle of the alphabet

• Nurigeul Script Project accessible through the Web site.

This Web will provide the learners with the phonetic information of the OPA-Nurigeul

and visualized correlation between the letter shape and its associated articulatory configuration for self-instruction.

3. Systematic and Academic Reassessment of Sejong's scholarly achievements

The Three Representavie Cultural Assests of Korea are considered (i) Sejong as a cultural hero , (ii) the Hwunmin Cengum as a global script for global communication (iii) the Cengum Thoughts.

(i) Sejong as a cultural hero

Sejong's goals for inventing the new alphabet were, first, to ensure literacy for the people, and second, to develop an efficient tool for the pronunciation and instruction of Sino-Korean. His third goal was to give his people a simple script for the purpose of moral education. Finally, Sejong's plans involved much more than reforms of the Korean language; what he had in mind was a form of social revolution that was required for a rectification of the problematic litigation system of the time. The three bases of the motivation behind the creation of the alphabet are as follows:

First, Sejong's love of his people was reflected in his desire to save the illiterate, which is well conveyed in Sejong's Preface.

Second, he intended to develop a system for the education and acquisition of Sino-Korean education through the Ortho-phonic Alphabet.

Third, his ideals for moral education through a new literacy device are evident in the subsequent compilation of Samkang Hayngsil-To, “The Three Principles of Virtuous Deeds with Illustrations,” for the purpose of educating the people in virtue.

Thus, it is considered that “Sejong's primary motivation for creating the “ Cengum Script ” was to lead the illiterate masses out of darkness by creating a writing system that could “accurately transcribe all the sounds of everyone everywhere.”

It is recorded in the 26 th year of the Annals of King Sejong's reign that Sejong warned that “lowly people are not to be treated carelessly, for although they are the humble common people, they are also the people of Heaven”. The primary motive of Sejong's creation of the Ortho-phonic Alphabet was to help those lowly, illiterate people learn to read and write in a short time, so that they, too, could enjoy civilized life.

(ii) ‘ Cengum Thoughts' as the Culmination of Sejong's Scholarship

The Korean alphabet, however, is only the most visible part of the intellectual genius of Sejong, whose vast creative achievements encompass a variety of fields such as philosophy, phonology, music, literature, education, law, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, government and economy. In an article in Chosun Ilbo (Dec. 5, 1996), arguably the most influential newspaper in Korea , Prof. Jung-Ho Choi of Yonsei University called attention to the timeliness of the “globalization” of Korean culture through the boosting of the “comprehensive image” of King Sejong.

What makes Sejong's " Cengum Thoughts" unique is the fact that all his cultural innovations issued forth from a central idea of “rectification”, as exemplified in the official name of the Korean alphabet, “The Ortho-phonic Alphabet for the Instruction of the People”. The grand scheme of this alphabet, Hangul or Nurigeul , was to depict not only all human speech sounds but also all the sounds of the universe correctly, i.e., according to the immanent law of correlations that exists in nature, of which human speech organs and functions are an integral part. Because such a pervasive idea on correct correlations of the universe is most consistently followed through in the Ortho-phonic Alphabet, the “Thought of Correct Sounds,” Cengum Thought s may be called the paragon of Korean thought in general.

King Sejong applied Cengum-Philosophy everywhere and to everything under his authority, including the principles of government, national economy, music, scientific development, medicine, and especially the Korean alphabet. Just as recent research on the Korean alphabet yielded valuable insight into the generative underpinning of its script design, so too is significant consequence to be expected of stepped-up research into the manner in which Sejong promoted his scholastic areas by fostering the “rectification idea”.

If Sinologists take Chu-Hsi as the representative Chinese philosopher who stands for the diverse development of Neo-Confucianism, we have an even stronger argument for naming “Sejong Studies” as the most comprehensively scholarly of all Korean Studies. Not only did Sejong's theory initiate the formation of the Korean script, but it also proceeded to apply what may have been initially Chinese philosophical ideas to Korean culture in ways that are most creative and fruitful.

It is this systematic and comprehensive vision that reaches into all aspects of the socio-cultural life of the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910) in the middle of the 15 th century. What naturally follow are Korea 's distinctive identity which makes Sejong and “Sejong Thoughts” at once historically relevant and a productive impetus for the future advance of ‘Neo-Korean Studies.'

Thus we may conclude that Cengum Thoughts is what was foremost in the mind of the creator of Cengum . It is the essence of Sejong's scholarly spirit, of his political philosophy, and is reflected also in his government and socio-cultural systems.

(A) The Nuclei of Cengum Thoughts

The nuclei of Cengum Thoughts are the concept of “ Ceng,” which means “rectification,” and the concept of “ Um ,” which means primarily "Sound natural to Heaven and Earth, as represented by the Three Germinants (Heaven, Earth, and Man), but which refers more specifically to “Sound Pattern of human speech sounds”

Sejong's rectification of speech sounds strictly involve the idea of correcting the existing anomaly in the writing system of the Korean people. He felt strongly the need to redress the existing situation in which the Chinese ideographs had come to assume such an ill-fitting role as to lend its sound to a phonetically different language like the Korean. But it should be noted that Sejong's idea of rectification was far wider and in fact universal in scope, with the Korean script being only one, albeit the most important, aspect of it. For Sejong's independent spirit compelled him to seek reform and creativity in all the walks of cultural life of the Koreans; in the way of thinking, in sceience and music, agriculture, medicine and legal system, as he was convinced that the distinct geophysical setting and cultural climate of Koreans called for an appropriate, autonomous self-expression in all these areas.

Seen in this larger context, there are three major components in Sejong's Cengum Thoughts.

The first part has to do with the general idea of bringing out and making manifest what is potentially there in the mind of the people and their aboriginal tradition. It is taking stock of what is there as the genuinely living Korean heritage, or, if such has been buried and obscured, helping and encouraging its self expression with the right guidance. The ultimate goal is to aid people to live a culturally more autonomous, and hence correct way of life.

The second part constitutes the centerpiece of the Cengum Thoughts, namely to bring out the entire gamut of sound inherent in nature as well as in human speech sounds. By creating a correct phonetic script accurately capturing the patterns of sounds and speech inherent in these Three Germinants, Cengum Thought becomes an effective "instrument" to bring to light the hidden underlying philosophical principle which is the harmony between Heaven, Earth and Man.

The third part concerns the application of the basic ideas contained in the first and the second parts to various fields of science and learning, cultural life and government with the specific aim to free the 15 th century Koreans from their excessive dependence on Chinese culture. Thus it becomes apparent that the Cengum Thoughts does not stop at the creation of the Korean alphabet, but it becomes the most potent symbol of all those drives for rectifying social and cultural problems.

(B) The Structural Components of Sejong's Cengum Thoughts

1. The Ideas of " Ceng (Rectification)" and " U m (Sound Pattern)"

Whereas "the idea of Rectification" is embedded in the whole Cengum Thoughts as common denominator of all three parts mentioned above, "the Sound Pattern" stands out as the "One Ultimate Anima" governing the whole universe, i.e., everything "between Heaven and Earth". Sejong' grand Concept of Sound" refers to this Anima, the pervasive sound pattern in the universe which he illustrates in the following three passages quoted from the HCH EDL.

As these words of Sejong's eloquently speak, his creation of the OPA is made possible by portraying and visualizing the Sound Pattern which is coeval with the One Anima that existed from the beginning of the universe. It is interesting to note a certain parallelism between this idea and what one finds in King David's Psalm (19: 2-4) "Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their line (voice) is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

2. Sejong's Korean Language Reform was motivated by his desire to make Korea Culturally independent from China

The creation of the Orthophonic Alphabet in 1443/4 and the promulgation of Hwunmin Cengum was an act of cultural independence from Chinese oriented way of thinking.

3. The Idea to Rectify Names:

Rectification of names and terms designating phenomena in order to bring their true nature into light and put them into correct practice.

4. Neo-Confucian Cosmology:

The philosophy of Quintuple Correlation adopted from Neo-Confucian cosmology for the formation of the vowel graphemes in terms of Yin-Yang and Five Agents.

5. The Thoughts of Three Germinants:

The adoption of the Three Germinants (Heaven, Earth, and Man) for the generative principle of designing letters for vowels.

6. The Thoughts on the People as the Root of the Nation and on Law-Abiding Government:

King Sejong s intention to provide an easily learnable writing system with which even the ignorant people might be able to seek justice through proper litigation.

7. The ideology of CengMin:

 Sejong's project of education and enlightenment, which was meant to bring about necessary reform and stability in a time of national unrest.

8. The Idea of YeMin-Kongsayng and YeMin.Lak:

The root of King Sejong s political ideals of sharing joy and sorrow with the people; the reform of the Korean traditional music for a harmony between Heaven and Man.

9. Generative Theory as Swift Language Acquisition

The generative principle underlying the Orthophonic Alphabet enables swift language acquisition. Noam Chomsky saw Wilhelm von Humboldt of 19 th century Germany as the first proponent of transformational-generative theory. But Sejong preceded Humboldt by 400 years when he designed the Orthophoic Alphabet which employed the generative principle more consistently and thoroughly than Humboldt.

10. The HwunMin-Sasang, the Philosophical Thoughts for the Instruction of the People:

The educational idea that enables people to swiftly acquire the alphabet.

11. The Systematization of Correct Pronunciation:

The systematization of translation of Chinese phonology into a Korean way of pronunciation, and the establishment of the norms for correct, efficient usage of letters through the instruction of rules of correct pronunciation.

12. Scientific Inventions for Improvement of People s Life:

Promotion of practical means for national welfare through agricultural reform and scientific inventions.

13. Rectification of Musical Theory:

Sejong established the standard of music theory, called ‘Twelve Semi-tones by Trisectional Minus-Plus' metric measurements, Temperament tones and Temperament.

14. Ideas of Correct Medicine":

Development of Hyang.Yak (indigenous medicine) using herbs and ingredients grown in the native soil of Korea . The primary goal of this research into Cengum Thoughts is to lay bare the philosophical foundation of Cengum Thoughts as the most representative philosophical thought of Korea . In order to achieve this goal, each component in the broad-ranged structure of Cengum Thoughts must be given special attention and investigated in detail. The results of all such research could be integrated into a Collection of Sejong Studies ( The Encyclopedia of Sejong Studies ).

Thus, it can be concluded that “ Korea 's Three Representative Cultural Assets” are: King Sejong (as Cultural Hero, Universal Genius), the Orthophonic Alphabet (as Creative Achievement) and Cengum Thoughts (as Unique Korean Thoughts.) The investigation of Hwunmin Cengum herein merely represents the tip of the iceberg when compared to the whole body of Sejong's Scholarly-Cultural Achievements.

The content of this project may be itemized as follows:

Project A. Verification of the “Universal Transcribability” of the OPA
through the Computerized Depiction of Human Speech Sounds

(1) The result of this project will be made accessible through the Web site.

This Web will provide the learners with the phonetic information and visualized correlation between the letter shape and its associated articulatory configuration for self-instruction.

(2) The result of this project will be made into CD ROM for public dissemination.

This project will demonstrate the scientific merits of Ceng.Um as well as the usefulness of Nurigeul as a global writing system best suited to carry out the literacy program.

Project B. Production of Nurigeul CD ROM

Topic: “Let's Master the Global Script Nurigeul in an Hour!”

Project C. Compilation of Encyclopedia of Sejong Studies .