The Korean Cultural Center in Brazil has promoted the importance of Hangul and the affection Koreans have for it to the Brazilian press, in recognition of 'Hangul Day'.
-Translation of the article translated into English-
Studied by hundreds of Brazilians, Korean alphabet "Hangul" officially celebrated on Monday, 9th
At the CCCB headquarters, more than 500 students study the Korean alphabet "Hangul" each year
At the headquarters of the Korean Cultural Center in Brazil (CCCB), located in São Paulo, more than 500 students study the Korean alphabet "Hangul" each year. Created in the 15th century during Korea's Joseon Dynasty by King Sejong, it is so important to the country's culture that every October 9th is celebrated as "Hangul Day," considered one of the main national holidays.
"Despite having suffered constant invasions from neighboring countries, South Korea has managed to protect its unique writing system. Therefore, love for Hangul is accompanied by great pride as it symbolizes the ability to preserve Korean language and culture," says CCCB director Cheul Hong Kim.
He explains that Asian alphabets are typically made up of symbols, but Hangul is different. With 14 consonants and 10 vowels, it's possible to express oneself and form various pronunciations through it. According to him, this makes learning Hangul easier among Brazilian students.
"Just like Portuguese, Hangul combines consonants and vowels to form words. Moreover, pronunciation is almost identical to writing making it an easy script system to read and write," says Kim. Regarding what leads Brazilians to study Hangul he says “many students wish to learn Korean so they can watch K-dramas more easily”.
History - During Joseon Dynasty in the fifteenth century predominant writing in Korea was Hanja which consisted of Chinese characters. However Hanja was difficult to learn hence accessible only for a small literate elite group while majority of Korean population couldn't read or write.
Concerned about access education and information for Koreans King Sejong ordered creation of a simpler scientific writing system that could be easily learned by everyone. Along with his scholars he developed Hangul –the Korean alphabet which was officially introduced through document “Hunminjeongeum” (훈민정음) in1443.
Hunminjeongeum translates as "The Correct Sounds for Instruction of People". Hangul is so easy that Hunminjeongeum states: “those who are foolish will learn within a week while smart ones will learn within half day."