President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) on Oct. 5 is at the permanent exhibition "The Design of a Writing System Beyond Millennia" at the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District. (Kim Yong Wii from Office of the President)

By Lee Dasom

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 5 said, "The spirit of Hangeul, which was invented by King Sejong the Great, is in line with the goals of freedom, equality and prosperity of our modern Republic of Korea."

His spokesperson Lee Do Woon wrote in a news release that day that the president visited the National Hangeul Museum in Seoul ahead of the 577th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9.

"In contrast to the common prejudice that only people of low status or women used Hangeul, it was actually used equally by all social classes from the king to slaves," President Yoon said. "Regardless of one's social standing, the value of equality was achieved as those who did not learn Chinese script could file an appeal in Hangeul."

"The most advantageous letters in the digital era are the alphabet and Hangeul, which played a major role in making our country an IT power."

At the permanent exhibition "The Design of a Writing System Beyond Millennia," President Yoon looked at historical materials such as the Haerye and Eonhae editions of the 15th-century Hangeul textbook Hunminjeongeum (The Proper Sounds for the Instruction of the People); Malmoi, the nation's first dictionary written in Hangeul; and Korea's first private newspaper Dongnip Sinmun (The Independent), which was also the nation's first daily to exclusively use Hangeul with no Chinese characters.

The Haerye edition contains commentary on going behind the writing system in Chinese script and came three years after the proclamation of Hunminjeongeum in 1443. The Eonhae version contains the same content in Hangeul.

Opened in October 2014, the museum promotes the cultural value of Hangeul since the Korean alphabet is considered the nation's greatest cultural heritage. It will hold its annual Hangeul Week through Oct. 10 to mark Hangeul Day.

dlektha0319@korea.kr