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Topic : Historical Meaning of Hangul in 16th Century Korea

I) Introduction

A) General statement:

1) Hangul is a Korean writing system that was created around 1445 by King Sejong.

2) Hangul is still in use today in Korea.

3) The writing system consists of 24 symbols that are grouped to form words.

B) Thesis sentence: The Hangul alphabet has helped to bridge the literacy gap that existed between the elites and the common people of Korea. However, its implementation has gone through numerous challenges in history.

II) Body paragraphs

A) Topic sentence: Korea was under the rule of China prior to the invention of Hangul.

1) Koreans were unable to express their thoughts using Hanja, the Chinese writing system.

1a) Only a few elite people who could use the Hanja writing system correctly to express themselves.

1b) Majority were unable to express themselves using Hanja.

2) There was a high level of illiteracy in Korea at the time.

2a) Many Koreans found it hard to learn the Chinese Hanja.

B) Topic sentence: King Sejong invented the Hangul alphabet.

1) The King had realized that majority of the people could not express themselves to him clearly using the Chinese language.

1a) The King was touched by the issue.

1b) The King came up with Hangul, which he thought would be simple to learn and use.

2) King Sejong is regarded as the greatest ruler in the history of Korea for that reason.

2a) The King is celebrated for the invention even today in Korea.

2b) The King is held in high esteem for defining the culture of Korea through the invention of a native writing system.

C) Topic sentence: Some people opposed the implementation of the Hangul alphabet.

1) The elite class maintained the use of Hanja characters as the official writing system

1a) The elite people took Hangul as a primitive writing system.

1b) The Chinese Hanja was taken to be an official writing system.

2) However, the Hangul language did not die, but survived.

2a) Hangul found support with the majority who did not understand Hanja.

2b) Hangul gained wide acceptance from the majority.

D) Topic sentence: Hangul was easy to learn and write.

1) Hangul consists of 24 letters that are combined to form syllables.

1a) The 24 characters were easy to learn and use.

1b) The characters consist of vowels and consonants.

2) The letters are written in blocks to form syllables and words.

2a) Unlike in the Roman alphabets, Hangul characters are combined in blocks to create words.

E) Topic sentence: Hangul became the official writing system of Korea.

1) Due to its simplicity to learn, Hangul has helped reduce the levels of illiteracy significantly in Korea.

1a) Many people can write and express their thoughts and feelings easily using Hangul in Korea.

1b) Consequently, the level of illiteracy in Korea is almost zero.

2) Korea celebrates the day when Hangul was created.

2a) Koreans realize the significance of Hangul in their history and culture.

2b) Therefore, the Koreans celebrate anniversary of the invention of Hangul.

III) Conclusion

A) Hangul is a native writing system in Korea.

B) Hangul was created to make it easy for the people of Korea to learn and to express their thoughts and feelings easily.

C) Hangul was created by King Sejong.

D) Hangul is easy to learn and use.

Works Cited

Ahn, Matthew Y. "Super Speedy Chinese Hanzi Input System with Hangul." The Culture of Korea 3.2 (2007): 23-35. Print.

Han, To-hyŏn, and Hesung C. Koh. Korean Religion and Cultural Values. New Haven: East Rock Institute, 2004. Print.

Kim-Renaud, Young-Key. The Korean Alphabet: Its History and Structure. Honolulu: U of Hawai'i P, 1997. Print.

King Sejong the Great: The Everlasting Light of Korea. Seoul: Korean Spirit & Culture Promotion Project, 2008. Print.

Lee, Iksop, and S R. Ramsey. The Korean Language. Albany: State U of New York P, 2000. Print.

Lee, Sangbaek, Wonyong Kim, and Sejong. A History of Korean Alphabet and Movable Types. Seoul: Ministry of Culture and Information, Republic of Korea, 1970. Print.

Taylor, Insup, and Martin M. Taylor. Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub. Co, 1995. Print.