Heaven, Earth, and Human in the Korean Alphabet

I've noticed that spirituality is much more an integrated part of the culture and daily rituals here in South Korea.

An example of this is in the formation of the vowels of the Korean alphabet.

The Korean Alphabet, hangul, was invented by King Sejong, in 1443. This language system was created so that common people would have a tool for communication. Prior to this, Chinese characters, or hanja, were used and taught mostly to privileged males in noble families, and therefore not accessible to all people.

The consonants of hangul are patterned on vocal organ sounds so that 'ㄱ', which is equivalent to 'g' sound in English is patterned after the way the mouth and tongue are positioned when pronouncing this letter.

The vowels of hangul are patterned on the principle of 'Chunjiin' or Heaven, Earth, and Human. All of the vowels in the Korean alphabet are formed using three different characters: a vertical line for heaven (ㅣ), a horizontal line for Earth (ㅡ), and a dot for humans (ㅇ). This is meant to show the connection between humans and nature and the role of humans as the neutral mediator between Heaven and Earth.

This tri-part philosophy is reflected in many symbols in Korean culture, including the three-legged blackbird that greets you when you arrive at the Traditional Korean Studies building next to our university.