Understanding Korea materials - Hangeul: 3.2 The Design Principles of Hunminjeongeum Letters

 Hangeul: 3. The Creation of Hunminjeongeum > 2) The Design Principles of Hunminjeongeum Letters

3. The Creation of Hunminjeongeum

2) The Design Principles of Hunminjeongeum Letters

Hunminjeongeum consists of 28 letters in total, 17 consonants and 11 vowels. The design principle of these letters can be examined in Jejahae section of Hunminjeongeum haerye. Hunminjeongeum haerye is divided into two major sections. The first section is commonly called Yeuipyeon (例義篇, Section of Examples and Definitions) and includes the preface by King Sejong, the phonetics of letters and the order usage. The second section is Haeryepyeon (解例篇, Section of Explanations and Examples). This section includes Jejahae (制字解, the Explanation of Letter Design), Choseonghae (初聲解, Explanation of Initial Sounds), Jungseonghae (中聲解, Explanation of Medial Sounds), and Jongseonghae (終聲解, Explanation of Terminal Sounds). It also includes Hapjahae (合字解, Explanation on Combining Methods of the Letters), Yongjarye (用字例, Examples of Word Usage), and the preface by Jeong Inji.