Understanding Korea materials - Hangeul: 5.3 The Script Reform: Mixed Script to Hangeul-only Script

 Hangeul: 5. History of Hangeul Usage > 3) The Script Reform: Mixed Script to Hangeul-only Script 

5. History of Hangeul Usage

3) The Script Reform: Mixed Script to Hangeul-only Script

Since the invention of Hunminjeongeum, Hangeul has been used in diverse contexts, yet Hangeul has always been used along with Chinese characters, Hanja. In Chapter 5.1, books and documents published in Hangeul were examined, and it is true that there are more materials written concurrently in Hangeul and Hanja than Hangeul-only materials. The change in this convention began towards the end of 19th century as the consciousness of Gukmun (national scripts) spread. As discussed in Chapter 4.1, King Gojong commanded Gukmun to be the foundation and for Chinese characters’ translation to be added as an option, or for a mixture of Hangeul and Hanja to be used. The motivation behind this command was the movement for the “unification of the written and spoken language.”