The first Korean language textbook just 3 months after liberation, ‘Hangeul First Step’, contains the earnest desire for Korean language education to replace Japanese.

The first Korean language textbook just 3 months after liberation, ‘Hangeul First Step’, contains the earnest desire for Korean language education to replace Japanese.

In 1948, the first government-administered Korean language textbook, ‘Baduki and Cheolsu’… “Baduki, which became extinct during Japanese colonial rule, is the main character, meaning the restoration of the national spirit.”

Since 1970, all textbook Chinese characters have disappeared... “Language policy, a symbol of change completely centered on Hangul”

Sejong City, named after the tomb of King Sejong... The names of the administrative district and village are in Korean, and the bridge is also ‘Ieung (ㅇ) Bridge’.

(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Yang Young-seok = Korean textbooks are cultural heritage that contains the traces of our Korean language education.

The first Korean language textbook released after liberation contained the urgency for the education and dissemination of the Korean language at the time.

In the process of establishing itself as a sovereign nation, the urgency and spirit of the times to clean up the remnants of Japanese culture and restore the Korean language are also reflected in the Korean language education method.

Immediately after liberation, Hangul education shifted from grammar education focused on consonants and vowels to focus on sentences and communication.

Since 1970, Chinese characters have disappeared from all textbooks starting from the second curriculum, and we can see that our country's language policy has completely changed to center on Hangul.

◇ The earnestness contained in the first Korean textbook after liberation

The Textbook Museum, run by Korea's oldest textbook publisher, is located in Sejong.

At the museum, you can see textbooks for all domestic curricula, including the first Korean language textbook published after liberation in 1945 and the first national Korean language textbook published after the establishment of the government in 1948.

After liberation, the Korean Language Society hastily created the first Korean language textbook, ‘First Step in Hangeul’, written entirely in Korean, in a short period of three months.

This is because textbooks were needed to replace Korean language textbooks in Japanese and to educate and disseminate the Korean language, Hangul.

Kim Jong-in, deputy director of the museum, explained, "This book was created as an emergency measure to overcome the situation where the illiteracy rate was 70-80% right after liberation," adding, "It is a book full of earnestness to prevent the loss of the Korean language and contains symbolic value to restore national character."

‘First Steps to Hangul’ focused on grammar education centered on consonants and vowels. Although it was an appropriate method for disseminating the alphabet called Hangul, it was still an educational method during the Japanese colonial period.

Deputy Director Kim emphasized, “Many people do not know letters, so ‘First Step to Hangeul’ is a textbook that allows them to learn letters in a transitional period before entering the regular education curriculum.”

After the establishment of the government in 1948, the first national Korean language textbook, ‘Baduki and Cheolsu’, was produced under the leadership of the Ministry of Education.

Deputy Director Kim explained that 'Baduki and Cheolsu', a Korean language textbook for the first semester of the first year of elementary school, is characterized by breaking away from the consonant and vowel teaching method and introducing a Western sentence- and communication-oriented teaching method.

What's interesting is that, as it was pointed out that grammar education could be weakened at the time, nouns and particles were separated in textbook sentences to highlight the fact that they were different letters.

For example, currently it is written as 'Baduki and Cheolsu', but at the time it was written separately as 'Baduki and Cheolsu'.

This method of placing nouns and particles can be found in first-grade elementary school textbooks until 1963.

You can get an idea of ​​the times at the time through the textbook ‘Baduki and Cheolsu’.

Deputy Director Kim said, “Along with the most common and common names ‘Cheolsu’ and ‘Yeonghee,’ we introduced a storytelling method in which our native Sapsal dog called ‘Baduki’ appears as the main character.” He added, “The fact that Japan made Baduki, which was extincted to supply leather for military use, as the main character is in a way a will to revive our national spirit.”

The explanation is that the philosophical context of trying to revive what was destroyed by Japan is also embedded in Hangul education.

Until then, Chinese characters were included in textbooks for 4th grade and up in elementary school, but after 1970, Chinese characters disappeared from all textbooks.

Deputy Director Kim pointed out, "With 1970 as a turning point, we can confirm through textbooks that our country's language policy completely changed to focus on the Korean language and Hangul."

◇ Korean village names, murals, buildings,… ‘Hangeul identity’ incorporated into Sejong City

Sejong City is a city deeply connected to the Korean alphabet.

The name of the city was taken from the tomb of King Sejong, and it contains the people's wish to create a city that is 'the best in the world'.

Sejong City has a special affection for the Korean alphabet, so much so that all administrative districts, roads, and village names in the city are named purely in Korean.

If you go to the original city center, you will see a huge mural painted on the exterior wall of a modern building.

This is a gigantic work measuring 4m high and 20m wide created by world-renowned British drawing artist ‘Mr Doodle’ (real name Sam Cox) with the Korean alphabet as the theme.

Anyone can view the large-scale mural work 'HANGOODLE', created by combining the 25 Korean characters loved by Sejong citizens with Doodle icons, for free.

There is a huge bridge in the shape of a circle across the Geumgang River, which runs through Sejong City.

This bridge, which cannot be used by cars but only people and bicycles, is nicknamed 'Ieung Bridge' because it resembles the Korean consonant 'ㅇ'.

It was built at a length of 1,446 meters to commemorate the year 1446, when King Sejong promulgated Hangul.

In addition to textbooks, the Textbook Museum houses a variety of Hangul-related recorded heritage.

You can also see the handwritten resume of Ju Si-kyung, a Korean linguist who led the popularization and modernization of Hangul through specialized theoretical research on Hangul and training of future generations.