Korean Hangul Movable-Type Printing

Timeline

1. 1455Hanyang · Joseon dynastyBuilding on the Gabinja Chinese-character movable-type system, the court cast Eulhaja Hangul movable type, used in 1461 to print the Korean portions of the Seonggwanggyeong Eunhae (Surangama Sutra with Korean annotation), marking the formal introduction of Hangul metal movable type into classical publishing.
2. 1481–1510Joseon dynasty · Korean PeninsulaIn 1481 books such as the Du Shi Eunhae (Du Fu's Poems with Korean annotation) continued to use Eulhaja Hangul movable type, as Hangul printing expanded from Buddhist scripture annotation to literary and practical works, though official documents remained primarily in Chinese characters.
3. 1571–1580Hanyang · Joseon dynastyIn 1573 (Seonjo 6) the court recast Eulhaja Hangul movable type to sustain publishing; in 1580 the Gyeongjinja type (the second Gabinja system) was cast, providing new typefaces for the large-scale national translation of classics and printing of medical books in the late 16th century.
4. 1588–1590Joseon dynasty · Korean PeninsulaFrom 1588 to 1590 the court published the Gyeongseo Gwangeokbon (national translations of the Confucian classics), making extensive use of Eulhaja Hangul movable type to print the classics in Korean, representing the peak application of Korean Hangul movable-type printing in the popularization of Confucian texts.