Promulgation of Hunminjeongeum

Timeline

1. 1446Jiphyeonjeon, Hanseong · HanseongScholars of the Jiphyeonjeon completed the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, divided into explanations of letter formation, initial sounds, medial sounds, final sounds, combined letters, and usage examples, using Chinese characters to explain the pronunciation and combination of the twenty-eight letters. Jeong In-ji wrote the postscript, recounting how Sejong created the new letters and ordered Confucian officials to compose explanations.
2. 1446Royal Palace, Hanseong · HanseongThe Joseon court printed the main text of Hunminjeongeum together with the explanatory treatise, officially publishing the new letters to its subjects. Sejong's preface stated that the letters are such that 'the wise can grasp them through thought in the end, and the foolish can master them in ten days of practice,' establishing Hangul as an official script to be used alongside idu and Chinese characters.
3. 1446Hanseong · HanseongPrinted editions of the explanatory treatise circulated at court and in the Jiphyeonjeon, and began to be used for experimental texts such as rhyme books and vernacular glosses of Buddhist scriptures. Hangul at this time remained chiefly a state-published writing tool and had not yet displaced Chinese characters' dominance in the civil service examinations and official documents.