King Sejong lived from , he was the 4th king of the Joseon Dynasty — reigning from until his death. His 32 years sitting on the throne brought about some of the most important changes in Korean history.

King Sejong is best known for personally inventing Hangul, the Korean script. The script was completed in and published a few years later in This accompanied the announcement of this new alphabet, explaining the philosophy behind the script.

These systems did not mix well. This meant that basic literacy was achievable to only those with access to a high education, such as nobles and scholars.

Many Korean elite initially opposed the introduction of Hangul. However, King Sejong strongly believed that this new writing system benefited all the Korean people.

As a result, literary rates skyrocketed to some of the highest in the world in a very short time. Today, Korea remains at the top of world literacy rankings due to Hangul.

Hangul is recognized worldwide for its ingenuity and many redeeming features. King Sejong was a great humanitarian and thinker of the time.

However, Yangnyeong's free spirited nature as well as his preference for hunting and leisure activities resulted in his removal from the position of heir apparent in June Though it is said that Yangnyeong abdicated in favor of his younger brother, there are no definitive records regarding Yangnyeong's removal.

Taejong's second son Grand Prince Hyoryeong became a monk upon the elevation of his younger brother Sejong. Following the removal of Yangnyeong as heir apparent, Taejong moved quickly to secure his youngest son's position as heir apparent.

The government was purged of officials who disagreed with the removal of Yangnyeong. In August , Taejong abdicated in favour of Sejong. However, even in retirement Taejong continued to influence government policy.

Sejong's surprising political skill and creativity did not become apparent until after Taejong's death in King Sejong reorganized the Korean government by appointing people from different social classes as civil servants.

He suppressed Buddhism by banning outside Buddhist monks from entering Seoul and reduced the seven schools of Buddhism down to two, Seon and Gyo, drastically reducing the power and wealth of the Buddhist hierarchy.

In , Sejong also ordered a decree against the Huihui Korean Muslim community that had had special status and stipends since the Yuan dynasty.

The Huihui were forced to abandon their headgear, to close down their "ceremonial hall" Mosque in the city of Kaesong and worship like everyone else.

No further mention of Muslims exist during the era of the Joseon. He collaborated closely with the Chinese Ming Dynasty. He opened three ports to trade with Japan.

King Sejong was an effective military planner. He created various military regulations to strengthen the safety of his kingdom, [9] supported the advancement of Korean military technology , including cannon development.

Different kinds of mortars and fire arrows were tested as well as the use of gunpowder. In May , King Sejong, under the advice and guidance of his father Taejong, embarked upon the Gihae Eastern Expedition , the ultimate goal of this military expedition to remove the nuisance of Japanese pirates who had been operating out of Tsushima Island.

During the expedition, Japanese were killed, and another were captured in combat, while Korean soldiers were killed.

Kim's military campaign captured several castles, pushed north, and expanded Korean territory, to the Songhua River. Sejong promoted the sciences.

Jang was naturally a creative and smart thinker as a young person. Sejong noticed Jang's skill and immediately called him to his court in Seoul.

Upon giving Jang a government position and funding for his inventions, officials protested, believing a person from the lower classes should not rise to power among nobles.

Sejong instead believed Jang merited support because of his ability. Jang created new significant designs for water clocks , armillary spheres , and sundials.

In , Jang made one of the world's first standardized rain gauges named Cheugugi. When he came across mention of a rain gauge, King Yeongjo ordered a reproduction.

Since there is a mark of the Qing Dynasty ruler Qianlong r. Sejong also wanted to reform the Korean calendar system, which was at the time based upon the longitude of the Chinese capital.

In the realm of traditional Korean medicine , two important treatises were written during his reign. These were the Hyangyak jipseongbang and the Euibang yuchwi , which historian Kim Yongsik says represents "Koreans' efforts to develop their own system of medical knowledge, distinct from that of China.

According to Confucian principles, the eldest son—named Prince Yangnyeong—should have been the heir to the Joseon throne.

However, his behavior at court was rude and aberrant. Some sources claim that Yangnyeong behaved this way purposefully because he believed that Sejong should be king in his place.

The second brother, Prince Hyoryeong, also removed himself from the succession by becoming a Buddhist monk.

When Sejong was 12 years old, his father named him Grand Prince Chungnyeong. Ten years later, King Taejong would abdicate the throne in favor of Prince Chungnyeong, who took the throne name King Sejong.

He was assisted in the coup d'etat by his fifth son Yi Bang-won later King Taejong , who expected to be rewarded with the title of crown prince. However, a court scholar who hated and feared the militaristic and hot-headed fifth son convinced King Taejo to choose his eighth son, Yi Bang-seok, as successor instead.

In while King Taejo was mourning the loss of his wife, the scholar hatched a conspiracy to kill off all of the king's sons besides the crown prince in order to secure Yi Bang-seok's position and his own.

Hearing rumors of the plot, Yi Bang-won raised his army and attacked the capital, killing two of his brothers as well as the scheming scholar.

The grieving King Taejo was horrified that his sons were turning on each other in what became known as the First Strife of Princes, so he named his second son, Yi Bang-gwa, as the heir apparent and then abdicated the throne in Yi Bang-gwa became King Jeongjong, the second Joseon ruler.

Yi Bang-won prevailed, exiled his brother and his family, and executed his brother's supporters. As a result, the weak King Jeongjong abdicated after ruling for just two years in favor of Yi Bang-won, Sejong's father.

As king, Taejong continued his ruthless policies. He executed a number of his own supporters if they became too powerful, including all of his wife Wong-gyeong's brothers, as well as Prince Chungnyeong's later King Sejong's father-in-law and brothers-in-law.

It seems likely that his experience with princely strife and his willingness to execute troublesome family members helped encourage his first two sons to step aside without a murmur and allow King Taejong's third and favorite son to become King Sejong.

King Taejong had always been an effective military strategist and leader and continued to guide Joseon military planning for the first four years of Sejong's reign.

Sejong was a quick study and also loved science and technology, so he introduced a number of organizational and technological improvements to his kingdom's military forces.

Da er den Wunsch hatte, dass möglichst viele seiner Untertanen in den Genuss von Bildung kamen, war eine effiziente Drucktechnik für die Erhöhung der Anzahl Drucke pro Zeiteinheit wichtig.

Als Trauerbuch verfasst, stellt es das erste Werk dar, das in sinokoreanischen Zeichen Hanja und den neuen, von ihm entwickelten koreanischen Buchstaben Hangeul geschrieben und erstmals mit beweglichen Metalllettern gedruckt wurde.

Hierzu gab er Anweisungen, astronomische Geräte zu entwickeln, die Positions- und Zeitbestimmungen möglich machten.

Seine Konstruktionen von Klepsydra Wasseruhren sind weithin bekannt. Auch astronomische Geräte entwickelte er zahlreich.

Angespornt von Sejong wurden auch Sonnenuhren und astronomische Uhren entwickelt, die die Zeit in der Nacht über die Sternkonstellation anzeigen konnten.

König Sejong hatte ebenso seinen Einfluss auf die koreanisch Musik seiner Zeit und darüber hinaus. König Sejong komponierte zusammen mit Park Yeon über zweihundert Musikstücke, einige davon waren seine sehr persönlichen Werke.

König Sejong auf der Vorderseite der Grabanlage Yeongneung in Yeoju , Provinz Gyeonggi-do. König Sejong führte die Möglichkeit Verurteilter, gegen eine richterliche Entscheidung Berufung einlegen zu können, in das Rechtssystem ein.

Zeitgleich verfügte er, das Richter für Ihre Urteile nicht bestraft werden konnten. Auch sorgte er dafür, dass das Volk die wichtigsten Gesetze kennen lernte.

Die humanere Ausstattung der Gefängnisse war ihm ein weiteres Anliegen. Sie sollten zum Beispiel im Sommer kühl und im Winter warm gehalten werden.

Darüber hinaus sollte es den Insassen ermöglicht werden, einmal in der Woche Baden zu können. Ein weiteres wichtiges Anliegen König Sejongs war es eine gerechte Steuer zu erheben und Korruption durch seine Beamten zu verhindern.

Bei seiner Steuerreform schwebte ihm vor, die Steuer jeweils auf Basis der Ernteerträge des Vorjahres zu erheben. Die Befriedung der nördliche Grenzgebiete des Joseon-Reiches, die von dem Volksstamm der Jurchen beeinflusst waren und in denen es immer wieder zu Aufstände kam, versuchte König Sejong durch eine zweiteilige Strategie zu erreichen.

Zum Anderen sorgte er durch eine Belebung des Handels für eine gewisse Befriedung. Um die Grenze im Norden auch sichern zu können, sorgte er zwischen den Jahren und dafür, dass tausende Koreaner aus dem stärker bevölkerten Süden nach Norden zogen und dort siedelten.

Dort werden bereits König Sejong wichtige Fragen König Sejong. - Unseren Newsletter abonnieren

Owen W. Dem Hangeul liegen also zweifellos wissenschaftliche und eigenschöpferische Poppen.De Erfahrungsberichte zugrunde. Einführung in die Geschichte Ostasiens. Mai