Hunminjeongeum Haerye
Template:Short description Template:Infobox book Hunminjeongeum Haerye (Template:Korean/auto), or simply Haerye, refers to either a commentary section on the text Hunminjeongeum or to copies of the Hunminjeongeum that contain the commentary section.Template:Sfn The Hunminjeongeum and commentary were published together as a single text around October 1446 (Gregorian calendar). Together, they introduce the native Korean alphabet Hangul.
The Joseon king Sejong the Great (Template:Reign) authored the preface to the overall text as well as the basic introduction of the letters. The following members of the government agency Hall of Worthies coauthored the Haerye section: Chŏng Inji, Ch'oe Hang, Pak P'aengnyŏn, Sin Sukchu, Sŏng Sammun, Kang Hŭian, Yi Kae, and Template:Ill. The text's postface was written by Chŏng Inji.Template:Sfn The commentary and postface describe how the shapes of Hangul's letters were derived.
The base Hunminjeongeum was republished separately from the Haerye on a number of occasions and consistently remained in the historical record. However, the Haerye section was eventually lost and forgotten, possibly by the early 16th century. A copy of the full Hunminjeongeum Haerye text was only rediscovered in 1940. Its rediscovery revolutionized scholarship on Hangul. As it is now in the collection of Kansong Art Museum, it is known as the "Kansong copy". A second copy, the "Sangju copy", was discovered in 2008, although its discoverer has continually refused to show much of it to others. The South Korean government agency Korea Heritage Service was ruled the legal owner of that copy in 2019. A number of police raids to seize the copy from the discoverer have failed.
The Kansong copy of the Haerye was designated a National Treasure of South Korea in 1962 and entered into the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 1997.
Publication date
Template:See also An exact publication date for the work is not known. The base Hunminjeongeum claims to have been published in the 9th month of 1446 (Korean calendar). The postface to the Haerye is dated to the first ten days (Template:Korean) of that month; it does not specify which day in that range the postface was completed. If the 10th day is assumed, that is October 9 in the Gregorian calendar; that day is celebrated as Hangul Day in South Korea.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="HangulDay">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Contents
Template:See also The Hunminjeongeum Haerye edition consists of two main parts: the base Hunminjeongeum Template:Crossreference and the Haerye. The Haerye has six sections. Several sections of the Haerye are written in seven-syllable lines in irregular rhyme.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn The sections are:Template:Sfnm<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
- "Explanation of the Design of the Letters" (Template:Korean)
- "An Explanation of the Initials" (Template:Korean)
- "An Explanation of the Medials" (Template:Korean)
- "An Explanation of the Finals" (Template:Korean)
- "An Explanation of the Combination of the Letters" (Template:Korean)
- "Examples of the Uses of the Letters" (Template:Korean)
After the sections there is a postface by Chŏng Inji.Template:Sfn<ref name=":0" />
History
The base Hunminjeongeum was published separately from the Haerye on a number of different occasions and consistently remained in the historical record. By contrast, the Haerye was eventually lost and forgotten, possibly by the early 16th century.Template:Sfnm
Kansong copy
In 1940, a copy of the Haerye was rediscovered.Template:Sfn It has since become part of the collection of Kansong Art Museum.Template:Sfn Its rediscovery dramatically altered scholarship on Hangul, especially as its explanations on the derivations of the shapes of the letters had been forgotten.Template:Sfnm It is widely believed to largely be an authentic original copy from 1446, although some scholars challenge that assumption.Template:Sfnm For example, according to Ledyard, linguist Template:Ill argued that, while he believed the copy was authentic, it was not an original from the time of Sejong, and was instead produced some time before the 1592–1598 Imjin War.Template:Sfn
The copy had been held by the family of Yi Han'gŏl (Template:Korean) in Andong.Template:Sfn It was claimed that the copy had been gifted to an ancestor of Yi (it is unclear which) by Sejong himself. Another claim was that, during the reign of Yeonsangun (Template:Reign), Hangul texts were sought out and destroyed; to preserve the text, the cover and first two leaves were destroyed to make the text harder to identify.Template:Sfn
In summer of 1940, one of Yi's sons Yongjun (Template:Korean) informed a teacher of hisTemplate:Efn of the text's existence.Template:Sfn This information reached art collector Jeon Hyeong-pil (1906–1962), who expressed interest in purchasing it.Template:Sfnm
Forged pages and cover
Although the rest of the text was in relatively good condition with the exception of the edges of some early pages,Template:Sfnm Yi Yongjun apparently feared that the destroyed portions would ruin the text's value. He secretly attempted to restore it, in a manner that Ledyard described as "inept and malicious". Jeon reportedly instantly recognized that the work had been doctored; in order to spare the Yi family the embarrassment, he purchased it and agreed to not reveal where he acquired the text from.Template:Sfn
A tracing of the transcription soon reached the academic community. A moveable type edition was first published in 1940.Template:Efn In 1943, newspaper The Chosun Ilbo published the text in full. It was only in October 1946 that a direct reproduction of the text was published by the Korean Language Society. In July 1957, Tongmungwan released a new photoprint edition. Both the Korean Language Society and Tongmungwan prints were widely referred to for long afterwards, although Ahn was critical of aspects of both of them.Template:Sfn
The truth of the forgery was gradually revealed, with scholars increasingly identifying flaws over time.Template:Sfnm Scholars assume that the forgers relied on other Eonhae and Veritable Records versions of the Hunminjeongeum.Template:Sfn
Flaws in the forgery and cover include:
- The title for the work was lost; the restorer merely gives it as Hunminjeongeum, but Ahn argued that it should be Eoje hunminjeongeum (Template:Korean/auto), where eoje means "by His Majesty". It was convention during the Joseon period to attach that phrase to works produced by monarchs.Template:Sfn
- The forged leaves were boiled to make them appear older.Template:Sfn
- Tone markings are missing on the restored pages.Template:Sfn
- Restored pages have punctuation marks in a different style, with some mistakes.Template:Sfn
- The final character of Sejong's preface is mistakenly given as Template:Lang instead of Template:Lang.Template:Sfnm
- It was recut to be a little smaller than its original size.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn The book's size is currently Template:Convert.Template:Sfn
Description
It currently has a silk cover in front and back; recent additions. It has oversewn binding in four-needle stitches. It was rebound in the 20th century, after it entered Jeon's possession. It is unknown what the previous binding method was; it was likely the common practice in Korea, which was five-needle stitching.Template:Sfnm In total, there are 33 leaves in the work, with the Yeui occupying 4 and the Haerye the rest. Each body page in Yeui has seven lines with space for 11 characters each. Each page in the Haerye has eight lines with space for 13 characters each.Template:Sfn
The style of the Haerye differs from that of the Hunminjeongeum. For example, the Hunminjeongeum is written in a larger square printed style compared to the smaller square running style of the Haerye.Template:Sfn Ahn argues the differing style is because it was convention to make the king's writing distinguishable in print from that of his subjects.Template:Sfn It is generally believed that the calligraphy of both portions were by a single person intentionally using different styles: Template:Ill, one of Sejong's sons and a famed calligrapher.Template:Sfnm
This edition was designated a National Treasure of South Korea on December 20, 1962<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn and a UNESCO Memory of the World in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn
Sangju copy
History
On July 28, 2008, book dealer Bae Ik-gi (Template:Korean) announced that he discovered that he was in possession of another copy of the Hunminjeongeum Haerye.<ref name="Hankyoreh2015">Template:Cite news</ref> Bae revealed only a limited number of pages of the work to the public and to researchers, and otherwise refused to show it, as he sought a financial reward for it.<ref name="chosun2024">Template:Cite news</ref>
On August 1, book dealer Jo Yeong-hun (Template:Lang) claimed that the copy belonged to him, and that it had been stolen from him. According to Jo, the copy had been lying around in his bookstore and Bae took it without paying whilst purchasing boxes of other books. Jo filed criminal complaints against Bae that were dismissed. Jo then filed a lawsuit against Bae on February 5, 2010. On May 13, 2011, the Supreme Court of Korea ruled that Bae had indeed stolen it, and ordered Bae to return it to Jo. Bae refused. Jo filed a criminal report against Bae on July 5. Police conducted three raids on Bae's properties on August 30, but failed to locate the copy.<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" />
An investigation by prosecutors found that the copy had originally been stored within a Buddhist statue at the temple Gwangheungsa (Template:Lang) in Andong, South Korea until it was stolen in 1999. The prosecution obtained a confession from the thief who took it and sold it to Jo. Bae was then arrested. On February 9, 2012, Bae was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison.<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" /> In May, Jo pledged to donate the copy to the government agency Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA).Template:Sfn<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" /> On September 7, the Daegu High Court overturned Bae's conviction of theft on grounds of insufficient evidence. However, Bae continued to refuse to turn over the copy and kept it hidden. Jo died on December 26, 2012. Bae's acquittal was affirmed by the Supreme Court on May 29, 2014.<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" />
On March 26, 2015, a fire destroyed Bae's home within 30 minutes.Template:Efn Concerns were raised that the copy could have been destroyed.<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" /> In 2015, Bae shared a photo of the book, which had been partially charred by the fire.<ref name="khan2022">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2015, Bae began offering to sell the copy for ₩100 billion (US$Template:Format price).<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" /> This price was chosen based on an assessment by the CHA of the copy's value at over ₩1 trillion (US$Template:Format price).<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" /><ref name="chosun2024" /> In 2017, he ran in a local election; he promised to share the work if he won, but he lost.<ref name=":1" /> While doing so, Bae declared his assets as ₩1.48 trillion, in reflection of the work's assessed value.<ref name="khan2022" /> Bae alleged that the price was fair, considering the value of the work, and claimed that the previous legal battles, as well as what he alleged was a smear campaign by CHA against him, had significantly negatively impacted him.<ref name="Hankyoreh2015" /><ref name="chosun2024" /> The CHA refuses to pay the amount, as it is illegal to purchase cultural assets considered stolen.<ref name="khan2022" /> The CHA has also been reluctant to try and take the copy by force, in fear that Bae would destroy it in retaliation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that, while there was insufficient evidence to show that Bae had stolen the copy, the state was the copy's rightful owner.<ref name="yna2019">Template:Cite news</ref> Still, Bae refused to turn over the copy. The CHA held numerous meetings with Bae over the years to negotiate the copy's return, but Bae continually refused.<ref name="yna2023" /> In 2019, a group of school children met with Bae to ask him to return the book, but he again refused.<ref name="hankook2024" /> In 2022, a raid on Bae's office failed to retrieve the copy.<ref name="yna2023">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="khan2022" />
Bae has received significant criticism from the public.<ref name="khan2022" /> According to a 2024 report, he has been isolating himself from his local community.<ref name="hankook2024">Template:Citation</ref>
Description
Only limited parts of the book have been seen by the public.Template:Sfn Scholar Nam Kwonhui believes the book to be an original first-edition copy that dates to the 15th-century.Template:Sfn It is possibly missing an undetermined number of pages; Kim and Nam claimer in 2014 that only pages after the 9th leaf have been attested to, meaning that the base Hunminjeongeum is not attested to. They also claim leaves 15 to 25 and 29 (containing Chŏng's postface) have not been attested to. Various pages contain brush-written notes in the margins.Template:Sfn Kim and Nam believe these notes to date the 18th century.Template:Sfn
It is made of traditional Korean paper (mulberry). It has a cover that appears newer and possibly dates to the 16th and 17th centuries. It was possibly rebound from 4-hole to 5-hole stitching.Template:Sfn The title of the work is given as Osŏngjejago (Template:Korean). This title was possibly given by whoever rebound the book, and is possibly a mistake.Template:Sfn Based on the limited pictures and videos, it is believed that the Sangju copy was printed with the same wood blocks as the Kansong copy.Template:Sfn
Notes
References
Sources
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