New statue honors King Sejong’s devotion
Korea Herald
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| The statue of King Sejong was unveiled to mark the 563rd anniversary of the Hangeul alphabet`s creation in a ceremony held in Gwanghwamun on Friday. [Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald] |
On Friday the statue of King Sejong was unveiled to mark the 563rd anniversary of the Hangeul alphabet’s creation in a ceremony attended by President Lee Myung-bak and other senior government officials.
It is true that the 24-character alphabet created by Sejong is regarded as a highly scientific and remarkable achievement, but that is not the only reason for setting up another statue in the heart of Seoul along with the Joseon-era hero Adm. Yi Sun-shin.
Sejong, the fourth monarch of the Joseon Dynasty who ruled from 1418-1450, remains special for many reasons. During his reign, a truly Confucian-oriented political process was formed, social and economic foundations were cemented and innovative technological advancements were made.
Korea also enjoyed the unprecedented flowering of culture and art, and one particularly memorable achievement was the invention of the Korean alphabet. It was then called Hunminjeongeum, or “proper phonetic system to educate the people.”
Sejong’s interests were not limited to arts and linguistics. He eagerly explored astronomical science and encouraged engineers and scientists to develop new gadgets, a pioneering stance that was not so popular among Confucian literati. Sejong’s enthusiasm, luckily for Koreans, resulted in the production of sundials, water clocks, celestial globes and astronomical maps.
Sejong, born in 1397, looms over other Joseon monarchs in many respects. He was an extremely bright child who showed a strong appetite for absorbing new knowledge. His broad interest in different topics — history, law, astrology, music and medicine — was fueled and sharpened by his vast penchant for books and scholarly curiosity.
The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty dated in 1421, the third year of the king’s reign, states as follows: “King Sejong likes to study very much. As soon as he finishes the state affairs from dawn, he goes to the lectures with officials. Even at night, he continues to read books.”
His mastery in such topics, meanwhile, was a huge burden on top-ranking officials who often found themselves unable to answer his questions in the court. He also developed a meticulous scholarly approach for his nation-building, which he later used to help improve conditions for his people.
In fact, he had no other choice: At the time, the kingdom was in its early stages, and Joseon had yet to find its own social and political foundation. The influence of the Koryo Kingdom was still powerful and Sejong knew that all the systems should be developed from scratch.
To set up reliable political and social systems, he studied historical precedents relentlessly to come up with his own idea. Not only were past systems examined, but their background, details, underlying philosophy and historical differences were examined thoroughly.
In the process of pouring through geographical information about the nation, he became frustrated with the poor printing system, which relied chiefly on wood and manual casting. So he ordered officials to develop faster methods, which resulted in faster printing systems and later the introduction of metal type casts.
It was also Sejong who brought in great advancements in gunpowder weapons. He introduced a set of standard rules which regulated the manufacturing of gunpowder-related firearms.
Today’s historians say that Sejong’s endeavors laid the foundation for Joseon’s ability to break free from China’s influence and forge independent advances in the development of gunpowder weaponry.
Because of his keen interest in developing gunpowder weapons, Sejong occasionally organized a test-firing of a new type of cannon. In May 1424, an official of the Astronomical Observatory unknowingly reported that a national disturbance took place. The astronomer was severely chided by the king because Sejong himself made great efforts to enhance the level of gunpowder cannons, often missing sleep in order to work.
Unfortunately, Sejong’s efforts to reform all of society hit a snag when his health visibly declined due to his tireless pursuit of knowledge for the nation.
Today’s Korean people do not just admire Sejong for his scholarly genius and workaholic lifestyle. More importantly, the ruler devoted his entire life to helping the poor who were exploited by the aristocracy.
Sejong often issued national amnesty to release those imprisoned for minor crimes, defying the opposition from officials. He also improved the social status of servants, banning owners from punishing servants at will.
In 1425, the nation suffered a prolonged drought. Sejong went out to the fields himself and talked to a farmer about the situation, which turned out to be worse than expected. Distressed, he returned to the palace and did not eat.
In later years, Sejong’s reform measures faced strong opposition from conservative officials. His personal life was bumpy as well, especially when his fifth and seventh sons, as well as his wife, suddenly died between 1444 and 1446. He himself struggled with a variety of chronic diseases with little success.
Prematurely wrapping up his life-long devotion to the nation, Sejong died on Feb. 17, 1450. It was a great loss for all Joseon people. The new statue of King Sejong, given what he did for the nation, might be a belated tribute for his admirers.
(insight@heraldm.com)
By Yang Sung-jin
2009.10.14
