Oldest Hangeul letter to be granted 2nd-highest cultural heritage status

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Thu, November 30, 2023 | 01:06

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Oldest Hangeul letter to be granted 2nd-highest cultural heritage status

Posted : 2022-12-30 15:14

Updated : 2023-01-02 13:54

A letter written by Joseon-era military officer Na Sin-geol (1461-1524), which is believed to be the oldest letter written in the Hangeul alphabet / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration

By Kim Rahn

An over-500-year-old letter written in Hangeul will be designated as a treasure as it shows the use of the Korean alphabet in the late 15th century, only decades after its development, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), Friday.

The administration announced its plan to designate the "Hangeul letter by Na Sin-geol," which is believed to be the oldest letter written in Hangeul, as an official treasure, meaning that it will be considered as a tangible cultural heritage of important value and will be given the second-highest level of heritage status following national treasure, which is the highest level.

The two-page letter was sent by Na (1461-1524), a military officer of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), to his wife Shin Chang-maeng. He is presumed to have written the letter in the 1490s while serving as a low-ranking officer in Hamgyeong Province ― currently located in North Korea ― considering that the letter used the word "Yeongando," the old name of Hamgyeong Province used between 1470 and 1498, and that he was posted to the region in the 1490s.

The letter, folded many times, was discovered in Shin's tomb in Daejeon in 2011, along with 40 other pieces of artifacts including clothes.

In the letter, Na expresses his longing for his mother, wife and children and tells his wife to send him some clothes. He also asks her to take care of other family issues and the farm.

Considering Hangeul was developed by King Sejong in 1443 and promulgated in 1446, the letter, presumably written in the 1490s, shows that the new alphabet had already spread throughout the country, and used by low-level officers about 45-50 years after Hangeul's development.

It had been believed that Hangeul was mainly used by women during the early Joseon era, but Na's fluent use of Hangeul shows that men also used the Hangeul alphabet commonly at the time. It also offers a glimpse of linguistic life in the 15th century, according to the CHA.

"Previously, through Joseon's royal documents, it had been difficult to know how widely Hangeul was used among ordinary people, but the letter proves that it was widely and well accepted by those people in their daily lives," the CHA said in a press release.

"The letter can also be used to study ordinary people's lives, agriculture, women's lives and clothes from the early Joseon era. It has significant academic and historical value as a material for linguistic history about Hangeul's promulgation."

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr