Hunminjeongeum Society
Encyclopedia
The Hunminjeongeum Society, sometimes called the "Hunminjeongeum Research Institute" in English-language newspaper accounts, is a private organization in Seoul
dedicated to the propagation of hangul
to all the unwritten languages of the world. (Hunminjeongeum was the original name of hangul.) The society was founded by Lee Ki-nam, a retired real-estate agent, in 2007, after she had failed to bring hangul to the Tungusic Oroqen
of Heilongjiang
, China; the Chepang
of Nepal; and the Lahu
of Chiang Mai
, Thailand; she attributed these failures to a reliance on Korean Christian missionaries in those countries, whose primary focus was not linguistics or literacy.
The society, chaired by linguistics professor Kim Ju-won of Seoul National University
, and its current focus is on countries which send large number of people to work in Korea. In 2009 it succeeded in getting the city of Bau-Bau
, on Buton Island in Sulawesi
, Indonesia, to adopt hangul for the Cia-Cia language
. The society has published a series of hangul Cia-Cia textbooks for use in schools, using an orthography designed by Kim, and are now working on getting hangul accepted by other communities on the island of Buton. They plan on opening a Korean cultural center, and to send Korean-language teachers to Bau-Bau.
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
dedicated to the propagation of hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
to all the unwritten languages of the world. (Hunminjeongeum was the original name of hangul.) The society was founded by Lee Ki-nam, a retired real-estate agent, in 2007, after she had failed to bring hangul to the Tungusic Oroqen
Oroqen
The Oroqen people are an ethnic group in northern China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. According to the 2000 Census, 44.54% live in Inner Mongolia and 51.52% along the Heilongjiang River in the province of Heilongjiang...
of Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
, China; the Chepang
Chepang
Chepang is the commonly used name given to an indigenous ethnic group living in central and southern Nepal.The language is also known as Chepang but is called Chyo-bang by the people themselves. Some Bahun Chettri castes call these people the "Praja" meaning "political subjects"...
of Nepal; and the Lahu
Lahu people
The Lahu are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.They are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma. In Thailand, Lahu are one of the six main hill tribes; their...
of Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...
, Thailand; she attributed these failures to a reliance on Korean Christian missionaries in those countries, whose primary focus was not linguistics or literacy.
The society, chaired by linguistics professor Kim Ju-won of Seoul National University
Seoul National University
Seoul National University , colloquially known in Korean as Seoul-dae , is a national research university in Seoul, Korea, ranked 24th in the world in publications in an analysis of data from the Science Citation Index, 7th in Asia and 42nd in the world by the 2011 QS World University Rankings...
, and its current focus is on countries which send large number of people to work in Korea. In 2009 it succeeded in getting the city of Bau-Bau
Bau-Bau
Bau-Bau or Bau-bau is the main city on Buton island, Indonesia. Bau-Bau reached the city status on 21 June 2001, based on the Indonesian law number 13, year 2001...
, on Buton Island in Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, Indonesia, to adopt hangul for the Cia-Cia language
Cia-Cia language
The Cia-Cia language , also known as South Buton, is an Austronesian language spoken principally around the town of Bau-Bau on the southern tip of Buton Island off the southeast coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia....
. The society has published a series of hangul Cia-Cia textbooks for use in schools, using an orthography designed by Kim, and are now working on getting hangul accepted by other communities on the island of Buton. They plan on opening a Korean cultural center, and to send Korean-language teachers to Bau-Bau.