Sejong the Great

Sejong (* May 6, 1397 in Jeonju, South Korea today, † May 18, 1450 ) was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty ( 1393-1910 ) in Korea.

Life

Sejong the Great was born in 1397 under the name Yi Do as the son of King Taejong ( 1367-1422 ) and Queen Won- gyong in Jeonju. As a child, he was quiet and inquisitive. From 1412 he held the title Prince Chungnyeong ( 충녕 대군 ;忠 宁大君).

1418 as Sejong was 21 years old, his father resigned in his favor. He is regarded as wisest and most talented king in Korean history, is next to King Gwanggaeto ( 광개토왕 ) to the only two kings who were honored by the words " the Great".

Since Sejong was very interested in all scientific fields, he founded Jiphyeonjeon ( 집현전 ;集贤 殿), the " Hall of the Meritorious " - to spread a circle of scholars, whose purpose was to support talent, Confucianism in the kingdom, and the to promote scientific research. A place in this county was very popular as the researchers had the opportunity to devote himself undisturbed their studies. Some members were famous scholars.

Sejong himself was active in research organizations and together with his scholars, he developed many innovations. The most famous of these was the development of the Korean alphabet Hangeul in 1443rd This was published in 1446. " The True Record of King Sejong " ( Sejong sillok ) is a chronicle of the day's events, which also contains two sections with music alongside geography and description of ceremonies. It is the oldest source for Korean music, it contains notations to melody, lyrics and rhythm. It describes the Confucian ritual music a- ak and detail the music for the dance accompaniment and popular music on ( dangak and hyangak ) palace.

Sejong died in 1450 and was buried in Neungseo -myeon, Yeoju, in the province of Gyeonggi -do.

UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize

Since 1990, the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize to UNESCO awards for " exceptional projects or programs in the area of basic education and literacy ."