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Sejong swept his books off the shelf. Rain pelted the world outside. The king opened one of his many works, the spine of it splitting under his force, and read off a page. Nongsa jikseol, methods of cultivation in agriculture. A guidebook to farming in Korea’s geography. Words that could keep his people from famine. He threw it into the rain. It splashed against the mud-coated field, water distorting the ink. A second book followed, sliding against the ground, into a puddle. A third. A fourth. They piled in the courtyard, works he had commissioned to better Korea’s people. To educate the illiterate. Worthless. What good is knowledge that can not be read? Music echoed inside the palace. String instruments, a wavering bamboo flute, the quick beat of a drum. A compliment to the heavy rain. On his way to his chambers, Sejong passed a woman humming along. She sat on the wooden floor with a script out in front of her, writing out poetry, stopping to bow. The king raised a hand in dismissal. The woman’s poems would do nothing for their culture, written in Chinese characters. A waste of paper—none other than the privileged could read it. The words would have no meaning for the common people. He stepped into his chambers. Lamps glowed with dim flames, and rain tapped against the roof. His wife stood, her smile fading at the sight of seeing the king so tired. She hurried over and guided him to sit. Her dress, red and gold, flowed behind her. “What worries you, my husband?” Sejong exhaled. He considered himself a scholar, yet his kingdom could not read or write. “There are voices I will never hear,” he said. “Farmers who don’t have the wealth or status to learn to read. Children who cannot grow into scholars, and workers who can’t write their concerns. My people lack the gift of education, and I lack the means to educate them.” The queen took his hand. A soft, calming touch. “And what shall you do?” she asked. He ran his fingers through his beard. Sejong took time to think, then turned his head to the queen. “My people need a new system of writing, and I will craft one for them myself. A script a wise man can acquaint himself with before the morning is over, and a fool can learn in the space of ten days.” At dawn, Sejong sat alone in a common room. Sunlight shone through the open windows, ethereal motes of dust dancing in the light. Scrolls, ink, and books surrounded him. Panels of artwork—birds and flowers—enveloped the room. Sejong spent the morning reading of phonetics, of alphabets with fifty letters, and others with seventy. Too many relied on complex lettering. He would keep his simple for the busiest of men. Around midday, he painted hundreds of symbols. He started with one stroke of the brush, ㄱ, ㄴ,ㅣ. Two strokes for ㄷ, ㅋ, ㅅ. Three for ㅎ,ㄹ,ㅈ. Never going above four. He hung papers upon the walls, blocking the sunlight. He crossed out any he deemed too complicated. Servants left food outside the door as he worked. By dusk, he walked through the courtyard, stars glistening above. Sejong spoke words to himself. He singled out their noises and pointed out the vowels. Oak, oath, oasis. Yam, yarn, yang. Water, wasp, wary. He pressed fingers into his mouth, feeling his teeth and tongue move at the pronunciations. His lips separated for a shh noise, but closed for ph. Some required more air, others less. The days passed, and a concerned adviser sought him out. “The dynasty will not agree with your choice,” the adviser said. “Knowing Chinese is what puts them above the common man. Your choice to create this script will cause an uproar, your majesty. It could divide our kingdom.” “Let it be so,” Sejong said, looking up from his script, “as I will no longer be cut off from my people. Understand it is not knowledge that ruins the world; it falls to those pointing fingers for selfish gain.” Dozens of sheets lined the walls. Ink stained his hands. Crumpled-up papers littered the room, drafts he deemed failures, too complex. His wife told the council members he had fallen ill, and he needed time to recover as he crafted his script. Sejong spoke until his throat grew sore, attaching noises like ‘ch’ and ‘tah’ to some symbols while discarding others entirely. He kept his work common and crude, strong and tough, easy and efficient. He had to write letters that would last a thousand years. The vowels remained as lines and dots. A silent ‘ㅇ’ shape came before each to signify an open mouth. Consonants followed suit. ‘ㄴ’, an ‘n’ sound, signified the tongue touching the back of one’s teeth. ‘ㄱ’, a ‘kuh’ noise, showed a raised tongue blocking air from one’s throat. Lingual, dental, molar and glottal sounds made up for his script of twenty-eight letters. Seventeen consonants and eleven vowels, blocked together for organization, compared to the thousands needed for Chinese. He wrote short sentences from top to bottom. Candles melted down beside him. Incense burned, releasing the scent of sandalwood throughout his chambers, and Sejong sat cross-legged on the floor. Weeks of work came down to reading aloud. 남자는 인내했다 - The man persevered. The language flowed off his tongue like water. He presented his script to the council at first light. Two charts, one for consonants and the other for vowels, each letter with its phonetic equal written next to it. Easy to follow stroke orders. He sat upon his throne, royals whispering before him. “Chinese characters,” he said, his voice echoing in the throne room, “are incapable of capturing our unique meanings. Many of our common people have no way to express their thoughts and feelings. Out of my sympathy for their difficulties, I have created a set of twenty-eight letters. “They are very easy to learn, and it is my hope that they improve the quality of life of all people.” Not a soul agreed. They shouted their concerns. The Chinese would perceive it as a threat. It would be the end of Confucianism. Korea’s social hierarchy would fall. The scripts would have to be burnt, down to ashes, to prevent an uprising. The dynasty erased the twenty-eight letters and deemed them a worthless use of time. Yet, for the good of his people, Sejong persevered. He taught the language to any who wanted to learn. In turn, they carried it throughout the land. Women found their voices, teaching children the simplicity of the symbols. Men stood straight, proud to have a language of their own. Monks wrote prayers in the sand. Merchants kept records of their stock, and artists could sign their names. The letters birthed poets, playwrights, and philosophers. Astronomers learned to write the names of constellations. Winemakers created labels. Apothecaries devised written names for their medicines. Sejong ordered for his books to be rewritten. The dynasty failed to suppress the flow of knowledge—Korea’s illiteracy ceased to exist as the letters blossomed within the country. The script billowed in use after Sejong’s death, four years later, as the great king ushered his people into a golden age of culture and literature. A land where every soul could read and write. Where all could learn the teachings of the wise. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Report October 11, 2021 16:04 ALEX SULTAN 21 submissions Follow You must sign up or log in to submit a comment. 45 LIKES 44 COMMENTS 7 points Alex Sultan 16:04 Oct 11, 2021 first time trying historical fiction. It is a challenging genre. I tried my absolute best to write a winner, and it was a lot more difficult than I thought it'd be. Also, while this story is a bit dramatized, it is true. Sejong is the founder of the Korean alphabet. All feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for reading - 읽어줘서 고맙습니다 Update: It was a nice surprise to wake up and see this win. I'm glad I could bring light to Korean history. Reply 1 points David Hubber 19:58 Oct 21, 2021 Very well written story. It is true that the Korean script is quite easy to learn. I was in Korea 10 years ago for a 2-week work visit and easily learned it in that time and even started to understand some basic road signs. Unfortunately as soon as I got home I forgot it all almost as quickly >.< Really hope to read more of your stories in the future :-) Reply Show 0 replies 1 points Cory Sinnott 15:52 Oct 22, 2021 Terrific story, well done! Reply Show 0 replies Show 2 replies 5 points Keya Jadav 13:57 Oct 12, 2021 hey Alex, All your previous east asian stories have excelled without any flaw and this too follows through. Everything is well elaborated and beautifully described. I like that even after so many opposing voices, Sejong didn't give up. It is a brilliant story. Keep writing :> Reply 1 points Keya Jadav 15:20 Oct 22, 2021 OH MY GOD!!!! Alex!! I cannot believe this. I told you, I told you. Wohhooo! Lot many congratulations!! 🥳🥳 I am so excited and happy for you! Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply 5 points Dorsa S. 16:42 Oct 11, 2021 this such an amazing story! gosh i love it so much. :) historical fiction is a difficult genre to tackle, but you did it nicely. i could vividly picture this; it's wonderful. my favourite part has to be, "The letters birthed poets, playwrights, and philosophers. Astronomers learned to write the names of constellations. Winemakers created labels. Apothecaries devised written names for their medicines." i don't have specific critique for this story, so well done! Reply 4 points Alex Sultan 17:41 Oct 11, 2021 Thank you, this is such a kind comment :) I was worried about how people would see this story, and it is reassuring to know you liked it. I'm so used to thriller and fantasy stories that writing this was a complete mix-up for me. Thanks for reading. Reply 4 points Dorsa S. 20:39 Oct 11, 2021 you're such an amazing storyteller in that genre, my favourite has to be "a thousand years in tokyo" and "mistweaver." but it's good to broaden and write in a genre we won't normally write in! i have to try it sometime. Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply Show 1 reply 4 points Jon Casper 15:51 Oct 13, 2021 Very enjoyable read! I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Sejong's deliberation over every detail of the new language. For example the parts describing the relationship between the characters and the mouth/tongue position. The prose is quite poetic and sensory, and it has a strong message of facing adversity. Nice work! Like Katharine, this line was difficult to parse for me: "Understand that knowledge does not ruin the world; it falls to those pointing fingers for selfish gain." I saw in your comment that it's a direct quote so I appre... Reply 3 points Alex Sultan 18:03 Oct 13, 2021 Thank you, Jon. I put hours into research for this piece - I didn't want to get anything wrong, and I'm glad you liked it. I'm going to brainstorm ways to fix up the clarity of the quote before the week ends. Thanks for pointing it out and reading it through. Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply 4 points Evynne Eradost 04:52 Oct 12, 2021 I really love this story! It’s not for everybody, but I especially love that your story spanned time (those single-scene overly ambiguous ones aren’t really my thing). Your style is unique and engaging, with a perfect mix of vivid descriptions and quick, sharp action. Really well done! Reply Show 0 replies 4 points Tommie Michele 02:20 Oct 12, 2021 I love this story! Historical fiction is pretty far beyond my wheelhouse, but it's clearly within yours. I can tell you've done your research and you make the story compelling and detailed without it being an information dump. The beginning I found especially compelling--your story drew me in from the get-go. Nice work! --Tommie Michele Reply Show 0 replies 4 points Katharine Widdows 20:20 Oct 11, 2021 Hi Alex, I really like the way this is written, it's got a poetic quality and is very atmospheric. You have word count to play with so if you wanted to you could describe the setting a bit more, give it some additional local feel. I'd like to know what the king's room is like where he works for example. What the queen looks like maybe? What they characters are wearing. With it being a very different culture from my own I'd be interested to learn a bit more about it. Maybe you could do some additional world building? You will have to fo... Reply 4 points Alex Sultan 22:22 Oct 11, 2021 Thank you! I always enjoy writing about Korea, and I plan to write more about them. I've implemented the changes you've suggested. As for adding more, I don't want to add too much(I'm afraid of this story dragging on) but I like the idea of a couple more sentences on Korean imagery and culture. I'll see what I can do. As for the history, you are forgiven :) This is a true story! A bit dramatized for the purpose of creative writing, but Sejong the Great was a real king in the 1400s, and he did create a 28 letter alphabet for his people, who ... Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply 4 points Katharine Widdows 20:09 Oct 11, 2021 Hi Alex, A few thoughts: His wife stood, her smile turning to worry (a frown) at the sight of the tired king. It feels like a smile is a thing you can see and should turn into another thing you can see. Also avoiding worry here prevents repetition in the following paragraph. Children who can not (cannot) grow into scholars, and workers who can’t write their concerns. Understand that knowledge does not ruin the world; it falls to those pointing fingers for selfish gain.” - what is "it" in this line? I'm a bit confused. is it knowledge... Reply Show 0 replies 4 points Annalisa D. 18:10 Oct 11, 2021 This is a really beautifully written story with a nice, inspirational message. I think a lot of people will value it and enjoy reading it. I think historical fiction is one of my least liked genres, so I probably can't offer much for insightful genre advice, but I can say that I did really enjoy reading this so it seems like a better than usual example of the genre to me at least. Reply Show 0 replies 3 points Sikkle Sikkle 21:13 Oct 13, 2021 To read this story is to admit defeat in any writing contest. Well done. Reply 2 points Alex Sultan 22:36 Oct 14, 2021 Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. I hope it does well in the competition - I like writing about Korean culture and would want to shine more light on it. Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply 3 points Kevin Broccoli 20:42 Oct 13, 2021 The opening line of this is fantastic. Reply Show 0 replies 3 points Kat Davis 19:08 Oct 13, 2021 This was such an interesting story! Historical Fiction is hard to write and if this was your first attempt then BRAVO. I loved the part you wrote, "music echoed inside the palace. String instruments, a wavering bamboo flute, the quick beat of a drum. A compliment to the heavy rain" - that imagery was very nice. Good job and keep writing! Reply 2 points Alex Sultan 22:48 Oct 14, 2021 Thank you! Korean history is one of my favourites, and I definitely plan to write more on it at some point. I appreciate the kind words :) Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply 3 points Katharine Widdows 18:41 Oct 13, 2021 Hi Alex, I've had a re-read. It's great. I just have a few comments: She sat on the wooden floor(s) with a script out in front of her, writing out poetry, stopping to bow. Her dress, (the colour of) red and gold, flowed behind her. - OR Her dress flowed, red and gold, behind her. He ran (his) fingers through his beard. Sejong ordered (for) his books to be rewritten. I think it's really good. Reply 3 points Alex Sultan 18:50 Oct 13, 2021 I'm thankful for your help. I was hesitant to write this story at first, but I'm glad it worked out and I could shine a light on Korean history. I really like how polished the story feels now. Thanks again 😁 Reply 3 points Katharine Widdows 19:23 Oct 13, 2021 You might want to consider tagging it as "creative non fiction" as well as historical fiction? Just a thought. Reply Show 0 replies 2 points Katharine Widdows 07:41 Oct 18, 2021 Hi Alex, I've posted a draft of this week's story if you feel like taking a look. If you check the comments I've noted a few things I may add in later. I'm actually considering a complete rewrite because the story itself doesn't feel strong enough for the premise. Any ideas welcome. Reply Show 0 replies Show 2 replies Show 1 reply 3 points Kathleen `Woods 20:27 Oct 11, 2021 This was an interesting portrayal of grammatical simplification, it's often a natural process, but it does sometimes occur as a result of the perseverance of specific well-placed individuals. I can't say I've read anything with this particular historical figure as a character but it does definitely fit the prompt. Thanks for Writing! Reply 2 points Alex Sultan 17:51 Oct 13, 2021 Thank you for reading :) I knew right away from the prompts I wanted to put Korea's history to light. I did a ton of research for it, trying to have it sound as close to the history as possible, and I'm glad you liked it. Reply 2 points Kathleen `Woods 05:56 Oct 14, 2021 It's always fun to make use of one's research. I've never gone this far with it but it's a pretty nice backing for almost any variety of fiction. Were there any anachronisms you had to watch out for? Reply 2 points Alex Sultan 22:01 Oct 14, 2021 Not really. When I started writing after the hours of research, I got pretty immersed and didn't run into any time period-based issues. My Korean might be off for the sentence '남자는 인내했다 - The man persevered ' since their grammar was most likely different in the 1400s compared to nowadays, but I think it's fine. Reply 2 points Kathleen `Woods 02:48 Oct 15, 2021 cool, I just know that looking back at historical records can come with some interesting biases to work around and it can sometimes be interesting to contemplate. it's good that your experience of it was unburdened. Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply Show 1 reply Show 1 reply Show 1 reply 2 points Faith Ogedegbe 10:53 Oct 21, 2021 I really love the composition of this story.keep soaring. Reply Show 0 replies 2 points Bruce Friedman 19:43 Oct 20, 2021 Superb job on this Alex. When I lived in Seoul in 1971, I heard many stories about how hangul was an alphabet created by a committee. The newspapers at that time had news stories written in hangul for the common man and book reviews in Chinese characters for the elite. No sure if that practice continue today. One small suggestion. In the early paragraphs you use the term "king." I think it would be more understandable to capitalize the word to King to refer to Sejong. Reply 1 points Alex Sultan 09:43 Oct 21, 2021 Thank you, Bruce. I'm glad you enjoyed reading it through. It's cool to hear you lived in Seoul, and can relate to this story in a way. There are a couple of theories on how Hangul was created, with one being Sejong commissioning scholars, but I went with the one where he wrote it alone - I believe it is the most popular and worked well for a short story. Your suggestion is great here - I'd forgotten the rule while writing the story. Thanks for bringing it up - I'll remember it for the next one I write. 감사합니다 Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply 2 points B.J. Hall 00:25 Oct 20, 2021 This is such important and interesting subject matter! What a creative way to tell this story. Well done, Alex! Reply Show 0 replies 2 points Lee Kendrick 21:02 Oct 19, 2021 A complex story. Very well written about an alphabet and words created by Sejong to making it easier for the less educated in the Korean society to read and write. Interesting story. Reply Show 0 replies 2 points K. Antonio 11:23 Oct 19, 2021 I really enjoyed the prose here. As someone who's getting a degree in language I found the descriptions of the Korean alphabet and how the sound was produced to be very interesting and well-written. I liked how I learned something in this piece, it flows nicely between being sentimental while providing historical info. Reply 1 points Alex Sultan 09:52 Oct 21, 2021 Thank you for reading! I think the most challenging part of writing this was balancing how much info I wanted, and how much to leave out. I didn't want it to be an essay on the Korean alphabet, but at the same time, I did want readers to learn something. I'm glad it worked out. Best of luck with your language degree 😁 Reply 1 points K. Antonio 14:46 Oct 22, 2021 WOOHOOOOO! YOU WON. CONGRATZZZZZ 🎉🎉 Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply Show 1 reply 2 points Hope Monaghan 18:29 Oct 18, 2021 This was a wonderful read, captivated me from the first sentence. I especially like the ending of how you connected how amazing the language was to let new voices be heard. Thank you for this story. Reply 1 points Alex Sultan 18:52 Oct 18, 2021 Thanks for reading. I like the ending a lot, too. Korean history is one of my favourites, and I had a lot of fun bringing it to light. I'm glad you liked it :) Reply Show 0 replies Show 1 reply Load more comments Find the perfect editor for your next book Over 1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy, come meet them. 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