Editing Hanja (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of Korean}}

===Introduction of literary Chinese to Korea===
[[File:Chusa-Silsa_gusijang.jpg|thumb|left|The calligraphy of Korean scholar, poet and painter [[Kim Jeong-hui]] ({{Korean|hangul=김정희|hanja=金正喜|labels=no}}) of the early nineteenth century.  Like most educated Koreans from the Three Kingdom period until the fall of the Joseon dynasty in 1910, Gim Jeong-hui composed most of his works in ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'' or [[literary Chinese]].]]

There is traditionally no accepted date for when [[literary Chinese]] ({{Korean|hangul=한문|hanja=漢文|rr=hanmun|labels=no}}) written in [[Chinese characters]] ({{Korean|hangul=한자|hanja=漢字|rr=hanja|labels=no}}) entered Korea. Early Chinese dynastic histories, the only sources for very early Korea, do not mention a Korean writing system. During the 3rd century BC, Chinese migrations into the peninsula occurred due to war in northern China and the earliest archaeological evidence of Chinese writing appearing in Korea is dated to this period. A large number of inscribed [[knife money]] from pre-[[Lelang Commandery|Lelang]] sites along the [[Yalu River]] have been found. A sword dated to 222 BC with Chinese engraving was unearthed in [[Pyongyang]].{{sfn|Ledyard|1998|p=32-33}}

From 108 BC to 313 AD, the [[Han dynasty]] established the [[Four Commanderies of Han]] in northern Korea and institutionalized the Chinese language.<ref name="Taylor">Taylor, I. & Taylor, M. M. (2014). ''[[Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese: Revised Edition]] .'' (pp. 172–174.) Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins North America. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qaK2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 172]</ref> According to the ''[[Samguk sagi]]'', [[Goguryeo]] had ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'' from the beginning of its existence, which starts in 37 BC.{{sfn|Ledyard|1998|p=34}} It also says that the king of Goguryeo composed a poem in 17 BC. The [[Gwanggaeto Stele]], dated to 414, is the earliest securely dated relic bearing ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'' inscriptions. ''{{transliteration|ko|Hanmun}}'' became commonplace in Goguryeo during the 5th and 6th centuries and according to the ''[[Book of Zhou]]'', the Chinese classics were available in Goguryeo by the end of the 6th century. The ''Samguk sagi'' mentions written records in [[Baekje]] beginning in 375 and Goguryeo annals prior to 600.{{sfn|Ledyard|1998|p=34-36}} Japanese chronicles mention Baekje people as teachers of ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}''. According to the ''[[Book of Liang]]'', the people of [[Silla]] did not have writing in the first half of the 6th century but this may have been only referring to agreements and contracts, represented by notches on wood. The ''[[Bei Shi]]'', covering the period 386–618, says that the writing, armour, and weapons in Silla were the same as those in China. The ''Samguk sagi'' says that records were kept in Silla starting in 545.{{sfn|Ledyard|1998|p=36-37}}

Some western writers claimed that knowledge of Chinese entered Korea with [[Korean Buddhism|the spread of Buddhism]], which occurred around the 4th century.<ref name="Taylor"/> Traditionally Buddhism is believed to have been introduced to Goguryeo in 372, Baekje in 384, and Silla in 527.{{sfn|Ledyard|1998|p=37}}

Another major factor in the adoption of ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'' was the adoption of the {{Transliteration|ko|[[gwageo]]}}, copied from the Chinese [[imperial examination]], open to all freeborn men.  Special schools were set up for the well-to-do and the nobility across Korea to train new scholar officials for civil service.  Adopted by Silla and Goryeo, the ''{{Transliteration|ko|gwageo}}'' system was maintained by Goryeo until after the unification of Korea at the end of the nineteenth century.  The scholarly elite began learning the ''hanja'' by memorizing the ''[[Thousand Character Classic]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=천자문|hanja=千字文|rr=Cheonjamun|labels=no}}), ''[[Three Character Classic]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=삼자경|hanja=三字經|rr=Samja Gyeong|labels=no}}) and ''[[Hundred Family Surnames]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=백가성|hanja=百家姓|rr=Baekga Seong|labels=no}}).  Passage of the ''{{Transliteration|ko|gwageo}}'' required the thorough ability to read, interpret and compose passages of works such as the ''[[Analects]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=논어|hanja=論語|rr=Non-eo|labels=no}}), ''[[Great Learning]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=대학|hanja=大學|rr=Daehak|labels=no}}), ''[[Doctrine of the Mean]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=중용|hanja=中庸|rr=Jung-yong|labels=no}}), ''[[Mencius (book)|Mencius]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=맹자|hanja=孟子|rr=Maengja|labels=no}}), ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=시경|hanja=詩經|rr=Sigyeong|labels=no}}), ''[[Book of Documents]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=서경|hanja=書經|rr=Seogyeong|labels=no}}), ''[[I Ching|Classic of Changes]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=역경|hanja=易經|rr=Yeokgyeong|labels=no}}), ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=춘추|hanja=春秋|rr=Chunchu|labels=no}}) and ''[[Book of Rites]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=예기|hanja=禮記|rr=Yegi|labels=no}}).  Other important works include ''[[the Art of War]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=손자병법|hanja=孫子兵法|rr=Sonja Byeongbeop|labels=no}}), ''[[Wen Xuan|Selections of Refined Literature]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=문선|hanja=文選|rr=Munseon|labels=no}}), etc.

The Korean scholars were very proficient in literary Chinese.  The craftsmen and scholars of [[Baekje]] were renowned in Japan, and were eagerly sought as teachers due to their proficiency in ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}''.  Korean scholars also composed all diplomatic records, government records, scientific writings, religious literature and much poetry in ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'', demonstrating that the Korean scholars were not just reading Chinese works but were actively composing their own.  Well-known examples of [[Chinese-language literature in Korea]] include ''[[Samguk sagi]]'', ''[[Samguk yusa]]'', ''[[Geumo Sinhwa]]'', ''[[The Cloud Dream of the Nine]]'', ''[[Akhak gwebeom]]'', ''[[Hong Gildong jeon]]'' and ''[[Domundaejak]]''.

===Adaptation of ''hanja'' to Korean===
The Chinese language, however, was quite different from the Korean language, consisting of terse, often monosyllabic words with a strictly analytic, SVO structure in stark contrast to the generally polysyllabic, very synthetic, SOV structure, with various grammatical endings that encoded person, levels of politeness and case found in Korean.  Despite the adoption of literary Chinese as the written language, Chinese never replaced Korean as the spoken language, even amongst the scholars who had immersed themselves in its study.

The first attempts to make literary Chinese texts more accessible to Korean readers were ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'' passages written in Korean word order.  This would later develop into the ''[[gugyeol]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=구결|hanja=口訣|labels=no}}) or 'separated phrases,' system.  Chinese texts were broken into meaningful blocks, and in the spaces were inserted ''hanja'' used to represent the sound of native Korean grammatical endings.  As literary Chinese was very terse, leaving much to be understood from context, the insertion of occasional verbs and grammatical markers helped to clarify the meaning.  For instance, the ''hanja'' '{{lang|ko|爲}}' was used for its native Korean gloss whereas '{{lang|ko|尼}}' was used for its Sino-Korean pronunciation, and combined into '{{lang|ko|爲尼}}' and read {{Transliteration|ko|hani}} ({{lang|ko|하니}}), 'to do (and so).'<ref>Li, Y. (2014). ''The Chinese Writing System in Asia: An Interdisciplinary Perspective.'' Chapter 10. New York, NY: Routledge Press.</ref> In Chinese, however, the same characters are read in Mandarin as the expression {{Transliteration|cmn|wéi ní}}, meaning 'becoming a nun'. This is a typical example of Gugyeol words where the radical '{{linktext|爲}}' is read in Korean for its meaning ({{Transliteration|ko|hă}}—'to do'), whereas the suffix '{{linktext|尼}}', {{Transliteration|ko|ni}} (meaning 'nun'), is used phonetically. Special symbols were sometimes used to aid in the reordering of words in an approximation of Korean grammar.  It was similar to the {{lang|ja-latn|[[kanbun]]}} ({{lang|ja|漢文}}) system developed in Japan to render Chinese texts.  The system was not a translation of Chinese into Korean, but an attempt to make Korean speakers knowledgeable in ''hanja'' to overcome the difficulties in interpreting Chinese texts.  Although it was developed by scholars of the early [[Goryeo]] Kingdom (918–1392), {{Transliteration|ko|gugyeol}} was of particular importance during the Joseon period, extending into the first decade of the twentieth century, since all civil servants were required to be able to read, translate and interpret Confucian texts and commentaries.<ref name="Nam">Nam, P. (1994). 'On the Relations between Hyangchal and Kwukyel' in ''The Theoretical Issues in Korean Linguistics''. Kim-Renaud, Y. (ed.) (pp. 419–424.) Stanford, CA: Leland Stanford University Press.</ref>

[[File:Korean book-Jikji-Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Seon Masters-1377.jpg|thumb|right|The Korean ''Baegun Hwasang Chorok Buljo [[Jikji]] Simche Yojeol'' ({{Korean|hangul=백운화상초록불조직지심체요절|hanja=白雲和尙抄錄佛祖直指心體要節|labels=no}}) or roughly 'Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings Copied by Monk Baegun' is the oldest example of a book printed with moveable type and was printed in Korea in 1377, but is written in literary Chinese.]]
The first attempt at transcribing Korean in ''hanja'' was the ''[[idu script|idu]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=이두|hanja=吏讀|labels=no}}), or 'official reading,' system that began to appear after 500 AD.  In this system, the ''hanja'' were chosen for their equivalent native Korean gloss.  For example, the ''hanja'' '{{lang|ko|不冬}}' signifies 'no winter' or 'not winter' and has the formal Sino-Korean pronunciation of '{{lang|ko|부동}}' {{Transliteration|ko|budong}}, similar to [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]] {{Transliteration|cmn|bù dōng}}.  Instead, it was read as {{Transliteration|ko|andeul}} '{{lang|ko|안들}}' which is the Middle Korean pronunciation of the characters' native gloss and is the ancestor to modern {{Transliteration|ko|anneunda}} '{{lang|ko|않는다}}', 'do not' or 'does not.'  The various {{Transliteration|ko|idu}} conventions were developed in the Goryeo period but were particularly associated with the ''[[chungin|jung-in]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=중인|hanja=中人|labels=no}}), the upper middle class of the early Joseon period.<ref name="Hannas">Hannas, W. C. (1997). ''Asia's Orthographic Dilemma''. O`ahu, HI: University of Hawai`i Press. pp. 55–64.</ref>

A subset of ''{{Transliteration|ko|idu}}'' was known as ''[[hyangchal]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=향찰|hanja=鄕札|labels=no}}), 'village notes,' and was a form of ''{{Transliteration|ko|idu}}'' particularly associated with the ''[[hyangga]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=향가|hanja=鄕歌|labels=no}}) the old poetry compilations and some new creations preserved in the first half of the Goryeo period when its popularity began to wane.<ref name="Taylor"/>  In the {{Transliteration|ko|hyangchal}} or 'village letters' system, there was free choice in how a particular ''hanja'' was used.  For example, to indicate the topic of Princess Seonhwa, a daughter of King [[Jinpyeong of Silla]] was recorded as '{{lang|ko|善化公主主隱}}' in ''{{Transliteration|ko|hyangchal}}'' and was read as ({{lang|ko|선화공주님은}}), ''seonhwa gongju-nim-eun'' where '{{lang|ko|善化公主}}' is read in Sino-Korean, as it is a Sino-Korean name and the Sino-Korean term for 'princess' was already adopted as a loan word.  The ''hanja'' '{{lang|ko|主隱}},' however, was read according to their native pronunciation but was not used for its literal meaning signifying 'the prince steals' but to the native postpositions '{{lang|ko|님}}' {{Transliteration|ko|nim}}, the honorific marker used after professions and titles, and '{{lang|ko|은}}' {{Transliteration|ko|eun}}, the topic marker. In [[Korean mixed script|mixed script]], this would be rendered as '{{lang|ko|善化公主님은}}'.<ref name="Hannas"/><ref name="Nam"/>

Hanja was the sole means of writing Korean until King [[Sejong the Great]] invented and tried to promote [[Hangul]] in the 15th century. Even after the invention of Hangul, however, most Korean scholars continued to write in ''{{transliteration|ko|hanmun}}'', although Hangul did see considerable popular use. ''{{Transliteration|ko|Idu}}'' and its ''{{Transliteration|ko|hyangchal}}'' variant were mostly replaced by mixed-script writing with ''hangul'' although ''{{Transliteration|ko|idu}}'' was not officially discontinued until 1894 when reforms abolished its usage in administrative records of civil servants. Even with ''{{Transliteration|ko|idu}}'', most literature and official records were still recorded in literary Chinese until 1910.<ref name="Hannas"/><ref name="Nam"/>

=== Decline of Hanja ===
{{See also|Korean language and computers|Keyboard layout}}
The [[Korean mixed script|Hangul-Hanja mixed script]] was a commonly used means of writing, and Hangul effectively replaced Hanja in official and scholarly writing only in the 20th century. Hangŭl exclusive writing has been used concurrently in Korea after the decline of literary Chinese. The Mixed script could be commonly found in non-fiction writing, newspapers, etc., until the enacting of President [[Park Chung Hee]]'s 5-Year Plan for Hangul Exclusivity ({{Korean|hangul=한글전용 5개년 계획안|hanja=한글專用 5個年 計劃案|rr=Hangeuljeonyong Ogaenyeon Gyehoegan|labels=no}})<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date= |script-title=ko:문자 생활과 한글 |url=https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1996_2/1996_0205.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325081213/https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1996_2/1996_0205.pdf |archive-date=Mar 25, 2023 |access-date=|website=}}</ref> in 1968 banned the use and teaching of Hanja in public schools, as well as forbade its use in the military, to eliminate Hanja in writing by 1972 through legislative and executive means. However, due to public backlash, in 1972, Park's government allowed for the teaching of Hanja in special classes but maintained a ban on Hanja use in textbooks and other learning materials outside of the classes. This reverse step, however, was optional so the availability of Hanja education was dependent on the school one went to.

Another reason for the decline is found in the [[Korean keyboard|Hangul typewriter, and the keyboard.]] The push for better Hangul typewriters mainly began in 1949, but as it was long before the Hanja ban, government institutions did not prefer typewriters altogether as they could not write in Hanja nor Mixed script. Kong Byung Wo's notable ''Sebeolsik'' type first appeared in March 1949, jointly winning second place in the ''Joseon Balmyong Jangryohoe''<nowiki/>'s ({{Korean|hangul=조선발명장려회|labels=no}}) Hangul type contest, and Kim Dong Hoon's typewriter winning joint 3rd. During the 50s and 60s, alongside the Korean government's support for typewriting, new Hangul typewriters were developed, distributed, and adopted. Hangul type with both horizontal writing and ''moa-sseugi'' (모아쓰기; the style of Hangul where Hangul consonants and vowels mix in together to form a full letter, which is the default style being used today) first appeared in the same period as government policy.<ref>김유진. "한글 타자기의 재질특성 및 보존방안 연구." 국내석사학위논문 한국전통문화대학교 문화유산전문대학원, 2023. 충청남도</ref> With further adoption, during the 1970s, even when Hanja and mixed script were still used widely in society both as a writing system and as a style option, Koreans mostly gave up on mixed script at least in government documents and memorandums;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theme.archives.go.kr/next/koreaOfRecord/typewriter.do | title=기록으로 만나는 대한민국 > 생활 > 타자기 }}</ref> The use of Hanja in type hindered the speed of writing and printing compared to only-Hangul usage, especially after the advent of the ''Sebeolsik layout'' ({{Korean|hangul=세벌식 자판|hanja=세벌式 字板|labels=no}}).

Park's Hanja ban was not formally lifted until 1992 under the government of [[Kim Young-sam]]. In 1999, the government of [[Kim Dae-jung]] actively promoted Hanja by placing it on signs on the road, at bus stops, and in subways. In 1999, Han Mun was reintroduced as a school elective and in 2001 the Hanja Proficiency Test ({{Korean|hangul=한자능력검정시험|hanja=漢字能力檢定試驗|rr=Hanja Neungnyeok Geomjeong Siheom|labels=no}}) was introduced. In 2005, an older law, the Law Concerning Hangul Exclusivity ({{Korean|hangul=한글전용에 관한 법률|hanja=한글專用에 關한 法律|rr=Hangeuljeonyonge Gwanhan Beomnyul|labels=no}}) was repealed as well. In 2013 all elementary schools in Seoul started teaching Hanja. However, the result is that Koreans who were educated in this period having never been formally educated in Hanja are unable to use them, and thus the use of Hanja has plummeted in orthography until the modern day. Hanja is now very rarely used and is almost only used for abbreviations in newspaper headlines (e.g. {{Lang|ko|中}} for China, {{Lang|ko|韓}} for Korea, {{Lang|ko|美}} for the United States, {{Lang|ko|日}} for Japan, etc.), for clarification in text where a word might be confused for another due to homophones (e.g. {{Lang|ko|이 사장}} ({{Lang|ko|李 社長}}) vs. {{Lang|ko|이사장}} ({{Lang|ko|理事長}})), or for stylistic use such as the {{Lang|ko|辛}} ({{Korean|hangul=신라면|hanja=辛拉麵|labels=no}}) used on [[Shin Ramyun|Shin Ramyŏn]] packaging.

Since June 1949, Hanja has not officially been used in North Korea, and, in addition, most texts are now commonly written horizontally instead of vertically. Many words borrowed from Chinese have also been replaced in the North with native Korean words, due to the North's policy of [[Linguistic purism in Korean|linguistic purism]]. Nevertheless, a large number of Chinese-borrowed words are still widely used in the North (although written in Hangul), and Hanja still appear in special contexts, such as recent North Korean [[dictionaries]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2003/200305/news05/29.htm#6 | title= New Korean-English Dictionary published | date= 2003-05-28 | publisher= [[Korean Central News Agency]] | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071012114938/http://kcna.co.jp/item/2003/200305/news05/29.htm#6 | archive-date= 2007-10-12 }}</ref> The replacement has been less total in South Korea where, although usage has declined over time, some Hanja remain in common usage in some contexts.