The Reasons for The Introduction of Chinese Characters 한자into The Korean Language and Their Role in The Language

Abstract

This article delves into how Chinese characters came to symbolize governance and high culture in Korea, profoundly shaping intellectual life, political structures, and Confucian philosophy. Since Chinese and Korean are linguistically distinct languages, Koreans devised creative methods to adapt Chinese characters to the phonetics and grammar of Korean. Early writing systems such as 이두(Idu), 향찰(Hyanchal), and 구결(Kugyol) are explored as examples of this adaptation. The article also emphasizes the lasting influence of Chinese-derived vocabulary, particularly in law, science, and government, enriching the Korean lexicon and enabling more sophisticated expressions in various intellectual fields. The emergence of 한글(Hangul) in the 15th century, created by 세종대왕(King Sejong the Great), marked a pivotal moment in the history of the Korean language, as it was specifically designed to represent Korean sounds. Despite Hangul’s rise, Chinese characters continued to coexist with it for scholarly and formal purposes. The article also addresses the decline of Hanja in modern Korea, particularly in South Korea, where Hangul has become the dominant writing system, although Hanja remains important for understanding historical texts and certain formal vocabulary.

Keywords

Hanmun (한문), Hyanchal (향찰), Kugyol (구결), Gojoson (고조선), Altaic language family