Development of “Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0,” a Digital Font for the globalization of Hangeul

Last year, Professor Lee developed “Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0” for the globalization of Hangeul. The Hangeul Jaemin Type is a project led by Jae-Gahb Park, an emeritus professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine; Min Kim, a professor at the Graduate School of Techno Design, Kookmin University; and Mi-ae Kim, a professor at the Department of Visual Arts, Suwon Women’s University.
“The creation principles of Hangeul can be applicable to accurately express the pronunciation of any language in the world. We utilized all the characters used at that time. We created Jeongeum Type with the phonetic writing system for Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0 by utilizing the stroke principles used in Hunminjeongeum as well as the symbols used in the doubled writing notations such as ‘ㅸ.’” Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0 was created by utilizing as many characters as possible present at the time when Hunminjeongeum was created. This invention revived archaic letters, such as half dental sounds, old ieung light hieut, and lower a, which are not currently used. Hangeul was created to describe the pronunciation of any language in the world based on the creation principles of Hunminjeongeum. Hangeul is a highly extensible character set. Five basic consonants, “ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅅ, and ㅇ” (velar, alveolar, labial, dental, and laryngeal sounds), are extended under the stroke principles, and vowel letters are produced in combination with three basic units, “•, ㅡ, ㅣ”, representing heaven, earth, and person.
The syllabic writing system is, in principle, applied to Hangeul. However, he thought that the “phonetic writing system” would be essential for the globalization of Hangeul. Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0 can accommodate any language. Professor Lee explains that this could be distributed to any nation or country that intends to create its own writing system. This is because Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0 could be appropriate for any nation struggling to denote its language with the syllabic writing system.
“In South Korea, Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0 could be utilized as an auxiliary character. English dictionaries utilize an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script to describe pronunciation. The description of English pronunciation with Hangeul would be more advantageous for Korean learners to learn English pronunciation. Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0 was created to replace the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). This tool will be useful for Koreans to learn the pronunciation of any foreign language and for writing the pronunciation of people with disabilities.”

The Cia-Cia people who use Hangeul, the Calling Water in Distributing Hangeul

Professor Lee has a long-standing interest in the globalization of Hangeul. In 2009, he also achieved the success of the Cia-Cia people living in the city of Bau-Bau, Sulawesi, Indonesia, in adopting Hangeul as their official writing system. When did he, a professor of linguistics and a phonetician in pronunciation, decide to take on the challenge of globalizing Hangeul? His goal of “globalizing Hangeul” began during his undergraduate years. A college student, he still remembers Professor Woong Heo, who taught him linguistics. Professor Heo constantly emphasized to his students that “Hangeul is a world-class cultural heritage.” Professor Lee could not forget his teacher’s indication that Hangeul,a scientific and excellent writing system, had not spread overseas.
“I made a resolution to spread Hangeul to even a small tribe totaling 10 people in Africa. When I became a professor, my advisor created a Hangeul writing system for the Lahu people in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and taught them Hangeul. I was able to witness the potential for the globalization of Hangeul.”
Despite its ambitious start, that incomplete Hangeul distribution project has heavily burdened him. After finding his solution, the first success was the “Cia-Cia People Hangeul Distribution Project’. “Hangeul is based on the syllabic writing system by combining consonants and vowels in a syllable block. Thus, Hangeul may have shortcomings in attempting to convert English, which has a different phonetic and syllable structure, into Korean. Take the word ‘coffee’ as an example. Because there is no difference in Korean writing between the pronunciation of ‘f’ and ‘p’ in English, both sounds are written as ‘ㅍ.’ In the case of another English word, ‘strike,’ the three consecutive consonants at its beginning are written as ‘스트라이크’ by adding the unnecessary vowel ‘ㅡ (eu)’ in between.”

The language of the Cia-Cia people had a syllable structure similar to that of the Korean language and was suitable for writing in Hangeul. In this respect, Professor Lee judged that this “Cia-Cia People Hangeul Distribution Project” would be workable, and he began its officialization prior to launching this project. He sent a memorandum of understanding and an official document to the city of Bau-Bau, which is located on Buton Island, where most of the Cia-Cia people live. A reply reached him in less than two weeks, and he could launch the project to distribute Hangeul in a public manner.
“The proactive support of Mayor Amirul Tamim, who felt the need to preserve the language of the minority, allowed us to invite Mr. Abidin, a teacher of the Cia-Cia people, to South Korea and examine the pronunciation system of the Cia-Cia language for one year. Starting in July 2009, my team was able to teach Hangeul at Karya Baru Elementary School in the Sorawolio district, where Cia-Cia people live, through a Korean textbook, Bahasa Cia-Cia.” As described thus far, he created a Korean language textbook for the Cia-Cia people, an Indonesian minority group with no writing system, in 2009. This case was considered a true “globalization of Hangeul” that implemented the writing system of the minority group’s language in Hangeul.

Education in the Age of Generative AI: The Need for K-Education Content

Last May, Professor Lee gave a keynote speech at an academic event on the theme of “Education in the Age of AI with K-Education Content.” As AI becomes dominant across all fields, it has become an indispensable topic in the field of education.
“Thus far, we have focused solely on effectively teaching the curriculum by incorporating AI into education. In addition, we are witnessing the encounter between AI and South Korean education content as a competitive edge. As achieved with K-Pop, I made a presentation promoting the creation and active spread of K-education content overseas.”
In particular, he declared that the most urgent places for AI-based education in the AI age are underdeveloped countries. The internet has spread worldwide, and smartphone use is gradually increasing in Africa. A new world in which anyone can receive proper education via AI technology at any time, only on smartphones or tablets without a face-to-face setting, has emerged.
“In the AI age, it is crucial to prevent minority languages from becoming extinct. Language represents the identity of the ethnic group that uses that language. Just as the identity of Koreans is rooted in the Korean language, the preservation of minority languages is a key issue. Language embodies the indigenous wisdom, history, and culture of the people who use that language. Preserving minority languages is essential for protecting the culture and history of that minority group. I hope that AI technology will help make education for minority languages more widespread.”
South Korea is considered a cultural powerhouse that continues to maintain the “Korean Wave,” as well as a country with a well-ordered system in the education field. It would be worthwhile if we could create K-education content and contribute to education in underdeveloped countries. He emphasized that the globalization of the Korean language and Hangeul will ultimately become the essential element in distributing K-education content overseas. Amid his relentless efforts to achieve the globalization of Hangeul, ranging from the project with the Cia-Cha people to the development of Hangeul Jaemin Type 5.0, Professor Lee was asked about what the “challenge” means in his context.
“Meaningful challenges may come into two forms to me. One is to produce decent research articles as a linguistics professor. The other is to contribute to the advances of society with the knowledge I have gained as a linguist scholar. I plan to fairly wrap up the research I have conducted during my professorship and devote more efforts to spreading the Korean language after retirement.”