Hangeul in the World by Hong, Jongseon and co-authors

Hangeul in the World by Hong, Jongseon and co-authors
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A collection of essays that discuss Hangeul (or hangul) and its place in the world. Some of the essays were a bit annoying with their praise of, admittedly, a unique and very useful alphabet. But saying things like "Hangeul is such a perfect alphabet that even present day linguists cannot come up with anything more perfect" (p.34), among other similar comments, carries no real meaning, and in fact it lessens the validity of everything else that is mentioned, since it sounds less like an objective essay and more like a promotional campaign.

Having said that, it is certainly a unique writing system, and almost certainly the most mathematical (or logical) of all alphabets, and there are definitely some very interesting tidbits in here, including a whole essay on the various types of Hangeul fonts! Its usage in Japan, China and Europe was all eye-opening to me, as well as its history.

Recommended for any non-Korean speaker who has any interest in this language, and can't get their hands on Gari Ledyard's book, or wants to supplement it.


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