Which king is credited with creating the Korean alphabet Hangul?

Sejong the Great is the king credited with creating the Korean alphabet Hangul.

Sejong ruled Joseon Korea from 1418 to 1450 and sponsored the development of a writing system that ordinary Koreans could learn more easily than Hanja, the Chinese characters traditionally used for written Korean. The new script was announced in the 1440s and formally published in 1446 as Hunminjeongeum.

Historical accounts credit Sejong with the project, but the work was not necessarily the product of the king alone. Scholars and royal institutions, including the Hall of Worthies, helped develop, analyze, and explain the system. Sejong’s decisive role was as patron, organizer, and intellectual leader of the effort.

The letters were designed to represent Korean speech sounds systematically. Basic consonant shapes are traditionally associated with speech organs, while vowels reflect a philosophical design based on elements such as heaven, earth, and humanity. Sejong’s goal was practical as well as cultural: to give people a writing system suited to Korean.