[Hangul Day 100th Anniversary Special, Part 3 of 4] From Wiping Out Illiteracy to Purifying the Language: Hangul-Only Policy, Hierarchical Speech and the Defense of Identity After Liberation

Immediately after liberation in 1945, one of the most urgent challenges facing South Korea was severe illiteracy: more than half of the population could not read or write because of the distorted education system under Japanese colonial rule. To rebuild the nation, every citizen needed to learn to read and write, laying the groundwork for exercising their rights as democratic citizens and taking part in industrialization. The government, civic groups and the press joined forces to launch a large-scale nationwide "literacy eradication campaign."

Immediately after liberation in 1945, one of the most urgent challenges facing South Korea was severe illiteracy: more than half of the population could not read or write because of the distorted education system under Japanese colonial rule. To rebuild the nation, every citizen needed to learn to read and write, laying the groundwork for exercising their rights as democratic citizens and taking part in industrialization.

The government, civic groups and the press joined forces to launch a large-scale nationwide "literacy eradication campaign." Combining the unique scientific design of easy-to-learn Hangul with the rapid introduction of compulsory elementary education, South Korea achieved an unprecedented miracle: its illiteracy rate plunged from more than 70% right after liberation to under 10% in just over a decade.

This rapid literacy revolution is an achievement rarely seen in the history of world education or in the process of modernization. High literacy through Hangul fueled a nationwide passion for education, which later became the firmest foundation for ultra-fast economic growth and democratization built on outstanding human resources.

Hangul-Only Policy and the Democratization of Language: Moving Away From Mixed Chinese Characters and Popularizing Information

After liberation, the central issue in Korean language policy was the debate between "Hangul-only" writing and mixing in Chinese characters (Hanja). Traditional intellectuals and some in academia argued for mixed script on the grounds of clearer meaning, but the argument that Hangul-only writing was essential for national development and mass education gained strength.

Starting with the enactment of the Hangul-Only Act in 1948, Chinese characters gradually disappeared from official documents, textbooks and the media, and Hangul began to replace them entirely. The Hangul-only policy went beyond a simple change in orthography and became a decisive turning point in the democratization of language, spreading the power of knowledge to the general public.

As anyone could easily read and understand newspapers and official documents, the barrier to social communication fell dramatically. The Hangul-only policy played a decisive role in accelerating the spread of knowledge among the public and in forming a modern public sphere.

Modernization, Barracks Culture and Hierarchical Language: The Military's Influence on the Korean Language System

The conscription system and vast military organization established through liberation and the Korean War left a deep mark on Koreans' everyday language habits and ways of communicating socially. As young men from across the country passed through the military, a huge system of control, its distinctively vertical and coercive language culture spread throughout society.

In this process, the military-style hierarchical speech known as "dananka-che," typified by endings such as "~malipnikka" and "~hayeossseumnida," along with a rank-centered vertical language structure, permeated companies, schools, government offices and society at large. Combined with the Korean honorific system, military culture formed a powerful vertical communication culture that demanded swift transmission of orders and obedience.

Intertwined with patriarchal social structures, this hierarchical language further reinforced Korean society's age- and status-based rules of linguistic etiquette. At the same time, in the course of modernization's emphasis on efficiency, it also took on an inflexible side, working as a tool for social control and the maintenance of order.

The Language Purification Movement: Self-Cleansing Efforts Against Sino-Korean Words, Japanese Remnants and Loanwords

After liberation, the Korean language came under the strong influence of Sino-Korean vocabulary accumulated over centuries, remnants of Japanese terms implanted during the colonial period, and Western loanwords that poured in after the Korean War. Unlike North Korea, which after the division launched a sweeping ideological "cultured language movement" and a sparse streamlining of vocabulary, South Korea's language experienced confusion amid rapid opening and Westernization.

In response, the government, academia and civil society continued to carry out a "language purification movement," aimed at protecting the essence of the Korean language on their own and establishing proper language use.

• Revising Japanese-style remnant terms: Efforts were made to replace Japanese-style Sino-Korean words and expressions deeply embedded in administrative, legal and military terminology with proper Korean.
• Promoting purified words in daily life: Everyday and technical terms were refined into easy Korean and promoted, for example replacing "sihap" with "gyeorugi" (match) and "damanegi" with "yangpa" (onion).

These voluntary self-cleansing efforts served as a solid breakwater that protected the basic framework and distinct identity of the Korean language amid foreign influence and rapid social change.

Autonomous Self-Cleansing and Inner Strength: The Dynamic Language Ecosystem Sustaining Modern Korean

The path Korean has taken since liberation was a dynamic history in which popularization through the eradication of illiteracy, vertical and horizontal expansion through military and political culture, and the autonomous defense of identity through language purification were intertwined.

Amid a flood of foreign elements and Sino-Korean words, Korean society did not fall into either unconditional rejection or blind acceptance. Through the language purification movement and language standardization projects, it demonstrated a resilient inner strength to autonomously safeguard the fundamentals.

This dynamic language ecosystem has become the foundation that allows Korean today to maintain great diversity and flexibility while firmly preserving its own system. The inner strength of a language that has refined and purified itself in step with changing times is now becoming a solid asset for taking one more leap as a world language in the global era.

© NY&NJ (New York and New Jersey). Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited

ⓒ New York and New Jersey. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited.