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Famous Koreans: Articles about Famous Koreans in History
Kim,
Yong Shin
The Contributor to Build Social Structures in Korea
Former Korean President Park, Jung Hee built a basement of social
structures in Korea. Mr. Park, Jung Hee was the prime mover
of the Miracle of Han River. He was the Korean President during
1962 to 1974. During this time period, the average rate of
economic growth of Korea was 41.9%: the amount of total export at
1964 was 1,209,000 million $ (US), however, at 1970 it was raised
to 10,038,000 $ (US). This miraculous economic growth was
driven by Mr. Park's economic policy, so-called the Saemaul Movement.
Although he succeeded in economic development in Korea, he
perverted democracy of Korea. He pulled off a military coup
d'etat to come into a power. He broke the rule of democracy
without any legitimacy, moreover, the feature of military system
made his ruling system as an intensive centralization of power.
Mr. Park's military dictatorship tried to keep Korean people
under his control. For example, it sounds like comedy at present,
but there were intensified police control of the length of hair
and skirts. His dictatorship repressed opposing voices. As
a result of that Korean society was unified without variety of voices.
His impact on Korea was positive or not, the basement of social
structure what he made still has an effect on Korea.
The
Strong Will of King Se-jong
King
Se-jong made Korean's own alphabet, Han-gul with strong will. When
he mounted the throne, Koreans were using difficult Chinese alphabet,
Han-moon. Many Koreans were illiteracies, because Han-moon was too
confusing. He wanted to make easy alphabet for many Koreans. Making
unique alphabet was so difficult because of the objection of conservatives,
but King Se-jong had strong will. He propelled his idea without
setback. Many conservatives opposed to make unique alphabet. They
thought if the King would make easy alphabet, many people could
learn easily, and they would lose their vested rights. In spite
of many conservatives' objection, King Se-jong finally made Korean's
own alphabet. Thanks to his strong will, now Koreans have their
own alphabet easy to learn.
Lee,
Seung-hyung
Assignment 1
King
Sejong the Great, who reigned the Chosun Dynasty as its fourth monarch,
is regarded by most Koreans as the greatest figure in the history
of Korea. The invention of `Hangul', the Korean alphabet, designed
by the king, was the historic work among his contributions to Korea.
His invention gave the opportunities for common Koreans to learn
their own language since the Chinese language, which was in general
use of most Korean intellectuals at that time, was too difficult
for the general public to read or write. As he created Hangul as
an easy to learn language with numerous combinations of three simple
signals (`Ì',
`-`, `|'), all Koreans can express their language with an effective
writing system. King Sejong also invented the rain gauge, which
was adopted as a tool in the evaluation of annual farming products.
It was two centuries before an Italian inventor introduced such
a device in Europe. Rainfall data gained from this equipment helped
farmers to perform their seasonal duties timely. In addition, King
Sejong prevented his people from various invasions of the Chinese.
While in his reign, the Chinese gave much annoyance to the people
who lived in northern part of Korea. Considering this situation,
he took a decisive military action with large-scale operations,
which was the first trial in the Korean history to stand against
China; at last, he brought the Chinese invaders in his knees. As
stated above, the roles of King Sejong are so essential that Koreans
think him as the most prominent person in the history of Korea.
Kang
Myung-hwa Children's
Father There
have been many famous people in Korea but I love the children's
father, Bang Jung-hwan (1900 - 1936) best. He was born at
Dang-Ju Dong in Seoul when 1900 February 17. At that time, In Korea,
the country of courteous people in the East Asia, the adults don't
esteem children while the children respect adults. So Jung-hwan
made a word 'children' for the first time, and set May 5. on Children's
Day for young people. The slogan of Children's Day was, 'Don't overlook
children, just look at them'. And he said to children, 'Be honest
and vital. Let's make lovely life each other.' In addition, he organized
a party for children's health and emotion. In there, he wrote many
poems and stories. I love Jung-hwan best because when no one considered
about the children, he thought of children as the pillar of country.
King
Sejong, the Great by by Ryu, Su Min King
Sejong, who ruled the Choson Dynasty from 1418 to 1450, is one of
the most widely respected figures in Korean history. He ruled Korea
at a time when aristocratic society across East Asia was dedicated
to Chinese culture and used the Chinese writing system. Sejong embraced
Confucian culture and values, which originated in China, but sought
to address the needs of the Korean common people as well. His reign
was a period of relative political and economic stability, and a
time of great cultural achievement. He oversaw the development of
a phonetic writing system, which correctly represented the sounds
of spoken Korean and could be easily learned by all people. He ordered
the development of metal type, 200 years before Gutenberg, and instituted
reforms that improved printing techniques and enhanced publishing
efficiency. He also experimented in music and science, contributing
to his country's economic and cultural development. For example
Chagyungnu an automatically striking water clock, "Yominlak",
(the song mean "The King Shares Pleasures with His People")
and Hunmin chong-um ("Correct Sounds to Teach the People")
and Choson Shillok ("Annals of the Choson Dynasty"). It
has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. He was the
best and the wisest king in Korean history.
Contributions
of Kim Goo to Korean culture by Lee, Eun-Jung Kim
Goo, the spiritual leader of Korean people under the rule of Japan,
made people believe in building the country with a beautiful culture.
He thought what makes all the people happy is not richness but the
power of culture. His thought is conveyed well in his book `My wish'.
He said in that book, “I don't want my country to be the richest,
but I want it to be the most beautiful.” First, he thought the ideal
“beautiful culture” should be democratic. At the time he lived,
the democratic culture on the basis of freedom, responsibility,
and right didn't take its place in Korea. When he was in prison
because of struggle with Japan, he endeavored to teach the democratic
culture to people. For example, he wrote the books that express
his thought. These books describe the people of a democratic society,
who build a clean and orderly country voluntarily. Second, he wanted
a unified culture between South and North Korea. Actually, he tried
to communicate with North Korea for the unification. He said that
it is not enough to develop only the culture of South Korea. According
to his opinion, it is possible to build the culture of good quality
and variety when traditions of South Korea and North Korea unify.
Finally, he wanted a culture that emphasizes education. He
thought it is possible to create a beautiful culture when all the
people are conscious of our culture and history through education.
He insisted that all the people could have equal chances of education.
He carried out his thought into practice through founding the Kwang-jin
school and the Bong-yang school, and taught the importance of Korea
independence from Japan even to students who are too poor to study.
Even in these days, Korean people are inspired by efforts of Kim
Goo for creative and independent culture.
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