‘한글’ 명칭의 언어학적 역사적 맥락

Abstract

Despite the common belief, the history of the term Hangeul is not clear, unable to be pinned down to a single originator. The uncertainty surrounding the originator of the term perhaps reflects the “crowded” multilingual linguistic environment of a time when numerous terms for the Korean alphabet coexisted at once. There was never a clear-cut, simultaneous shift from Eonmun to Hangeul, or between other terms. Rather, until 1927 when Hangeul started becoming the most popular term, many terms coexisted. The Japanese annexation of Joseon in 1910 greatly contributed to the making of the name Hangeul. Many past studies into the history of the term have focused on the role of native Korean scholars in creating and popularising the term. This paper however shows that the coining of the term Hangeul was the result of mutual intellectual exchanges between Western missionaries and native scholars.