This is Sujeongjeon. This is where Jiphyeonjeon, the birthplace of the guidebook to the Korean alphabet, used to stand. King Sejong the Great, the fourth king of Joseon, left behind a considerable legacy including the sundial, the waterclock, the rain gauge and the Korean alphabet , among others.Pearl Buck, the author of The Great Earth, compared King Sejong the Great to Leonardo Da Vinci. How was he able to do so many things? The secret to that lies in Jiphyeonjeon.Jiphyeonjeon was where the greatest intellectuals in the land, personally chosen by King Sejong the Great, conducted research on language, history and many other areas.It was like a think tank. In 1443, King Sejong the Great invented the Korean alphabet and ordered the scholars at Jiphyeonjeon to create a ‘guide’ for the new writing system. Thus, this is the place where the Korean alphabet was tailored for actual use. King Sejong the Great created an easy-to-learn alphabet based on a scientific system. He distributed it to the common people in a time when writing was considered a privilege only of the upper-class. In honor of King Sejong’s accomplishment and generosity, in 1990 UNESCO created the King Sejong Literacy Prize. It is awarded each year on International Literacy Day, September 8th, to an individual or group who has made significant progress in eliminating illiteracy. Moreover, the Korean alphabet is recognized in the modern era as a convenient alphabet for computers and cellular phones. For example, to enter ‘Seoul’ on a cellular phone you have to press 14 keys on the English keypad but only 7 in the Korean alphabet. To learn more about King Sejong the Great’s role in creating the Korean alphabet.