Hangul supremacy

Hangul scientific supremacy is a belief, first stated by a select number of linguistic scholars, that the Hangul alphabet invented by King Sejong the Great in 1443, is the simplest, most logical, most ingenious and most scientific writing system in the world.[1][2][3] It was also perfected by King Sejong's team of scholars.

The belief is based on a few notions, one of which is that Hangul was designed in a way that was relatively very simple to learn. The belief sometimes includes a misconception that Hangul is the sole writing system in the world whose founder is known.[2] (See List of creators of writing systems) Confusing writing system with language, the belief occasionally holds the notion that the Korean language, being wrongly referred to as 'Hangul', has many linguistic advantages, including that it is among the best languages for learning maths.[4]

Hangul represents each consonant with a diagram of the position of the tongue in pronouncing it. For example, the first of the Hangul alphabet, ㄱ, is shaped like the root of the tongue blocking the throat.

Edwin O. Reischauer and J.K. Fairbank of Harvard University co-wrote in their book that "Hangul is perhaps the most scientific system of writing in general use in any country."

Former professor of Leiden University Frits Vos stated of King Sejong, "He invented the world's best alphabet" adding, "It is clear that the Korean alphabet is not only simple and logical, but has, moreover, been constructed in a purely scientific way."

One scholar even stated the scientific superiority of Hangeul as one of the reasons for the rise of Korea as an information technology powerhouse and another stating that Hangul must unquestionably rank as one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind.[2][5]

Also, according to Harold Piper, a writer, the belief holds that Hangul is in fact best suited for the expression of sounds in all languages.[6][7]