Choe Sejin
Choe was recognized by many for his talents as an official interpreter in the Korean Embassies in Beijing and in his works in hangul research.
However, he lived a tumultuous life due to this middle class status, which led him to be the target of many envious aristocrats of his era.
[2][3] Choe devised the modern Korean order of the hangul characters, and assigned names to the letters.
His most famous book on hangul is the Hunmong Jahoe (훈몽자회; 訓蒙字會; "Collection of Characters for Training the Unenlightened", 1527).
However, during a time period when society was strictly stratified, his middle class status restricted his career and even led him to many difficulties and hardships.
The noble class organized society in a way that they controlled and possessed a majority of the wealth and property of the country, and it was common for the nobility to be jealous over highly talented middle class government officials who might successfully become promoted, and surpass nobles in rank, although this was very rare.
Choe Sejin was a target for the nobles' jealousy, and he was sacrificed in the factional strife and tumultuous political climate at the time.
For example, two months after he passed the "Bong Se Ja Byul Shi" Exam, his acceptance became nullified because of an involvement in a trial for the murder of the deposed Queen, Yoon.
Even after 3 years of waiting, he was accused of writing the anonymous letter criticizing the National Court in 1507 and was subject to a severe sentence.
[4] Two months after the accusations proved false, he encountered a golden opportunity that allowed him to receive his government rank back.
The poem is called "Choi Dong Ji Se Jin Man" (崔同知世珍挽) and is widely known because of the information it holds about Choe Sejin.
[5] Despite Choe's social class and the difficulties he faced during his lifetime, the records we have of him indicate his significance and influence on Korean hangul, the education of Chinese characters, and the field of linguistics.
[3] Scholars that belong to the middle class rarely get recognized for their works, and no historical records are ever kept of middle-class citizens.
[3] Yoo Soon, a prime minister of the Joseon Dynasty, wrote that Choe was "the best in the nation when it comes to Chinese writing and pronunciation" and that he was worried that there was no one to succeed him to translate and respond to documents sent from China.
One work that reveals a lot about Choe's character and his influence during his time is a poem written as a eulogy by one of his friends, Kim Ankook.
[4] 親知凋落奇孤躬 登名四紀機更變 餘榜三人又失功 爲命自今誰共討 輯書裨後世推功 嗟吾後死終無益 淚泗東風慟不窮 친한 이 모두 사라진 채 혼자 남아 있구나 과거급제해 이름을 올린 지도 40년, 그동안 변을 당한 이 몇이던가 셋 남은 동기 중 또 그대를 잃었으니 이제 사대외교 문서를 지을 때 누구와 토론하리오 책을 지은 그대는 후세에 도움 줄 공을 남겼구려 슬프구나, 나는 죽은 뒤 아무런 이익을 남기지 않았다 눈물을 동풍에 뿌리며 소리내어 울기를 그칠 수 없구나 lies here alone, having seen the death of many of his loved ones.
[4] According to Kim, it can be known that Choe went through a lot of hardships during the 40 years he served as a government official, and eventually lived a long life, "having seen the death of many of his loved ones".
