Seong Sam-mun

Seong Sam-mun (Korean: 성삼문; Hanja: 成三問; 1418 – 8 June 1456) was a scholar-official of the early Joseon period who rose to prominence in the court of King Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450).

Sam-mun was born in Hongseong (then Hongju), South Chungcheong Province to a yangban family of the Changnyeong Seong clan (창녕 성씨; 昌寧 成氏).

From 1442 to 1446, he cooperated with other members of that body to compose the Hunmin Jeongeum, in which the hangul alphabet was first presented to the world.

The level of his involvement in the creation of the Korean alphabet Hangul (and that of other Hall of Worthies scholars) is disputed, although he and other scholars were sent on trips to consult with a Ming Chinese phoneticist several times, presumably because one of the first uses the new alphabet was put to was to transcribe the sounds of hanja, or Sino-Korean characters.

擊鼓催人命 (격고최인명) -둥둥 북소리는 내 생명을 재촉하고, 回頭日欲斜 (회두일욕사) -머리를 돌여 보니 해는 서산으로 넘어 가려고 하는구나 黃泉無一店 (황천무일점) -황천으로 가는 길에는 주막조차 없다는데, 今夜宿誰家 (금야숙수가) -오늘밤은 뉘 집에서 잠을 자고 갈거나 As the sound of drum calls for my life, I turn my head where the sun is about to set.