WHEREAS, Hangul, the Korean alphabet, was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great of Korea and has been used to write the Korean language since the alphabet’s creation. Hangul is the official writing system of both South and North Korea; and

WHEREAS, In 1446, in the 28th year of his kingship, King Sejong published the “Hunminjeongeum,” the realization of his decree to research and develop a writing system that would be simple and easy for Koreans to master and communicate, as the Chinese characters being used at that time were too complex; and

WHEREAS, The Hangul system consists of 24 characters, including 14 consonants and 10 vowels. The consonant characters are formed with curved or angled lines. The vowels are composed of vertical or horizontal straight lines together with short lines on either side of the main line; and

WHEREAS, The Korean alphabet was named Hangul in 1928, and in 1940 Korean language scholars Lee Hee Seung and Lee Byeong Ro discovered the “Hunminjeongeum” Haerye manuscript and calculated October 9th, 1446, to be the birth date of Hangul; and

WHEREAS, The Korean language is one of five strategic languages, along with Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian, as designated by the National Security Language Initiative, which Americans are encouraged to learn; and

WHEREAS, The Korean language is one of nine foreign languages the College Board approved to be on the SAT Subject Tests in languages, which assess a student’s ability in reading and listening a foreign language. Other foreign languages include Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Modern Hebrew, and Spanish; and

WHEREAS, There are over 50,000 Americans, including Americans with Korean heritage, learning Hangul throughout the United States. With the popularity of K-pop, K-dramas, and Korean food rising, the Korean language is now taught throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, The County of Orange is home to one of 3 King Sejong Institute centers in California, along with the Cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and one of 10 King Sejong Institute centers in the United States. The Korean American Center in the City of Irvine, County of Orange, where the King Sejong Institute is located, had its grand opening ceremony on August 29, 2018, and offers beginning- and intermediate-level Korean language classes; and

WHEREAS, Korean Americans have become an integral part of mainstream American society and have made important contributions as Californians in the fields of finance, technology, law, medicine, education, sports, media, the arts, the military, and government, as well as in other areas; and

WHEREAS, As the Korean American community prepares for a new era and creates a new history, Korean Americans must instill in younger generations the proper appreciation for the courage and values of their forebearers, a deep sense of their roots, and pride in their own cultural heritage, including Hangul, so that they may better contribute to the great state of California, rich with ethnic and cultural diversity; now, therefore, be it