[우리문화신문=김슬옹 교수]  

세종대왕은 훈민정음을 창제한 지 2년 9개월 뒤인 1446년(세종 28년) 9월에 한글을 알기 쉽게 풀이한 책 《훈민정음》을 반포했다. 《훈민정음》은 한자로 된 목판본으로, 1책 33장으로 이루어졌다. 앞 4장은 세종대왕이 직접 지은 글 정음편(예의편)이고, 뒤 26장은 집현전 학사 정인지, 최항, 박팽년, 신숙주, 성삼문, 강희안, 이개, 이선로가 함께 지은 정음해례편이다. 마지막 3장은 정인지가 대표로 서문을 지었다. 정음편은 ‘세종대왕의 서문’과 ‘예의’로, 정음해례편은 ‘제자해, 초성해, 중성해, 종성해, 합자해, 용자례’와 ‘정인지 서문’으로 구성되어 있다.

정인지는 서문에서 세종대왕의 명에 따라 해례를 지었음을 밝히고 있으며, ‘슬기로운 사람은 아침나절이면 깨치고, 어리석은 사람이라 해도 열흘 만에 배울 수 있다’라고 말하며 ‘바람 소리와 학의 울음이나 닭의 울음, 개 짖는 소리까지도 모두 쓸 수 있다’라고 강조했다.

King Sejong Promulgates Hangeul to the People

King Sejong, 2 years and 9 months after the creation of the Hunminjeongeum, promulgated the book Hunminjeongeum in September 1446 (the 28th year of King Sejong’s reign). Which provided a clear and accessible expansion of the Hangeul. The Hunminjeongeum was a woodblock edition written in Chinese characters, consisting of 33 chapters. The first 4 chapters were written by King Sejong himself and are titled Jeongeum-pyeon (Exemplary explanation), while the remaining 26 chapters were written by scholars from the Hall of Worthies (Jiphyeonjeon) including Jeong In-ji, Choi Hang, Park Paeng-nyeon, Shin Suk-ju, Seong Sam-mun, Kang Hee-an, Lee Gae, and Lee Seon-ro, and are collectively titled Jeongeum Haerye-pyeon (Explanations of the Correct Sounds).

The last 3 chapters were written by Jeong In-ji as the representative. Jeongeum-pyeon consists of “King Sejong’s Preface” and “Exemplary explanation,” while Jeongeum Haerye-pyeon includes “The Explanation of the Characters,explanation of Initials,explanation of Medials, explanation of Finals, explanation of combined characters, and the Examples of character usage,” as well as Jeong In-ji’s preface. In his preface, Jeong In-ji explains that the Haerye was written under King Sejong’s command, stating, “A wise person can understand it by the morning, and even a fool can learn it in ten days.” He emphasized that “sounds from the wind, the cry of cranes, the crowing of roosters, and even the barking of dogs can all be written using these characters.”