Why do Koreans want to abolish Chinese characters
4hw.org: we all know that three countries, Korean Peninsula and Japan, are deeply influenced by Chinese culture. For thousands of years before they had their own characters, Korean and Japanese used Chinese characters until the establishment of their own national characters. But now Chinese characters are also indispensable in Korea and widely used in wedding and funeral rites. Why should Korea abolish Chinese characters? Let's have a look!
According to foreign media reports, Chinese characters are still widely used in wedding and funeral ceremonies in South Korea. For example, many people use Chinese characters to write their names in marriage ceremony and funeral ceremony. However, it is embarrassing that many young people have not learned Chinese characters. Mr. Park, a 32 year old white-collar worker, was mentioned in the report. A few days ago, he received greeting guests at his brother's wedding site. Because the wedding red envelopes were written with Chinese characters and names, he could not always ask the guests, so he was embarrassed and sweated several times. Recently, there are many examples like Mr. park. Many people post on the Korean Internet, attach photos of gift bags, and ask how to read the Chinese characters on them.
Many young people complain that they don't understand the reason why they use hard Chinese characters to write. They hope that the names on the red envelopes can be written in proverbs. However, such a call has aroused the dissatisfaction of the older generation of South Koreans. The report mentions a 73 year old male who believes that "it's not how much we love Chinese characters, but because there are many people with the same pronunciation of names. In order to make it easier to distinguish them, we are gradually used to writing in Chinese characters. You young people are good at using proverbs, but we, born in the generation of Chinese characters, are just used to using Chinese characters, which is beyond reproach. '
South Korean netizens have been talking about it. One group believes that Koreans should use the words invented by South Korea, because proverbs are simple and well written. The other believes that if you are worried about identifying the wrong person, you can use Chinese characters and proverbs together, or learn Chinese.
'Chinese characters reserved'
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, South Korea basically used Chinese characters thoroughly. The imperial examination system also examined Chinese characters. The literati were proud to know Chinese characters and speak Chinese! At that time, their poems about Chinese characters were basically the same in the mainland! On the contrary, the Korean language founded by their emperor Shizong had not been popularized. The modern Qing Dynasty was bullied and began to decline. South Korea is also in the process of being forced to abolish Chinese characters!
'Japan 50 years'
After the decline of the Qing Dynasty, especially after the defeat of the Sino Japanese War, the Japanese gradually controlled the Korean Peninsula, and then directly annexed it. The Korean king was sent to Japan. Since then, the Korean Peninsula has become a part of Japan, and began to rule for nearly 50 years. And the Japanese know that cultural ties, in order to completely conquer the Korean people, must change in culture. Therefore, they carried out two policies: first, they began to abolish Chinese characters, forbid the use of Chinese characters, and eliminate the influence of sinicization; second, they vigorously promoted Japanese characters and simplified characters, and forced Japanese learning. However, the effect of the abolition of Chinese characters in Japan is not obvious, and the people are still using them secretly. However, in 50 years, two generations of Korean speaking and writing Japanese have been created.
'pressure from the US government'
And the most important one is from the Americans. After World War II, the south of Korea occupied by the United States became the Republic of Korea, and the Americans also knew the role of cultural ties. With Chinese characters, South Korea can never be separated from the influence of China. Therefore, since 1948, the United States has put pressure on the South Korean government to abolish Chinese characters, and the South Korean government has specially enacted laws to implement them. After the Korean War, the United States strengthened its control of the Korean Peninsula and strengthened the implementation of the abolition of Chinese characters in the 1970s. It is forbidden to teach Chinese characters in primary schools, middle schools and universities. Only 700 basic Chinese characters are allowed to be learned in middle schools. Only three universities retain Chinese majors! Chinese characters begin to withdraw from the historical stage in South Korea.