Idu script

The term idu may refer to various systems of representing Korean phonology through hanja, which were used from the early Three Kingdoms to Joseon periods. In this sense, it includes hyangchal, the local writing system used to write vernacular poetry and gugyeol writing. Its narrow sense only refers to idu proper or the system developed in Goryeo (918–1392), and first referred to by that name in the Jewang ungi.

History

The Idu script developed during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea between 57 BC and 668 AD. It was used for writing official documents and the imperial examinations from 958 to 1894 AD. The Idu script was used to write both native Korean expressions as well as Chinese characters (Hanja) that still retained their original meaning and Chinese pronunciation (loanwords). The basic words were commonly Chinese in origin, written in Hanja, and pronounced approximately in the same way as in Chinese (on). However unlike Classical Chinese, the Idu script also incorporated Korean words and Korean grammatical morphemes represented using Hanja that only retained their pronunciation but not their original meaning. They were used purely for their phonetic values to represent Korean expressions. The Idu script was written in Korean grammatical word order.

Aside from writing official documents and imperial examinations, the Idu script was also used to clarify Chinese government documents written in Classical Chinese so that they could be understood by Korean readers, to teach Koreans Classical Chinese, and to translate Chinese documents such as the Ming legal code and the Essentials of agriculture and sericulture (Nongsan jiyao) (ordered by the King Taejong in 1414).