Story of the dictionary

Anyone who has studied Literary Sinitic (K: Hanmun 漢文) knows what a monumental task the language poses. The fluid grammar and nebulous semantics present such challenges to interpretation that even experts do not agree on the meanings of many texts. These challenges are compounded for learners coming from the Korean tradition, where differences in grammar and phonology make interpretation especially difficult. Since the late nineteenth century, the Literary Sinitic textual tradition that defined Korean intellectual life for millennia began to be marginalised from mainstream society, creating a further barrier to access. The language has become relegated to an increasingly specialised audience: what once was the wellspring of Korean thought is now a truly foreign language in the twenty-first century.

Although a foreign language, Hanmun is not exactly of the same category as other foreign languages such as English, Japanese, or even Mandarin Chinese. Echoes of the language can be heard today through copious Sino-Korean vocabulary, four-character set phrases (saja sŏngŏ) surface in conversation, and Hanmun courses utilising well-worn methods of pedagogy can still be found in liberal arts majors. The situation for the growing number of non-native Korean speakers in Korean Studies however is more precarious. Despite the exponential growth of Korean learners worldwide, including higher-level learners engaging with pre-modern history and society, English-language Hanmun pedagogy is still in its infancy. In this context, the Academy of Korean Studies has played a vital and welcome role in developing Hanmun education through pioneering summer programs for more diverse learners. In addition, an increasing number of university Korean Studies programs in the West are incorporating hancha (sinograph) training, but this is a far cry from the skills needed to decipher the more complex linguistic system that is Literary Sinitic. Other students in the Korean tradition inevitably find themselves in “Classical Chinese” classes due to a lack of funding or support for Hanmun, classes that usually employ a Sino-centric approach not attuned to their specific needs. Vernacular translations (kugyŏk) of historical texts such as the Sillok are available online and offer access to meaning, but circumvent the root problem: a lack of training in Hanmun reading that will empower the next generation to access primary history.

The idea for this dictionary grew out of this perceived need for a resource that would facilitate engagement with Hanmun for non-native Korean speakers working within the Korean tradition. Inspired by the contributors’ own experiences fumbling awkwardly through a sea of characters informed by Korean vernacular definitions that are only slightly less opaque, this resource attempts to guide the process of Hanmun decipherment through sinographs searchable by their Korean pronunciations. In this way, rather than treating Hanmun as a completely foreign language that may be accessed through vernacular (kugyŏk) or English translations alone, this Online Hanmun Dictionary draws a connection between the original text and English while also respecting the Korean tradition of pedagogy. It is hoped that this resource will represent a contribution to Korean Hanmun pedagogy for foreign learners while helping to cultivate the vitality of Hanmun in Korean linguistic life.