Yongbieocheonga

Yongbieocheonga
Copy of Yongbieocheonga displayed at the Sejong Story exhibition hall in Seoul
Korean name
Hangul	용비어천가
Hanja	龍飛御天歌
Revised Romanization	Yongbieocheonga
McCune–Reischauer	Yongbiŏch'ŏnga

Yongbieocheonga, literally Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, was the first work written in Hangul. The book was published in 1447 and written by Jeong Inji, An Ji and Kwon Jae. The preface was written by Seong Sam-mun and Pak Paengnyeon.^[1]

The epic poem concerned the Joseon dynasty and Sejong's immediate predecessors, and was a justification of the dynasty change from Goryeo to Joseon. Today, the Songs provide insight into the development of Joseon, the Korean people, and the history of neighboring ethnicities in Northeast Asia such as the Jurchens (Manchus) who would later establish the Qing dynasty of China.^[2]

The songs, in the form of 125 cantos, were composed through the efforts of a committee of Confucian philologists and literati. This compilation was the first Korean writing to be recorded in hangul (in addition to hanja). Previously, Korea had a long history of recording texts using Chinese characters exclusively. Several important themes in addition to that of the establishment of the Joseon dynasty reflect the events that gave rise to the creation of these poems: historical events that took place in China, the apotheosis of virtuous Kings preceding the fall of the Goryeo dynasty in Korea, and the Confucian political and philosophical ideologies. On April 28, 2006, it was designated as Korean Treasure No. 1463.^[3]