Sejong the Great
Before the creation of Hangul, people in Korea (known as Joseon at the time) primarily wrote using Classical Chinese alongside phonetic writing systems based on Chinese script that predated Hangul by hundreds of years, including idu, hyangchal, gugyeol, and gakpil. However, due to the fundamental differences between the Korean and Chinese languages, and the large number of characters that needed to be learned, there was much difficulty in learning how to write using Chinese characters for the lower classes, who often lacked the privilege of education. To assuage this problem, King Sejong created the unique alphabet known as Hangul to promote literacy among the common people. His intention was to establish a cultural identity for Korea through its unique script.
Hangul
The explanation of the letter "ng" also differs from the traditional account. Many Chinese words began with "ng", but by King Sejong's day, initial "ng" was either silent or pronounced in China, and was silent when these words were borrowed into Korean. Also, the expected shape of "ng" (the short vertical line left by removing the top stroke of ) would have looked almost identical to the vowel . Sejong's solution solved both problems: The vertical stroke left from was added to the null symbol to create (a circle with a vertical line on top), iconically capturing both the pronunciation in the middle or end of a word, and the usual silence at the beginning. (The graphic distinction between null and "ng" was eventually lost.)