Sejong the Great

About Sejong the Great

Sejong the Great, reigning over Korea from 1397 to 1450, is ranked #715 in historical importance by MIT’s Pantheon project for his profound cultural and political impact. His most enduring legacy is the creation of Hangeul, the native Korean alphabet, which was developed to improve literacy among the common people, a move that fundamentally shaped Korean identity and intellectual life. Beyond linguistics, his reign saw significant advancements in science, technology, and agriculture, solidifying his status as one of the nation's most revered leaders.

In the modern context of 2025 internet attention, Sejong presents a moderate case study with an Attention Gap near 1x, reflecting a balance between his importance and contemporary online interest. He garnered 392K annualized Wikipedia views, which is notably less than contemporary politician Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ranked lower in historical importance (#878), who achieved 2.8M views. Conversely, figures deemed far more historically significant, such as Mehmed the Conqueror (#128), receive fewer online visits.

His profile shows interesting temporal dynamics: while his Year-over-Year view change is a positive +31.8%, suggesting growing contemporary recognition, his 2025 Momentum between Q1 and Q3 dropped sharply by -41%, indicating that the recent interest may be receding or fluctuating significantly throughout the year.