Sejong the Great

About Sejong the Great

Sejong the Great (1397–1450) was the fourth monarch of the Joseon dynasty in Korea, whose enduring historical importance is recognized by his #715 rank in the Pantheon project. His most significant and transformative contribution was the creation of Hangeul, the native Korean alphabet, in 1443. This standardized phonetic script replaced the reliance on Classical Chinese characters, dramatically improving literacy rates and fostering a distinct national identity, an achievement that solidifies his legacy as one of the most consequential East Asian political figures.

In terms of modern internet attention, Sejong the Great currently occupies a nearly perfect balance relative to his historical standing. His 381K Wikipedia views in 2025 result in an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, indicating that the digital world is paying attention in proportion to his considerable global cultural impact. Interestingly, his momentum has dropped significantly, with a 48% decrease observed between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, despite a strong year-over-year growth of +28.3% suggesting recent, though perhaps fading, interest.