Since the creation of Hangeul, its syllables have maintained tetragonal fonts before innovative methods, including disassembled Hangeul and sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts, were suggested. The two methods were suggested in an effort to proactively respon...
Since the creation of Hangeul, its syllables have maintained tetragonal fonts before innovative methods, including disassembled Hangeul and sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts, were suggested. The two methods were suggested in an effort to proactively respond to the changing environment and to improve Hangeul’s functional value as characters. Of them, disassembled Hangeul has drawn little interest due to logical and practical limitations, while arguments for the excellence of sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts have continued. However, in reality, tetragonal Hangeul fonts have been more frequently used, and many visual designers have pointed out problems in sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts.
In this regard, sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts were compared with tetragonal ones in terms of identity, practicality, and functionality of Hangeul. As a result, it has been concluded that in the wake of a leap of logic or a lack of understanding about the development process of the culture, arguments that Hangeul was confined to tetragonal fonts due to influence from China and Japan in terms of identity were misguided.In addition, it has been judged that arguments for the justified use of sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts based on the interpretation of Hangeul font used in Hunminjeongeum did not have any logicality or objective grounds. It has also been judged that these arguments were made based on arbitrary interpretations of Hangeul font in Hunminjeongeum. Arguments for the excellence of sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts based on the interpretation of the content of Hunminjeongeum could not be accepted until individual arguments and practical or functional excellence was verified.
Applying in typewriter and developing new fonts easily were cited as advantages of sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts. When the arguments were put forward for the first
time, sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts were the only alternatives that could solve problems in typed Hangeul. However, with the development and distribution of computers, typing of Hangeul cannot cause problems any longer. Arguments for the convenient development of new fonts can be proper only when the sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts can function better than tetragonal Hangeul fonts. Otherwise, changes caused by the convenient development of fonts might reduce the benefits on the part of font users.
Of course, based on theories of cognition of word shape in the West, it has been argued that sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts have better readability. However, the theories of word cognition turned out to be an unverified hypothesis. The birth of word shape theories stemmed from findings on the word superiority effect. It has been believed that the word superiority effect appeared because words were recognized through comprehensive images of words instead of letters that constitute words. Many researchers in the West have recognized the comprehensive images of words as word shapes and have been working to verify this theory for approximately 100 years. However, reliable grounds have not been found. Since this researcher judged that various formative elements (including shape, value, pattern, and density) were united, the comprehensive images of words that function in a cognition process were determined, and a new approach was attempted.
It was hypothesized that characteristics of tetragonal Hangeul fonts with a great difference in stroke density among syllables would act as cognitive factors for words. Experiments were conducted to verify this hypothesis. As a result, it has been confirmed that changes in stroke density also help people recognize words.
Overall, the arguments related to the value of sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts may be verified only if functional value is confirmed. However, the theories on cognition of word shape that backs up the functional value of sur-tetragonal Hangeul fonts have not been verified, despite 100 years of studies. Furthermore, they have not taken the characteristics of Hangeul into account. On the other hand, theories on cognition of stroke density based on analyses of characteristics of tetragonal Hangeul fonts have been verified through experiments.
After all, if a judgment is made based on the results of existing studies, it can be concluded that tetragonal Hangeul fonts are relatively superior to sur-tetragonal ones.