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Joe Menosky, a writer for the popular U.S. sci-fi TV franchise "Star Trek," has published a historical fantasy novel about King Sejong the Great and the creation of Hangeul.


Joe Menosky, a writer for four series of the popular U.S. sci-fi TV franchise "Star Trek," has released his first novel, a historical fantasy work on King Sejong the Great and the creation of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet.


"King Sejong the Great" will be released on Oct. 9 on the occasion of Hangeul Day in Korea. The English-language original and the Korean-language edition will be jointly published on the same day.


The plot revolves around the creation of Hangeul in a project led by Sejong. Incorporating this origin story into the world of his imagination, the writer has the king and a Nestorian priest discuss the proclamation of Hangeul in other countries and shows Sejong sit in on foreign language classes with government interpreters tasked with "collecting the world's languages."


Rather than sticking to Sejong's well-established scholarly persona, Menosky characterizes him as a strong monarch able to form friendships with subjects who oppose his policies and a warm-hearted sovereign who shows respect even to his palace gatekeepers.


Menosky is said to have learned about Sejong when he started learning Korean five years ago, and was enamored by the inventor of Korea's writing system.

He studied the topic while flying back and forth between the U.S. and Korea, and eventually decided to write a novel about Sejong, whom he called a hero. He wants the entire world to learn about the legendary king, the publisher said. 

In the foreword, Menosky wrote that if a leader of a European country created a writing system for his people, the world would know about it through numerous novels, films and TV series telling and reimagining the tale. 

"I thought about leaders from other countries that could possibly rival King Sejong. Maybe if Leonardo da Vinci had been the ruler of Florence, Italy? Or if Isaac Newton had been the king of England? It's impossible to find a worthy comparison," he wrote. 

On his version of the Sejong story, Menosky said, "Since Korea has historically had to face various opponents from neighboring China and Japan, I didn't think it'd be a problem to turn the Hangeul creation story into a kind of international thriller. I hope that readers who are used to stories based on official historical records will understand that my story is a new, historical fantasy."


The publisher said Menosky plans to adapt his book into a TV series and a film.


Korea.net