American scholar Robert Ramsey has praised Hangeul, or the Korean alphabet, calling its invention one of the world’s greatest achievements.

Marking the 563rd anniversary of Hangeul, the renowned linguist gave a special lecture at Korus House, which serves as the public relations agency for the South Korean Embassy in Washington.

Ramsey said Hangeul is a scientific method of recording that systematically links sounds and letters.

He pointed out the humanistic principles behind the invention and said it is not only a symbol of Korea’s high culture but also a gift to the world.

Ramsey is a professor of East Asian linguistics at the University of Maryland.
He has also lectured on the Korean language at Columbia for over ten years.

He has done research on the 15th- and 16th-Century dialects of Gyeongsang and Hamgyeong provinces at Yonsei University and Seoul National University.