Hangul 홍익인간 | Hanja 弘益人間 | |
Hongikingan (Hangul: 홍익인간; Hanja: 弘益人間) is the unofficial national motto of South Korea. The phrase is English translated as "Benefit Broadly in the Human World/Devotion to the Welfare of Humanity".
The phrase may also be translated as "Live and work for the benefit of all mankind."
The Korean Spirit and Cultural Promotion Project's blog describes Hongik Ingan as "the original founding philosophy of Korea, which transcends the boundaries of ideology and religion."
This philosophy is represented in the lives of Queens Seondeok, Shin Saimdang, and Yi Yoluk, "who were all distinguished by their self-discipline, reverence, compassion and" devotion to duty in the face of hardships.
Queen Seondeok of Silla, the first female monarch in Korean history ruled from 632 to 647 C.E.