Hanja usage in Korean newspaper headlines: A diachronic analysis of language in shaping national identity.

This study traces the decline of Hanja (Chinese characters) in Korean newspaper headlines over the 20th century, analyzing its relationship to colonialism, nationalism, and modernization. Although Hangul was invented in the 15th century, Hanja remained in formal Korean writing into the 1900s. Using a content analysis of 128 headlines between 1920 and 1999, this study examines the proportion of Hanja to Hangul and linguistic shifts within Korea's print history. Our findings indicate that the prominence of Hanja was influenced by Japanese assimilation policies during the colonial period and in the immediate post-liberation years. Post-liberation, Hangul was promoted as a symbol of decolonization. Restrictions on Hanja use marked a turning point in favor of Hangul-only script usage. The decline of Hanja reflects Korea's broader efforts to assert national identity following colonial subjugation, highlighting how newspapers functioned not only as transmitters of information but as evolving artifacts of Korea's sociopolitical transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]