It was during this period that General Yi-Song Gye stepped
in to take control over the disheartened nation. He established
the longest surviving government in Korean history. From 1392
to 1910 A.D., the Yi dynasty distinguished itself under the leadership
of King Sejong, by creating the Hangul alphabet in
1443—a set of phonetic characters still in use and the pride of
the Korean people. Through the use of this alphabet, education
evolved even further by allowing the publication of many classical
works. Mirrored by a disenchantment with Buddhist beliefs,
Confucian ideology had become firmly ensconced in Yi culture
as reflected by a strict adherence to literal art rather than those
of martial origin. Concerned more with struggles for power, the
prevailing leadership allowed the practice of taekkyon and subahk
to diminish.