On this day of the year 1446, the king of Korea invented a new alphabet. It is an alphabet that is used today by millions of people.
King Sejong the Great was dissatisfied that only a small percentage of his subjects were literate. So he invented an alphabet that would be accessible to all.
Of course this was all frowned upon by the elite literary class of the day. But it initiated a societal transformation by creating new educational and therefore economic opportunities for ordinary Koreans.
What I find most remarkable is the scholarly consensus that the king did not commission someone to create this alphabet for him. Rather, he personally created it himself.
Can you imagine any modern ruler doing something like that? It truly is unique as far as I can tell in the annals of history.