Hangul scholar and Korean-language activist (pen name Oesol)
| Life | 1894 ~ 1970 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 경주 최씨 |
Choe Hyeon-bae was a linguist from Ulsan known by the pen name Oesol. Continuing the work of Ju Si-gyeong, he worked to establish a systematic grammar of the Korean language and, as an active member of the Korean Language Society, took part in drafting the Unified Hangul Orthography in 1933.
He was arrested and imprisoned by Japanese colonial authorities in the 1942 Korean Language Society Incident. After liberation he served as director of the textbook compilation bureau at the Ministry of Education, leading the compilation of Korean-language textbooks and the movement for exclusive use of hangul, and later served as a professor and vice-president of Yonsei University and chairman of the Hangul Society.
His major works include Urimalbon (1937), Hangeulgal (1940), and Joseon Minjok Gaengsaeng-ui Do (1926), and he made major contributions to replacing Korean grammatical terminology with native Korean words. He received the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1962, and in 2009 his remains were relocated to the patriots' section of the Daejeon National Cemetery.
In 2009 his remains were relocated to the patriots' section of Daejeon National Cemetery.