The nmost important Korean publication on early Confucian education during the middle and late Chosôn period was a primer entitled Tongmong sônsûp (Forst exercises for the uneducated children), which was composed around 1540 by an unknown author. This paper treats Tongmyong sônsûp as a classic example of how linguistic and ideological codes are juggled and adjusted, here to cater for the needs of early years pedagogy.