"Hangeul Day" by Irene Kim and Donna Kim
Hangeul Day, also known as “Korean Alphabet Day,” is a national holiday to celebrate the Korean writing script. It is celebrated on October 9th in South Korea.
The origins of Hangeul began in the fifteenth century when Koreans wrote using “Hanja,” which are Chinese characters. However, Hanja was used more as a spoken form rather than a written one. Writing and expressing themselves in Hanja was difficult for Koreans at the time because Korean had a vastly different grammatical structure than that of the Chinese language. Therefore, by 1443, King Sejong completed the Korean alphabet with the aim to increase literacy rates and allow all Koreans to be able to communicate in written forms. In order to help King Sejong reach his goal, guides to reading, writing, and pronounciation were published. With the implementation of these guides, usage of Hangeul dramatically increased.
The Korean written language is made up of many consonant and vowel letters. Each vowel letter consists of three parts: a dot, vertical line, and horizontal line. Each of these three parts has its own pronunciation, which makes learning how to pronounce new words much easier. Since its origins, Hangeul has slightly evolved to become the Hangeul we know and use today. For example, marks to show the pitch of words are no longer used.
In the 1900s, Koreans began to celebrate the creation of Hangeul, but these celebrations declined because of the effects of Japanese imperial rule. This period of subordination only strengthened the power and importance of Hangeul. After Korea was liberated from Japan in 1945, Hangul became the nation’s official written language.
To acknowledge Hangeul Day, workers in Korea are given a day off on October 9th. Although there are no formal traditions held on this day, there are still various ways to celebrate. People can visit the museum of King Sejong, located in Seoul, South Korea, or they can learn Hangeul!