Hangul Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Hangul Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Korean Alphabet Day, known as Hangeul Day in

South Korea, and Chosn'gl Day in North Korea, is a
national Korean commemorative day marking the
invention and the proclamation of Hangul (;
), the alphabet of the Korean language, by the
15th-century Korean monarch Sejong the Great. It is
observed on October 9 in South Korea and on January 15
in North Korea.

Hangeul Day

Contents
1 Etymology
1.1 South Korea
1.2 North Korea
2 History
3 Celebrations
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Etymology

Hunmin Jeongeum Eonhae

Official
name

Hangeul Day ()
Chosun-gul Day ()

Also called

Hangeul Proclamation Day

Korean Alphabet Day

Observed by North Koreans and South Koreans

Type

South Korea
In South Korea, the holiday is known as Hangeul Day
and is celebrated on October 9.

National, Cultural

Significance Commemorates the invention of

hangeul
Date

October 9 (South Korea)

January 15 (North Korea)

North Korea
In North Korea, the holiday is called Chosn'gl Day
and is celebrated on January 15 to mark the date, January
15, 1444 (1443 in lunar calendar), which is believed to be
that of the actual creation of Hunmin Jeongeum.

Frequency

annual

Hangeul Day
Chosn'gl Day

History
According to the Sejong Sillok (;), King Sejong proclaimed publication of Hunmin
Jeongeum (;), the document introducing the newly created alphabet which was also
originally called by the same name, in the ninth month of the lunar calendar in 1446. In 1926, the Hangeul
Society celebrated the octo-sexagesimal (480th) anniversary of the declaration of hangeul on the last day of
the ninth month of the lunar calendar, which is on November 4 of the Gregorian calendar. Members of the
Society declared it the first observance of "Gagyanal" (). The name came from "Gagyageul" (
), an early colloquial name for hangeul, based on a mnemonic recitation beginning "gagya geogyeo" (
). The name of the commemorative day was changed to "Hangullal" in 1928, soon after the term

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"hangul", coined originally in 1913 by Ju Si-gyeong, became widely accepted as the new name for the
alphabet. The day was then celebrated according to the lunar calendar.
In 1931, the celebration of the day was switched to October 29 of the Gregorian calendar. In 1934 arose the
claim that they must assume that the Julian calendar was used in 1446, so the date was again changed to
October 28.
The discovery in 1940 of an original copy of the Hunmin Jeongeum Haerye, a volume of commentary to the
Hunmin Jeongeum that appeared not long after the document it commented upon, revealed that the Hunmin
Jeongeum was announced during the first ten days (sangsun; ; ) of the ninth month. The tenth day
of the ninth month of 1446 of the lunar calendar in 1446 was equivalent to October 9 of the Julian calendar.
After the South Korean government was established in 1945, Hangeul Day was declared as a legal holiday
to be marked on October 9, on which governmental workers are excused from work.
Its legal status as a holiday was removed in 1991 because of pressure from major employers to increase the
number of working days, along with the introduction of the Korean United Nations Day. However, Hangeul
Day still retains a legal status as a national commemoration day. The Hangeul Society has campaigned to
restore the holiday's former status, but with little impact until November 1, 2012 when supporters won their
biggest victory yet as the National Assembly voted 189 to 4 (4 abstained) in favor of a resolution calling for
the restoration of Hangeul Day. This put pressure on the Lee Myung Bak administration to make Hangeul
Day a public holiday. This change has been applied, making Hangeul Day a national holiday starting in
2013.[1][2]

Celebrations
In 2009, in celebration of the 563rd anniversary of the invention of the Korean alphabet by King Sejong, the
6.2-meter high, 20-ton bronze statue of King Sejong the Great of Joseon at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul,
was unveiled to the public.[3][4]

See also
Public holidays in North Korea
Public holidays in South Korea
Korean alphabet
Yeominrak
Hangul supremacy

References
1. "Starting Next Year, Rest on Hangeul Day (Korean: 22 )".
Yonhap News. 7 November 2012.
2. "Hangul Day a national holiday again (Korean: ' '~"!")". Korea Joongang
Daily. 9 November 2012.
3. "Remembering Hangul". Joongang Daily. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
4. "Statue of King Sejong is unveiled". Joongang Daily. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2013.

External links
Hangeul Day (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002529.html) at Language Log

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Categories: Korean language Korean culture Hangul January observances October observances
Public holidays in South Korea Public holidays in North Korea
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