History of Hangul Day
Most alphabets around the world have mysterious, unknown origins. They slowly evolved from pictures into symbols that represent sounds. The Korean alphabet (Hangul) is different, and is unique among widely used alphabets, in that rather than evolving, it was deliberately created.
During the fifteenth century, Koreans used Chinese characters to write. However, Korean is grammatically very different from Chinese, writing Korean using Hanja was an almost impossible task. As a result, only the elite in Korea were literate.
In 1443, King Sejong decided that it would be best for Korea if the Korean language had its own alphabet. He then set out to make this happen, and by 1444, the new alphabet was completed.
What to know about the Hangul Day
The date of Hangul Day in Korea varied a lot since the day’s inception in 1926, but its current date of October 9th has been used since 1945.
These days, workers in Korea will be pleased to notice that October 9th is marked in red on their calendars, meaning that the day is a national holiday. But it has not always been that way, between 1991 and 2012, Hangul Day lost its position as a national holiday and workers did not get the day off. Luckily, its status as a national holiday was restored in 2012 so this year you can enjoy the great weather that Korea usually experiences in early October instead of being stuck behind a desk.
How to celebrate the the Hangul Day
Many South Koreans do not participate in large celebrations during Hangeul Day. Instead, they usually stay at home and enjoy a day off from work. People may also go on a short outing with friends and family.
You can visit the museum of King Sejong. Inside the museum, there are several exhibits explaining the creation of Hangul along with the other technological advances of King Sejong’s reign.
Another way to celebrate Hangul Day in Korea is to learn Hangul. As mentioned already, the Korean alphabet only takes two hours to learn, and allows you to read Korean signs as well as improve your pronunciation and ability to learn new words, which are better way to celebrate the day than learn the language.