Celebrating the 565th Anniversary of Hangeul

Hangeul is Korea's alphabet! It is the only alphabet in the world that features documented evidence of its creator, date of creation and theories. How do young students think of Hangeul[Interview : ] "I'm proud of Hangeul!"

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[Interview : ] "It's easy to write, and it's scientific!"

[Interview : ] "It's unique to Korea!"

[Interview : ] "It's easy to write!"

[Interview : ] "It's unique!"

This year marks Hangeul's 565th anniversary. Let's take a look at celebrations commemorating this event.

Gyeongbok Palace was the venue for a special Hangeul exhibition. With the theme "Hangeul and World Alphabets", the exhibition featured not only Hangeul, but other languages, both modern and ancient. It also showed how Hangeul has evolved from its creation until today.

[Interview : Yun Go-eun, Visitor] "I am thankful to King Sejong. We don't pay attention to what we write in Hangeul, but I realize we shouldn't do that".

Hangeul was inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World in 1997, making it one of Korea's most treasured cultural heritage. To Korea, Hangeul is more than a mere alphabet. The Korean government has declared October 9 as Hangeul Day, and since 2008, it has also created Hangeul Week.

[Interview : Kim Gyeong-nam, Deputy director of Korean Language Policy division Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
] "We organized Hangeul Week in order to raise awareness of the importance of Hangeul as a cultural heritage. Our theme this year is "Everything through Hangeul", which means we will aim to communicate, share and promote Hangeul to the world".

People are making lone lines for this letter stamping event! Children in particular seem to be having lots of fun. All these events can make anyone realize how great Hangeul is.

[Interview : Mun Ji-yeong, Visitor] "I'm very proud of the fact that we can express every pronunciation through Hangeul".

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "I love Korea".

Some foreign visitors who took part in the event by chance began to show interest in Hangeul.

[ENG]
[Interview : Lawrence, Tourist Romania] "I think it's very logical because every sign is a certain sound, so when I look at the alphabet, I can recognize the sounds in every world. It's very logical and I think it's easy to learn".

Hundreds of foreigners have gathered for a separate event meant to promote Hangeul exclusively to foreigners!

[ENG]
[Interview : Elena, Exchange student Russia] "Today is a great festival of the Korean language and Korean alphabet, so I came here to take part in this festival".

They are here to take part in a Hangeul writing competition. Most of them are students from abroad, and maybe that's why they are so interested in Hangeul.

The rules are simple. They simply have to copy by hand a sample passage word-for-word.
Each contestant takes the time to neatly write each character.

[SOV]
[Interview : ] "It's easy to write Hangeul".

[Interview : ] "Hangeul isn't difficult. It's easy".

Hangeul consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, and syllables are composed of at least one of each.

[Interview : Park Jong-guk, Chairman King Sejong Commemorative Committee] "Hangeul is a scientific alphabet. I believe that Hangeul has the characteristics of being everlasting and literal. And these characteristics are what make Hangeul easy to learn and use.
There are many different alphabets in the world, but none are as easy to learn and use as Hangeul is. Hangeul can be used to express anything from any other culture".

Finally, time's up. The contestants have mixed feelings as they hand in their entries.

Who wrote Hangeul the most properly

[Interview : Jeon Na-yeong, Judge ] "Even Korean children can't write this well. I think international students follow the stroke patterns closer than Koreans do".

A total of about 400 foreigners took part in the competition.

But at the end, 27 contestants were awarded for their efforts, each and every one of them congratulated by the rest.

Now, it's time to find out who wins 1st place. Who is it

[Interview : Wo Peng, Winner China] "I'm really happy. Hangeul is a beautiful alphabet. I want to continue studying Hangeul in the future".

[Interview : Hwang Su-in, Korean-Japanese student Japan] "I think Hangeul is a beautiful and effective alphabet, and it is easy to learn. I feel proud to be of Korean descent when I see Hangeul".

The 565th anniversary of Hangeul was all the more special thanks to a variety of events!

It was an opportunity to promote the superiority and value of Hangeul.

We hope that Hangeul stays with us forever.

[STUDIO]
It's very nice to see people enjoying themselves and appreciating the written language.
We have a lot to thank King Sejong for.
King Sejong or Sejong the Great certainly leaves behind a large legacy.
I'm sure he knew he'd make an impact here in the nation.
But could he have predicted the Korean language's rise in popularity around the world