South Korea Hangul Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Korean language

Annually, on October 9, South Korea Hangul Day, also known as Korean Alphabet Day, is observed. In observance of the invention and proclamation of the Korean alphabet, Hangul (or Hangeul), a national holiday is observed. It is also observed as “Chosun-gul Day” on January 15 in North Korea. Prior to the development of Hangul, the native phonetic writing systems of Classical Chinese were utilized by the Koreans. National Holiday Hangul Day has been observed since 1970, with the exception of 1991 through 2012. In remembrance of King Sejong’s triumph and the publication of the ‘Hunminjeongeum,’ a manuscript delineating an entirely novel script for the Korean language—later referred to as Hangul—we observe this day.

The background of South Korea Hangul Day

From its inception in 1926 until the present, the date of Hangul Day has fluctuated. The South Korean government designated October 9 as Hangul Day, an annual legal holiday, in 1945. Moreover, it has been an annual national holiday in South Korea since October 9, 1970. However, Hangul Day’s status as a holiday was revoked from 1991 to 2012 as a result of pressure from major employers on the South Korean government to increase the annual number of workdays in the country. Consequently, the day persisted as a remembrance; however, employees were not granted the day off. Its designation was reinstated as a national holiday on November 1, 2012.

Before Hangul was developed, native phonetic writing systems in Korea were employed to represent Chinese characters. In addition to the substantial character repertoire that Koreans were required to master, the grammatical disparities between Chinese and Korean rendered it challenging for Koreans to compose utilizing Chinese characters. Thus, literacy was restricted to those who had been granted the privilege of education. King Sejong proclaimed the publication of Hangul in 1446 as a result of his determination to foster literacy among all Koreans through the development of the Korean alphabet.

Notwithstanding its manifold advantages, Hangul came perilously close to extinction throughout the Choson dynasty. Elites who wished to maintain their social standing at the time recognized that Chinese characters represented the only authentic method to write Korean. Following an effective prohibition by King Yeonsangun in the early 16th century, Hangul experienced a resurgence in popularity by the century’s conclusion. Afterwards, it experienced a revival in the nineteenth century and subsequently expanded in prevalence, primarily attributable to its contribution to Korean nationalism throughout the Japanese occupation. A reduction in the prevalence of Chinese characters during the 1970s paved the way for the present-day widespread use of Hangul in virtually all Korean writings.

5 noteworthy facts concerning the Korean language

Korean is frequently categorized as a language isolate, denoting its lack of substantial connections to any preexisting languages.

The capital city of South Korea, Seoul, translates literally to “capital city” in Korean.

Korean follows the subject-object-verb (SOV) structure.

It is possible to distinguish grammatical rules, pronunciations, and vocabularies between North and South Korean.

Speakers of the Korean language substitute ‘our’ or ‘we’ for’my’ or’me.’

SOUTH KOREA HANGUL DAY DATES

Year	Date	Day
2023	October 9	Monday
2024	October 9	Wednesday
2025	October 9	Thursday
2026	October 9	Friday
2027	October 9	Saturday