Hangul Day

The Korean Alphabet Day, known as Hangeul Day (한글날) in South Korea, and Chosŏn'gŭl Day in North Korea, is a national Korean commemorative day marking the invention and the proclamation of Hangul (한글; 조선글), 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. Excluding year 1990 to 2012 where the government maximized business days to expedite industrial growth, Hangul day has been a national holiday in South Korea since 1970.[1]

Hangeul Day (한글날)
Hunmin Jeongeum Eonhae
Official nameHangeul Day (한글날)
Chosun-gul Day (조선글날)
Also calledHangeul Proclamation Day
Korean Alphabet Day
Observed byNorth Koreans and South Koreans
TypeNational, Cultural
SignificanceCommemorates the invention of hangeul
DateOctober 9 (South Korea)
January 15 (North Korea)
Frequencyannual
Hangeul Day
South Korean name
Hangul
한글날
Revised RomanizationHangeullal
McCune–ReischauerHan'gŭllal
Chosŏn'gŭl Day
North Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
조선글날
Revised RomanizationJoseongeullal
McCune–ReischauerChosŏn'gŭllal

Synopsis

Every 9 October is selected as Hangeul Day to spread its originality and excellence in addition to commemorating Sejong the King's achievement. Even in 2020, citizens hoist the Korean national flag to honor the day. Hangeul is one of few writing systems where both the founder and founding date have been revealed. To compensate its significance, Korean government legislated the following amendment below.

Language Amendment Section 20 (Hangeul Day)

1. Government shall dictate every October 9 as Hangeul Day with commemorative event in order to spread Hangeul's originality and scientific superiority, further enhancing pan-national awareness and affection towards the language.

2. Matters regarding commemorative event above shall abide presidential decree.

Etymology

South Korea

In South Korea, the holiday is called Hangeul Proclamation Day, or Hangeul Day for short, and is celebrated on October 9 to commemorate the promulgation of the Hunminjeongeum on October 9, 1446.[2]

North Korea

In North Korea, the holiday is called Chosŏn'gŭl Day and is celebrated on January 15 to commemorate the creation of the Hunminjeongeum on January 15, 1444.[2]

History

Before the creation of Hangul, people in Korea (known as Joseon at the time) primarily wrote using Classical Chinese alongside native phonetic writing systems that predate Hangul by hundreds of years, including idu, hyangchal, gugyeol, and gakpil.[3][4][5][6] However, due to the fundamental differences between the Korean and Chinese languages, and the large number of characters needed to be learned, there was much difficulty in learning how to write using Chinese characters for the lower classes, who often didn't have the privilege of education. To assuage this problem, King Sejong created the unique alphabet known as Hangul to promote literacy among the common people.[7]

According to the Sejong Sillok (세종실록; 世宗實綠), King Sejong proclaimed publication of Hunmin Jeongeum (훈민정음; 訓民正音), 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 Korean Language Society, whose goal was to preserve the Korean language during a time of rapid forced Japanization,[8] celebrated the octosexigesimal (68th) 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" (가갸날). The name came from "Gagyageul" (가갸글), an early colloquial name for hangeul, based on a mnemonic recitation beginning "gagya geogyeo" (가갸거겨). The name of the commemorative day was changed to "Hangullal" in 1928, soon after the term "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, the calendar which is in contemporary use. Three years later, the date was moved to October 28, to coordinate the date with that of the Julian Calendar, which had been in use during the 15th century, when King Sejong had made his proclamation.

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; 상순; 上旬) of the ninth month. The tenth day of the ninth month of the 1446 lunar calendar was equivalent to October 9 of that same year's Julian calendar. The South Korean government, established in 1945, declared October 9 to be Hangeul Day, a yearly legal holiday which excused government employees from work.

Major employers pressured the South Korean government to increase the country's annual number of work days. In 1991, to balance out the adoption of the United Nations Day, it vacated Hangeul Day's status as a holiday. By law, Hangeul Day remained a national commemoration day, and the Hangeul Society campaigned for the holiday's restoration. On November 1, 2012, the Society won that campaign, when the National Assembly voted 189 to 4 (with 4 abstaining) in favor of a resolution that called for the return of Hangeul Day as a national holiday. This put pressure on the Lee Myung Bak administration, which applied the change in 2013.[9][10]

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.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1023264&cid=50221&categoryId=50232
  2. 강경주 (8 October 2018). "북한 '조선글날'부터 훈민정음 상주본까지 … 당신이 알아야 할 572돌 한글날". 한경닷컴 (in Korean). The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  3. Hannas, Wm C. Asia's Orthographic Dilemma. University of Hawaii Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780824818920. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  4. Chen, Jiangping. Multilingual Access and Services for Digital Collections. ABC-CLIO. p. 66. ISBN 9781440839559. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  5. "Invest Korea Journal". 23. Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. 1 January 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2016. They later devised three different systems for writing Korean with Chinese characters: Hyangchal, Gukyeol and Idu. These systems were similar to those developed later in Japan and were probably used as models by the Japanese. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Korea Now". Korea Herald. 29. 1 July 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  7. Koerner, E. F. K.; Asher, R. E. Concise History of the Language Sciences: From the Sumerians to the Cognitivists. Elsevier. p. 54. ISBN 9781483297545. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  8. Lee, Peter H.; Bary, William Theodore De. Sources of Korean Tradition: From the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. Columbia University Press. p. 321. ISBN 9780231120302. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. "Starting Next Year, Rest on Hangeul Day (Korean: 내년부터 한글날 쉰다…22년만에 공휴일 재지정)". Yonhap News. 7 November 2012.
  10. "Hangul Day a national holiday again (Korean: 직장인들'활짝 웃을'준비하시고~"클릭!")". Korea Joongang Daily. 9 November 2012.
  11. "Remembering Hangul". Joongang Daily. 26 September 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  12. "Statue of King Sejong is unveiled". Joongang Daily. 10 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.