Hangul Day in Korea

Wondering about Hangul Day (한글날) in Korea? Here is a quick overview of this holiday celebrating the creation of the Korean alphabet and what you can expect during the holiday in South Korea.

About Hangul Day

Hangul Day (한글날) is a ‘red day’ or public holiday on the Korean calendar. A ‘red day’ means that salaried employees have a paid day off for Hangul Day, a Korean public holiday celebrated on October 9. (When this day lands on a weekend, it is often celebrated on an alternate day.)

Hangul Day is the representative birthday of the Korean alphabet. This day celebrates the invention of the Korean alphabet, referred to as Hangul (or Hangeul, 한글). Many people also refer to the day as “Hangul Proclamation Day.”

Prior to the creation of Hangul by Korean King Sejong the Great, the people of Joseon (as Korea was known at the time) wrote using Chinese and other native phonetic writing systems. Since there were many differences between the Korean and Chinese languages, there was a great deal of trouble learning how to write the characters. King Sejong invented this unique alphabet to promote literacy, especially among the lower classes.

Although South Korea celebrates Hangul Day on October 9, North Korea celebrates Chosun-gul Day on January 15. Korea observes this day to honor King Sejong’s achievement and the proclamation of the “Hunminjeongeum,” (훈민정음), a document relating the new written script for the Korean language.

Though prior to 1945, Hangul Day was celebrated on various days. The date became officially an annual national holiday. However, between 1991 and 2012, the date was not observed due to major employers wanting to have workdays in the year. It was still commemorated but the day off was not given. The status of a National Holiday was restored in 2012.

The following video explains Hangul. Some say Hangul is easy to learn in less than a day. Of course, learning to write Hangul may be easier than learning to read Hangul. Don’t feel bad if it takes you longer to learn than one day.

Hangul can be read both horizontally and vertically. Below you can see examples of Hangul in two orientations as it’s used in graphic design.

Celebrating Hangul Day in Korea

Since Hangul Day is in October, you can enjoy the beautiful autumn weather and activities. Many people choose to celebrate this day by staying home or enjoying a day off from school or work.

Visit Museums About Hangul

However, in Seoul, some may visit the museum of King Sejong. It is located in Gwanghwamun Square (in front of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul) under the golden statue of King Sejong. (The entrance is behind the statue). Others may choose to visit the National Hangul Museum in Seoul (Yongsan area). You can check out the many exhibitions in the language.

**Keep in mind, on Hangul Day the Seoul museums will be an absolute madhouse.

Learn Hangul

You can also choose to learn Hangul on Hangul Day. Talk to To Me in Korean is a great resource for helping you to learn the Korean language. Check out this beginning video below.

Go Camping

Additionally, when Hangul Day creates a 3-day weekend, many families will celebrate by camping and hiking. The weather is perfect this time of year for outdoor activities. Also, many camp sites book out far in advance. Check out this fabulous camping blog for more information on camping in Korea.

Potential Inconveniences on Hangul Day in Korea

Obviously, any of the following inconveniences may or may not occur depending on where you live in South Korea and the current social climate. However, the awareness that the following issues may occur may allow you to better plan ahead and avoid stress:

• If you don’t like kids consider spending time at home. Suddenly, kids appear in every part of your life at a time when they ‘should’ be in school. This would be a great time to stay home and catch up on your favorite TV shows or read a book.
• Expect bad traffic. Families travel all over the place for events and fun activities during this holiday. Don’t expect to get anywhere fast.
• Expect hectic parking. Holidays usually mean circling the parking lot or neighborhood a few times before you find a place. Give yourself extra time if you need to go somewhere.
• Expect booking travel to be harder. When Hangul Day falls near a weekend booking travel and traffic that weekend may be hectic. Families will be booking all the hotels, camp sites and doing all the activities.

How to Source Additional Information About Locations

If you have questions about things like business hours, you can use the free foreigner support app/phone number 1330. In addition, using apps like Naver can help you navigate with expected traffic times.