579th Birthday of Hangeul

About The Entry

‘Hangeul’ is a unique Korean alphabet created by King Sejong in 1446. ‘Hangeul Proclamation Day’ is a national holiday designated as October 9 to commemorate the proclamation of Hangeul and to encourage the spread and research of Hangeul. In 2025, we designed a poster to commemorate the 579th Hangeul Proclamation Day.

To convey the meaning of the purpose of creation as stated in the Hunminjeongeum preface, we designed a poster themed around the meaning of “illiteracy”. We graphically represented the term “까막눈” (a native Korean word for someone who cannot read) and the Chinese character term “文盲” (illiteracy).

“Our language differs from Chinese, so it does not communicate with Chinese words. Consequently, many common folk, though they have things they wish to say, ultimately cannot express their thoughts in writing. Finding this regrettable, I have created twenty-eight new characters, intending only that everyone may learn them easily and use them comfortably in daily life.”

This text serves as the preface to the Hunminjeongeum, explaining the background and purpose behind King Sejong the Great's creation of Hangeul. King Sejong sought to alleviate the difficulties of communication by creating a script that ordinary people could easily learn and use.