Hangeul Day turns 100 with a festival at Gwanghwamun

2026-10-09

Korea.net / KOCIS (Jeon Han) / CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

October 9, 2026 was a special 한글날 (Hangeullal) – Hangeul Day. This year marks 100 years since the day was first established, and 580 years since King Sejong published 훈민정음 (Hunminjeongeum), the document that introduced the Korean alphabet. Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square, home to the statue of King Sejong, was the center of the celebrations.

From "Gagya Day" to Hangeul Day

The holiday began in 1926 as 가갸날 (Gagyanal), named after the first syllables learners practiced: 가, 갸, 거, 겨… It was later renamed Hangeul Day. In 2026 the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ran a nationwide Hangeul Week through October 17 to mark the centennial.

The eve: letters turn into stars

On the evening of October 8, an eve celebration filled Gwanghwamun Square. K-pop group Atheart and indie band Broccoli, You Too performed, and students from Sejong Institutes abroad read the meaning of Hangeul aloud together with Korean citizens of different generations. The night ended with a media facade show on Gwanghwamun gate in which the 24 basic letters of Hangeul rose out of darkness, became constellations, and finally merged into the gate's painted patterns.

Hands-on Hangeul

During the day, a Hangeul Week festival titled "Hangeul Around Me" (내 곁에 한글, nae gyeote hangeul) set up 26 activity booths, organized by the ministry, the National Institute of Korean Language and the National Hangeul Museum. Visitors could:

• try Hangeul braille, marking 100 years of Korean braille
• make Hangeul keychains and bags
• ask an AI version of King Sejong questions on a screen
• have calligraphers write a phrase of their choice
• play "spelling detective," hunting for common spelling mistakes in two minutes

On Hangeul Day itself, the Seoul city government added its own program at Gwanghwamun Square from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Hangeul postcard making, performances, a stamp tour, and costumed King Sejong and Haechi (Seoul's mascot) characters.

Spelling mistakes even Koreans make

The spelling game featured two classic traps. Many Koreans write 몇일 for "how many days / what date," but the correct spelling is 며칠 (myeochil). And "number of items" is 개수 (gaesu), not 갯수. If you've ever been unsure, you're in good company. Korean spelling rules are called 맞춤법 (matchumbeop).

Korean from this story

Try it: 오늘이 며칠이에요? (oneuri myeochirieyo?) – "What's the date today?"

Sources: The Korea Times – Seoul marks Hangeul Day centennial, MTN News – Hangeul Day eve celebration (Korean), The Fact – Hangeul Week at Gwanghwamun (Korean)