Seoul marks Hangeul Day centenary with Gwanghwamun media art, festival and calligraphy
In short
Seoul marked the 580th Hangeul Day on October 9, also the 100th anniversary of the day's establishment, with events at Gwanghwamun. A media facade built on Hangeul's 24 consonants and vowels was shown on Gwanghwamun's outer wall at a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism eve festival on October 8 and runs daily from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. through October 11. About 400 participants, including foreigners, took part in a calligraphy contest at Gwanghwamun Plaza on October 9.
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The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the eve festival of '2026 Hangeul Hanmadang-Gwanghwamun' at Yukjo Madang in Gwanghwamun Plaza, Seoul, on October 8, the day before Hangeul Day, ZDNet Korea reported. The event marked the 580th anniversary of the promulgation of Hunminjeongeum and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Hangeul Day. Minister Choi Hwi-young (최휘영), officials from Hangeul-related institutions and groups, foreign students of Sejong Hakdang (세종학당) and citizens attended. The festival closed with the media facade 'Twenty-four, Universe' (스물넷, 우주) projected onto the outer wall of Gwanghwamun, which Dong-A Ilbo and ZDNet Korea said will be shown daily from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. through October 11. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
According to ZDNet Korea, the festival opened with a performance by K-pop group Aethateu (앳하트) of a song created through a National Hangeul Museum project to modernise the Cheonggu Yeongeon as K-pop. Guests then lit 100 lights symbolising the centenary, marking the history since Hangeul Day was established in 1926 and the next 100 years. After a video looking back on the past century, indie band Beurokollineomajeo (브로콜리너마저) performed a new song made for the centenary project. [ 5 ]
Foreign students learning Korean shared their stories, and five citizens representing age groups from their teens to their sixties read about what Hangeul means in their lives, while calligrapher Kim Seo-young (김서영) drew King Sejong with a large brush. Choi, the last reader, said: "Today we learned the power of Hangeul. Though the times we have lived differ, Hangeul has always been beside us." He added that on the centenary "we will open a new future together with our Hangeul." [ 5 ]
ZDNet Korea described the facade as showing the 24 consonants and vowels emerging from ink-black darkness, becoming constellations and turning into mountains, water and other forms of nature and life, before being completed with Gwanghwamun's dancheong. [ 5 ]
Separately, Seoul's Jongno-gu district is showing a roughly 60-second media art video on the Gwanghwamun Square billboard at nine minutes past every hour from October 5 to October 11. It presents six native Korean words, including 'yunseul' and 'mirinae', with matching seasonal scenes. Yonhap said it is the fifth video in the district's national holiday project. District head Yu Chan-jong (유찬종) said he hoped it would remind people of the beauty and value of Hangeul. [ 1 , 2 ]
On the morning of October 9, a calligraphy contest re-enacting a Joseon-era state examination was held at Gwanghwamun Plaza under the theme 'Hangeul, Opening the World', Korea Economic Daily reported. It said 400 people selected through a preliminary screening applied, including more than 100 foreigners from over 20 countries. Yonhap reported some 400 calligraphers, including foreigners, gathered in front of the King Sejong statue. [ 6 , 7 ]
Why it matters
The events mark 100 years since Hangeul Day was established in 1926, and organisers framed them as celebrating the past century and looking to the next. Foreign students and foreign participants from more than 20 countries took part, which the coverage presents as showing Hangeul connecting people across generations and borders.
Key facts
- October 9 was the 580th Hangeul Day and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Hangeul Day. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held the '2026 Hangeul Hanmadang-Gwanghwamun' eve festival at Gwanghwamun Plaza on October 8. [ 5 ]
- The media facade 'Twenty-four, Universe' (스물넷, 우주), based on Hangeul's 24 consonants and vowels, is projected on Gwanghwamun's outer wall daily from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. through October 11. [ 4 , 5 ]
- 100 lights symbolising the centenary were lit at the eve festival, with Minister Choi Hwi-young (최휘영) taking part. [ 5 ]
- Jongno-gu district is airing a roughly 60-second Hangeul Day media art video on the Gwanghwamun Square billboard at nine minutes past every hour from October 5 to October 11. [ 1 , 2 ]
- About 400 calligraphers, including foreigners, took part in a Hangeul calligraphy contest at Gwanghwamun Plaza on October 9. [ 6 , 7 ]
- More than 100 foreigners from over 20 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa applied to take part in the contest, Korea Economic Daily reported. [ 6 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The 2026 Hangeul Day marks the 580th Hangeul Day and the 100th anniversary of the day's establishment. [ 1 , 2 , 5 ]
- A media facade titled 'Twenty-four, Universe', using Hangeul's 24 consonants and vowels, was shown on the outer wall of Gwanghwamun on the night of October 8 at an eve festival for the centenary. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The media facade is screened daily from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. through October 11. [ 4 , 5 ]
- Jongno-gu's Hangeul Day media art on the Gwanghwamun Square billboard runs from October 5 to October 11 at nine minutes past every hour, about 60 seconds long. [ 1 , 2 ]
- About 400 participants, including foreigners, took part in a Hangeul calligraphy event at Gwanghwamun Plaza on October 9. [ 6 , 7 ]
Still unclear
- When the eve festival started on October 8. ZDNet Korea said it was held in the afternoon, while Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo described it on the night of October 8.
- How many people actually took part in the calligraphy contest. Korea Economic Daily said 400 people selected through a preliminary screening applied to take part; Yonhap's summary refers to more than 400 calligraphers.
- How the anniversary is counted. Dong-A Ilbo's headline calls it the '100th Hangeul Day', while other outlets describe it as the 580th Hangeul Day and the 100th anniversary of the day's establishment.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- October 8: Yonhap reports Jongno-gu's Hangeul Day media art on the Gwanghwamun Square billboard, airing since October 5. [ 1 ]
- Daily start of the 'Twenty-four, Universe' media facade screening on Gwanghwamun's outer wall, running until 23:00 through October 11. [ 4 , 5 ]
- October 9: Korea Economic Daily publishes photos of the calligraphy contest held that morning at Gwanghwamun Plaza. [ 6 ]
- October 9: Yonhap reports some 400 calligraphers, including foreigners, at Gwanghwamun Plaza. [ 7 ]