Hangeul Day turns 100한글날 100주년

Hangeul Day (한글날) is a Korean national holiday on October 9 that celebrates King Sejong’s creation of the Korean alphabet. It began on November 4, 1926, when the Korean Language Research Society (조선어연구회) held the first “Gagya Day” (가갸날), named after 가 and 갸, the first two syllables on the chart people used to learn Hangeul. It has been called Hangeul Day since 1928.

The October 9 date comes from the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, the 1446 book that introduced the alphabet: it says the book came out in the first ten days of the ninth lunar month, and the last of those days falls on October 9 in today’s calendar.

2026 is a double anniversary: 100 years of Hangeul Day and 580 years since the Hunminjeongeum was published. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ran “2026 Hangeul Week” from October 6 to 17 under the theme 내 곁에 한글 (“Hangeul by my side”), with events at Gwanghwamun Square and across the country.

On October 9 itself, Gwanghwamun Square offered free guided tours every hour from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., plus hands-on Hangeul activities like coloring, temporary tattoos and hat making. YTN marked the day with a report on the new slang young Koreans use.

한글날은 10월 9일이에요. Hangeullareun siwol guirieyo. “Hangeul Day is October 9.” (polite)

올해 한글날은 제정 100주년이에요. Olhae Hangeullareun jejeong baekjunyeonieyo. “This year is the 100th anniversary of Hangeul Day.” (polite)

한글날에 광화문 같이 갈래? Hangeullare Gwanghwamun gachi gallae? “Want to go to Gwanghwamun together on Hangeul Day?” (casual, for friends)

한글날 is a plain noun, so the politeness comes from the ending: -이에요 / -요 for most people, casual endings like 갈래? only with friends. It’s pronounced [한ː글랄], roughly “han-geul-lal”. Related words: 훈민정음 (Hunminjeongeum, the alphabet’s original name), 가갸날 (Gagya Day, the old name) and 한글주간 (Hangeul Week).