Seoul, the dynamic and vibrant capital of Korea, where ancient temples and futuristic skyscrapers coexist, was the epicenter of the Hangeul Hanmadang Festival 2025the great national celebration around the alphabet created by King Sejong in the 15th century. That same writing system, considered the root of all the country’s contemporary culture, is today the heart of the Korean wave – Hallyu – that conquered the world through K-pop, cinema, series, fashion, the beauty industry and also literature, with Nobel Prize winner Hang Kang.
Until the 15th century, Koreans could only write using Chinese characters, a system reserved for the elite. To democratize knowledge, In 1443, King Sejong (1397-1450) created his own, simple and logical alphabet, composed of lines, points and circles, of “great beauty and efficiency.”. Its promulgation, in 1446, inaugurated an unprecedented literacy process. Hangeul, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, is a 24-letter system and the only alphabet in the world that has its own national holiday, every October 9.
That date marks the highest point of Hangeul Hanmadang (in Korean Hanmadang means celebration), a festival that lasts several weeks and is replicated throughout the country, but whose main pulse beats in Gwanghwamun Square, in front of the statue of King Sejong, overlooking the imposing landscape of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Mount Bukhansan. From early on, the inhabitants leave floral offerings in their honor and the square becomes a festive bustle of people who attend the activities and witness the shows, even on days of torrential rain like the one that occurred this year.
In the center of the iconic park stands a large open stage, with a varied agenda of activities brought together under the motto “The More You Know, the Deeper the Value of Hangeul” (The more you know, the deeper the value of Hangeul.) The festival program – organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism – included dance shows of great visual magnetism, rapper shows, breakdance battles, taekwondo demonstrations and even a fashion show, “Clothing Madang”, where consonants and vowels permeated the different prints, folds and textile structures of the models.
The festival also included a Hangeul cultural industry fair, with accessories, design objects, utensils and graphic pieces that reinterpret the alphabet. On the sides, dozens of stands showed their passion for spreading Hangul to locals and foreigners, with calligraphy classes, facial makeup workshops, making lanterns and keychains or composing poems, all inspired by the characters of the Korean alphabet.
According to festival organizer Oh Kang Suk, “every year we see more foreigners fascinated by Hangeul.” For them, he says, the goal is to expand activities through cultural centers and digital content globally.
Among the artistic proposals, the installation “What I Know” by renowned Korean artist Kang Ik-joong and the exhibition of a series of paintings by Jin Gwan-woo stood out, who also led a workshop where participants created endangered animals using Hangeul characters exclusively.
Although the epicenter is in Seoul, Hangeul Hanmadang is replicated in large and small cities, with exhibitions, concerts, workshops and even a drone show that draws characters in the night sky. That was what happened two hours from Seoul, in Sejong, designated the “Hangeul City of Culture” since in 2030 it plans to inaugurate a mega cultural complex dedicated to spreading the Korean alphabet and welcoming visitors from all over the world. The first edition of the Hangeul International Biennial will be held there in 2027, dedicated to exploring the visual, plastic and conceptual richness of the Korean alphabet with works by invited artists from around the world. Everything resonates around the same idea: discovering the artistic and creative power of the alphabet with which Korea seeks to export its culture to the world.
by Mercedes Ezquiaga
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