kangmi | Hangul Day Upgraded to a National Holiday?

Hangul Day Upgraded to a National Holiday?

The 560th Hangul Day, celebrated today, has been declared a national holiday. The day was re-designated a national holiday last year following the revision of a related law.

Hangul Day, which commemorates the invention of Hangul, the Korean writing system, was designated a national holiday in 1945, but was downgraded to a commemoration day in 1990.

However, the government decided to re-establish it as a national holiday, so now South Korea has five national holidays: March 1 Independence Movement Day, Constitution Day on July 17, Liberation Day on Aug. 15, National Foundation Day on Oct. 3, and Hangul Day on Oct. 9.

and more:

In 1946, Hangul Day was designated a national holiday in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Hangul’s distribution. Some 20,000 dignitaries celebrated the day at Toksu Palace.

In August 1990, however, the government decided to exclude Hangul Day from national holidays together with Armed Forces Day on Oct. 1, to reduce the number of national holidays. Since then, Hangul Day has remained a commemoration day.

However, academics and others demanded Hangul Day should be upgraded again to a national holiday and a national feast. Last November, the National Assembly passed a revision bill to re-designate the day as a national holiday.

But the government did not make it a legal day off, considering the increased number of holidays following the adoption of the five-day workweek.

I assume that calling Hangul Day a holiday is a misnomer, since residents of Korea do not enjoy an actual day off.

Whatever the case may be, happy Hangul Day! Remember that whatever your feelings about the load of hangul propaganda you’ll hear on the day, it really does make your life easier.

Posted by kangmi on October 8, 2006 at 8:52 AM1 comments