Hangul Day: A Tradition to Honor King Sejong

Introduction:

Korea has many traditional holidays and places where tourists can get a glimpse of what traditional life was like in the long-ago Joseon dynasty. The Joseon dynasty is well regarded as one of the most important ruling families in Korean history. This dynasty is renowned for the developments it made for the Korean people and their culture. This national holiday is celebrated on October 9 every year.

What tradition did I learn about?:

The tradition that I learned about is Hangul Day which is a holiday in honor of the Korean alphabet. On this national holiday, people celebrate the creation of the writing system that is still being used in Korea today. Korea is the only country that has a national holiday celebrating its writing system. People celebrate this holiday by taking a day off from work and school. Some people even come to the statue of King Sejong in order to admire the inventions of the Joseon era for which he was responsible.

Why does the community have this tradition?:

The community has this tradition to remember and appreciate everything King Sejong did for the Korean people. Before King Sejong and his scholars developed the Korean alphabet known as Hangul, only the elite people were able to read and write, using Chinese characters to write out Korean sounds.

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