Hangeul Day

Hangeul Day is a national holiday held on October 9 to commemorate the invention and the proclamation of "Hunminjeongeum" (訓民正音), or Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, and to celebrate its excellence. This day originated when the Korean Language Society, formerly the Korean Language Research Society (朝鮮語硏究會), designated "Gagyanal" on September 29, 1926 of the lunar calendar. This was based on the record in the section dated "September 1446, or the 28th year of the Reign of King Sejong" of the Annals of Sejong: "It is this month in which the Hunminjeongeum has been completed." (是月訓民正音成) The reason why the day was called "Gagyanal" was that the name "Hangeul" had not yet been coined, but its alphabets starting with "Ga Gya Geo Gyeo, Na Nya Neo Nyeo…"

한글 관련 문서

"The Proper Way of Hangeul" in 1945	"Hunminjeongeum, the Printed Version" in 1979

In 1928 the term "Gagyanal" was replaced with "Hangeulnal." In 1931 the date of the lunar calendar was changed to the solar calendar, and following the Julian calendar, the date was set on October 29. In was in 1945, after Korea’s liberation, that Hangeul Day was finally confirmed on October 9 of the solar calendar. In 1940, the original "Hunminjeongeum" was discovered, and based on the newly found record "the last day of early September in the legitimate 11th year of the lunar calendar" (正統十一年九月上澣), the date was recalculated and changed to October 9 of the solar calendar.
In 1946 Hangeul Day was made a legal holiday for which the government began to organize national commemorative events. In the 1970s Hangeul Day became a legal holiday for public offices in accordance with "the Regulations on Holidays for Public Offices" proclaimed by the order of the President. From 2006 it was again changed to a national commemorative day, rather than a legal holiday, and in 2013 Hangeul Day was designated as a legal holiday to commemorate the noble purpose and great accomplishment of King Sejong.