Hangul Day

Hangul Day, called Hangeul Day (Korean: 한글날) in South Korea, and Chosŏn'gŭl Day (Korean: 조선글날) in North Korea, is a holiday celebrating the creation or promulgation of the native Korean alphabet, also called Hangul. The holiday is observed on October 9 in South Korea and January 15 in North Korea. The holiday was established in 1926 by the Korean Language Society. Its date was set to mark the Korean calendar anniversary of the 1446 publication of the Hunminjeongeum, the text used to introduce Hangul. However, October 9 is only a guess at when Hangul was first published; the actual date is not known with confidence. The celebration date has changed over time. In 1949, South Korea officially made it a public holiday. It maintained this status until 1990, when it was demoted to a commemoration without time off work. It was made a national holiday in 2005 and was again elevated to a public holiday in 2012. North Korea celebrates the day on January 15, apparently in honor of Hangul's 1443 announcement. In Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China, a "Day of the Korean Language" (Chinese: 朝鲜语言文字日; Korean: 조선어문자의 날) is celebrated on September 2.