Korean Culture Centers to celebrate Hangul Day across 28 countries

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Korean Culture Centers to celebrate Hangul Day across 28 countries

Published: 07 Oct. 2024, 15:07

A visitor tries out Hangul blocks at a Korean culture event in Shanghai, China. [NATIONAL HANGEUL MUSEUM]

Korean Culture Centers around the world will celebrate the upcoming Hangul Day with concerts, exhibitions and recitals by local residents, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday.

According to the Culture Ministry, 31 culture centers in 28 countries around the world will each host different events to celebrate Hangul Day, which falls on Oct. 9 every year, to promote the Korean language in their local communities.

Culture centers in Europe will showcase musical performances.

In France, there will be a musical performance inspired by King Sejong's refinement of court music and Guillaume de Machaut's contributions to medieval church music. Culture centers in Belgium and across the European Union will host an 80-minute adaptation of "Sugungga," a renowned four-hour pansori (traditional Korean music) epic. This condensed version aims to introduce European audiences to the captivating beauty of the Korean language interwoven with traditional melodies.

Korean language speech and writing contests will also be hosted around the world.

The Los Angeles culture center will host the Korean Poetry Recitation Contest for Korean language learners aged 18 and over in the United States. The culture center in Russia, which has annually hosted Korean poetry recitation contests to promote the Korean language and poetry, will once again provide a stage for Korean language learners from across Russia to showcase their skills.

Culture centers will also be holding exhibitions on books and cultural goods to promote Korean literature. The culture center in Indonesia will host a metaverse themed book exhibition showcasing Korean literature translated and published locally to connect with local readers. The culture center in Shanghai will co-host a special exhibition of Korean cultural goods jointly with the National Hangeul Museum, displaying 37 types of cultural goods featuring Korean characters to highlight the aesthetic value of the Korean alphabet.

“Through these various cultural events on the occasion of Hangul Day, we hope that many people around the world will experience the beauty of the Korean alphabet, language and culture, and that our language and writing system will spread widely,” said Choi Bo-geun, head of the Culture Ministry’s international cultural affairs and public relations office.

BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]