Lee hails Korean writing system as 'face' of country on 100th Hangeul Day

Seoul, October 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung celebrated the 100th anniversary of Hangeul Day on Friday, emphasizing the importance of the Korean writing system as the "face" of the nation. In a Facebook post using the official name of South Korea, Lee wrote, "Writing is the face of the country and language is its heart. The strength of our language and writing is the competitiveness of the Republic of Korea."

Hangeul, invented by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty in 1443 and officially introduced three years later, was created to complement the previous Chinese-based writing system. Hangeul Day was officially established in 1926 by the Korean Language Society, as Koreans strived to preserve their language and writing system during the Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.

One hundred years ago, Lee noted, "our ancestors devoted all their efforts to preserve our language and writing system, even though they had lost their country, they could not lose our spirit and identity." Today, the writing system is taught in the King Sejong Institute, which has expanded to 89 countries since its inception in 2007.

Lee emphasized that the past century was dedicated to protecting Hangeul and allowing it to take root in people's lives, while the upcoming century will focus on expanding its possibilities.