Calligrapher Kim Ijung, Who Has Written Presidential Appointment Certificates for 15 Years, Retires

Writing over 4,000 appointment letters annually with brush and ink
Retired due to personal reasons

Clerk Kim Ijung./Screenshot from tvN variety show 'You Quiz on the Block' video

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] It has been reported that Kim Ijung, a calligrapher affiliated with the Ministry of Personnel Management who has written about 4,000 presidential appointment certificates in brush calligraphy every year, recently retired.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced that Kim retired recently due to personal reasons. Kim served as a calligrapher for 15 years since 2008. Every year, he personally wrote 3,500 to 4,000 appointment certificates using brush and ink. The government awards presidential appointment certificates to national public officials of grade 5 or higher, excluding the president. The certificates bear the president's name and the national seal. The inscriptions on the certificates are handwritten to embody the appointing authority's sincerity, aiming to boost the pride and morale of public officials.

The technical public official who writes these inscriptions is called a calligrapher. The term calligrapher (筆耕士) is composed of the Chinese characters for brush (筆), till (耕), and scholar (士). It refers to a person whose profession is writing characters. They are also called pilgyeongsaeng (筆耕生) or pilgyeonggong (筆耕工). In July 2020, Kim appeared on the tvN variety show "You Quiz" to introduce the somewhat unfamiliar position of calligrapher to the public.

The calligrapher position was first established in 1962. So far, a total of four people have served as calligraphers. The first calligrapher served until 1995, and the second until 2008. Kim was the third calligrapher. Since 2009, as the volume of appointment certificates increased, Kim Donghoon was additionally hired as the fourth calligrapher.

Following Kim's retirement, the Ministry of Personnel Management posted a recruitment announcement on the 17th for a new calligrapher (specialized career position, category A). The newly hired calligrapher will become the fifth calligrapher.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.