"Hangul Is Great"... Changwon Special City Celebrates Hangul Day with Citizens and Employees to Promote the Korean Language

"Native Words Calligraphy Contest" Invites Citizens to Celebrate Local Language

Changwon Special City in South Gyeongsang Province will hold two events in celebration of the 579th Hangul Day (October 9), inviting participation from both citizens and city employees.

The city has organized the "Native Words Calligraphy Contest" and the "Exemplary Department for Correct Event Naming" initiative to promote the preservation of local dialects and the spread of proper public language.

The first event, the "Native Words Calligraphy Contest," aims to discover native Changwon words and beautifully express them in handwritten form. Following the enthusiastic response from citizens last year, the contest returns this year with expectations for even greater participation.

The submission period runs from September 1 to 19. Citizens can use a variety of writing tools, such as pencils, brush pens, or markers, to freely express native words from daily life on paper at least A4 size. Entries can be submitted online (via the Changwon City website or QR code) or by mail, but the original physical artwork must be sent by mail for the submission to be officially accepted. Detailed information is available on the Changwon City Hall website (Citizen Participation > Changwon Citizen eRang > Contest).

The city will select outstanding works through a review by the Changwon City Language Promotion Committee, based on criteria including relevance, expressiveness, originality, and effort. A total of 15 winners will be chosen: one Grand Prize winner (300,000 KRW), three Excellence Award winners (200,000 KRW each), and eleven Merit Award winners (100,000 KRW each), all of whom will receive Changwon Love Gift Certificates, "Nubijeon."

The second event, "Exemplary Department for Correct Event Naming," is open to all city departments and town offices. The application period is from September 1 to 12. Each department is required to compile examples of correct Korean usage in event names, project titles, slogans, and promotional materials used throughout 2025, complete an application form, and submit it to the Policy Promotion Team of the Public Relations Office.

The city will select a total of seven departments (one Grand Prize team, one Excellence Award team, and five Merit Award teams) through a review by the Changwon City Language Promotion Committee. The Grand Prize team will receive 300,000 KRW, the Excellence Award team 200,000 KRW, and each Merit Award team 100,000 KRW, all awarded in Nubijeon gift certificates.

Additionally, the city plans to conduct a total of six sessions of "AI-Powered Public Language Correction Training" for all employees, touring district offices from October to November. This training will focus on error detection and sentence correction using artificial intelligence, based on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's public language evaluation analysis results.

Through these diverse events commemorating Hangul Day, the city hopes to reaffirm the value of endangered local dialects and provide an opportunity for both citizens and employees to record and nurture the Korean language in their daily lives.

Lee Dongho, the Chief Language Officer (Public Relations Officer) of Changwon City, stated, "Native words are precious assets that embody the history and identity of the region," and added, "We hope this event encourages both citizens and public officials to join together in spreading a proper language culture."

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