Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
Rare first edition of Chae Man-sik's 'The Muddy Current' enters National Hangeul Museum
A rare 1939 first edition of Chae Man-sik's iconic novel, "The Muddy Current" / Courtesy of National Hangeul Museum
By Park Han-sol
Hangeul Day centennial sparks donation drive
To mark the centennial of Hangeul Day, the National Hangeul Museum is stepping up its drive to expand its collection of cultural heritage associated with the Korean alphabet, with a focus on public donations.
Designating 2026 as the Year of Hangeul Heritage Donations, the museum is launching a nationwide campaign to encourage the sharing and preservation of materials that embody the spirit of the Korean writing system.
Since its founding in 2014, the museum has amassed roughly 105,000 items ranging from early manuscripts and rare 20th-century publications to typewriters. Of these, nearly 30,000 have entered the collection through donations.
Last year alone, 172 objects were donated, including a rare 1939 first edition of Chae Man-sik’s “The Muddy Current.”
Originally serialized in a local daily newspaper between 1937 and 1938, the novel is widely regarded as a landmark of modern Korean literature. Set in the port city of Gunsan in the 1930s, it offers an unflinching portrait of the hypocrisy, greed and moral decay that had seeped into Korean society during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45).
The newly acquired edition bears a seal reading “Man-sik” in Chinese characters on the copyright page and remains in well-preserved condition.
The oldest surviving Korean typewriter, developed by independence activist Song Ki-joo in collaboration with Underwood Typewriter Company in 1934 / Courtesy of National Hangeul Museum
Beyond these recent additions, the National Hangeul Museum holds a slew of culturally significant objects acquired through donations over the years.
Among them is the oldest surviving Korean typewriter, developed by independence activist Song Ki-joo in collaboration with New York-based Underwood Typewriter Company in 1934. Equipped with 42 keys, the machine was designed to make typing in Korean more accessible and efficient.
Another notable item is a document compiled by Park Doo-sung to promote the wider use of “Hunmaengjeongeum,” the Korean Braille system he devised in 1926 for the visually impaired. Both items were gifted directly by descendants of their creators.
The museum’s donated holdings also include Korean dictionaries — among them editions published by the Hangeul Society between 1947 and 1957 as the country’s first comprehensive Korean-language dictionaries. It also houses literary works, handwritten manuscripts, textbooks, calligraphy and design pieces.
Also in the collection are materials related to the Korean language movement during the Japanese colonial period, when efforts to preserve and promote Hangeul became a form of resistance against policies of cultural assimilation and linguistic suppression.
In 2019, the first Hungarian-Korean dictionary, compiled by Aladar Soveny and released in 1957 by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was gifted by Mozes Csoma, then-Hungarian ambassador to Korea, to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
“We hope that objects linking the past, present and future of Hangeul will continue to find their way to our museum,” said Director Kang Jeong-won.
Meanwhile, the National Hangeul Museum, currently closed for large-scale expansion work, is scheduled to reopen in 2028.