Hangeul, Chinese characters or both? Long battle over Gwanghwamun's nameboard

Crowds gather in front of Gwanghwamun, the historic main gate of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Oct. 16, 2023. Newsis

Should the signboard of Gwanghwamun, the historic main gate of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, be written in Chinese characters or in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet?

What appears to be a simple question has stirred decades of heated debate in Korea.

At present, the nameboard displays “Gwanghwamun” in Chinese characters, the same as the original inscription from 1395, when the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) palace was first built. But this has not always been the case.

In 1968, amid a state-led push to promote a distinctly Korean national identity, it was replaced with a Hangeul version handwritten by then-President Park Chung-hee. In 2010, after more recent large-scale restoration work was completed, the Hangeul sign was replaced again with Chinese character plaque, continuing the history of the gate being repeatedly rebuilt.

In 1968, amid a state-led push to assert a Korean national identity, a Hangeul signboard handwritten by then-President Park Chung-hee was installed at Gwanghwamun. Korea Times file

The debate has been reignited once again. Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young told President Lee Jae Myung at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the ministry seeks to review a proposal to install an additional Hangeul signboard beneath the existing Chinese character plaque.

“Gwanghwamun is a dynamic symbol of our modern history — one that is still unfolding,” he said. “Adding a Hangeul sign would further underscore that symbolism.”

Noting that this year marks the centennial of the establishment of Hangeul Day, he added that “for a country whose writing system is internationally recognized for its excellence, it is hardly fitting to have only a Chinese character inscription.”

Huh Min, head of the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) — the state-run authority responsible for safeguarding the nation’s cultural heritage — expressed the agency’s willingness to cooperate with the project.

The ministry said it plans to proceed with expert consultations and public hearings as part of the formal review process.

A photograph of Gwanghwamun from the 1890s / Korea Times file

Many lives of Gwanghwamun’s nameboard

To understand why Gwanghwamun’s signboard has become such a persistent source of controversy, one must first look to its long and tumultuous past.

Following Gyeongbok Palace’s construction in the late 14th century, it was burned to the ground during the Japanese invasion of Korea (1592-98). The palace was rebuilt in 1867 and fitted with a new sign in Chinese characters, only to be destroyed once again during the Korean War (1950-53).

In 1968, it was reconstructed in concrete under the Park Chung-hee administration, marking the first time the gate displayed a Hangeul nameboard.

The structure standing today belongs to a later chapter. As part of an ambitious effort to restore Gyeongbok Palace to its 19th-century form, Gwanghwamun was rebuilt in 2010 using granite and pine wood, with its plaque recreated through a digital reconstruction of historical Chinese lettering.

Finally, in 2023, KHS, then known as the Cultural Heritage Administration, revised the colors used for the signboard based on historical evidence, changing it from black characters on a white background to gold lettering on a black field. That is the version that now greets visitors at the historic landmark in central Seoul.

Gwanghwamun's signboard with black Chinese characters on a white background is seen in this June 9, 2022 file photo. Newsis

Hangeul, Chinese characters — or both?

Until recently, long-running disputes over Gwanghwamun’s nameboard have largely centered on whether to retain the historical inscription in Chinese characters or replace it with Hangeul, a potent symbol of national identity.

The latest proposal from Chae takes a different tack, suggesting the simultaneous display of both signboards. The idea has been welcomed by a coalition of 75 civic and academic groups, including the Hangeul Society, which expressed its support in a joint statement.

“For years, Gwanghwamun’s sign, written solely in Chinese characters, failed to fully reflect our identity. With this decision, a long-held aspiration has finally been realized,” the statement read.

Kim Seul-ong, director of the Sejong Institute of Korean Language and Culture, described the proposal as a realistic compromise.

“Gwanghwamun stands at the heart of Korea and Hangeul lies at the core of our national sense of agency. By installing a Hangeul nameboard alongside the existing one, the gate can communicate that identity and agency more clearly to the world,” he told The Korea Times.

“Gyeongbok Palace is, after all, the place where Hangeul was created and proclaimed under King Sejong — historical symbolism that cannot be overlooked.”

Members of a civic group hold a press conference at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul, Oct. 8, 2020, urging the gate's plaque be changed to Hangeul. Newsis

However, a number of historians and cultural heritage experts have argued that only the original Chinese character inscription should be retained, citing principles of historical accuracy.

During a parliamentary audit in October 2024, Choi Eung-chon, then head of KHS and a specialist in Buddhist art, said that maintaining the Chinese character nameboard was “in line with the principles of cultural heritage restoration.”

Jang Yoo-seung, an assistant professor of Korean literature in classical Chinese at Sungkyunkwan University, echoed that view and stressed that the presence of a Chinese character plaque was a historical fact that could not simply be undone. While the proposal to install two nameboards has been framed as a compromise, he warned that it could instead invite further controversy.

“Gwanghwamun is a state-designated cultural heritage site, and under the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, it cannot be altered at will. Preserving the original form is the guiding principle, to the extent that even driving in a single nail requires careful consideration.”

Gwanghwamun's most recent signboard, featuring gold lettering on a black background, is unveiled during a ceremony, Oct. 15, 2023. Newsis

Jang also pointed to what he described as a lack of policy consistency. “In the recent dispute over Seoul’s high-rise redevelopment near Jongmyo Shrine, both the culture ministry and KHS stressed the importance of preservation,” he said. “Yet when it comes to Gwanghwamun, they now argue for adding a new structural element. I find that approach entirely inconsistent.”

Addressing claims that retaining Chinese characters may reinforce perceptions of Korea as a former vassal state of China, the professor dismissed such arguments as anachronistic. The divide between an official written language and the vernacular, he said, was not unique to Korea but rather a widespread global phenomenon.

“Even today, Europe is filled with artifacts bearing Latin inscriptions, yet no one suggests those countries were subordinate to Italy,” he said, adding that countries once part of the Sinosphere likewise continue to preserve heritage written in classical Chinese without questions being raised about their sovereignty.