Exhibition of products with fonts developed by 5 elderly women marks Hangeul Day

Choo Yoo-eul, second from right, poses at a gallery in Chilgok County Office, North Gyeongsang Province, during the opening ceremony of the exhibition of products using fonts developed by five elderly women in the county, Wednesday. Courtesy of Chilgok County

By Lee Hyo-jin

An exhibition has opened displaying products inscribed with fonts developed by five elderly women in Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang Province, who have belatedly learnt how to write and read Hangeul (Korean letters), in commemoration of Hangeul Day which falls on Oct. 9.

The five women in their 70s and 80s ― Choo Yoo-eul, Kim Yong-bun, Lee Won-soon, Kwon An-ja and Lee Jong-hee ― came to see the products at a gallery in the county office, Wednesday, for the exhibition which runs until Oct. 15. The products include “byeongpung” (traditional folding screens), traditional goblets and folding hand fans.

The fonts gained public attention earlier in May, when software developer Hancom introduced the women's handwriting in its Hancom Office software, a Korean language-based software package that is the Korean equivalent of Microsoft Word.

According to the county office, the five are among some 400 elderly women who have been attending Hangeul classes at the community center. They could not learn the script in their younger years as women in rural areas were rarely given opportunities for education due to neo-Confucianist traditions, patriarchal family structures and poverty during that time.

Along with the exhibition, the five women also released “Yongminjeongeum” to promote their fonts as well as the meaning and spirit of the Korean alphabet.

“Yongminjeongeum” is named after “Hunminjeongeum,” a Hangeul handbook published by King Sejong the Great of Joseon when he proclaimed the creation of the Korean writing system in 1446.

They changed “hun” (teaching) to “yong” (use), in hope that anybody can use their fonts.

“I could not learn Hangeul when I was young because I did not have the chance. But for this reason, I could enjoy studying at my age of over 60. We have distributed five types of Hangeul fonts that are easy to write, a pride to the residents of Chilgok,” one of the women wrote in “Yongminjeongeum.”