Sejong City celebrates birthday of namesake king

Sejong City celebrated the birthday of King Sejong the Great on Thursday.

Born on May 15, 1397, King Sejong is one of two kings in Korean history conventionally referred to using the title of ‘the great,’ along with King Gwanggaeto the Great of the ancient Goguryeo Dynasty.

The Joseon Dynasty’s fourth monarch is famous for overseeing the invention of the Korean alphabet, hangeul. His reign is widely regarded as a golden age of governance, science and culture that continues to shape modern Korea nearly six centuries later. Commemorating his achievements, the government set his birthday as a national celebration day starting this year.

Sejong City, named after King Sejong, jointly hosted a celebration event with the King Sejong Memorial Society in the city’s southern district of Hansol-dong. Korea University also organized a one-day event with the Sejong Culture and Tourism Foundation and the Sejong Institute of Korean Language and Culture.

“His achievements still symbolize many things in modern Korea,” a Sejong City official said in a press release. “The city will continuously do its best to honor King Sejong’s achievements while leading the globalization of hangeul.”

The Sejong Institute of Korean Language and Culture held an exhibition of King Sejong’s life and achievements during the event. The National Changgeuk Company of Korea’s headliner, Yu Taepyungyang, gave a traditional Korean musical performance.

The King Sejong Institute Foundation also said Thursday it will host a Korean language speaking contest to celebrate the birthday of King Sejong. The foundation is a public institution under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Operating 256 Korean language schools in 88 countries, the foundation said each school will nominate their own preliminary-round winners where participants are expected to give a speech about topics such as their favorite expressions in Korean or their dreams after learning Korean.

Those who win the preliminaries will be invited on a tour around Korea for cultural experiences. The final round will take place during the tour. Ten finalists will be awarded a language study opportunity at local colleges.

“The Korean language speaking contest is the 11th of its kind since its inception where participants share their ideas and thoughts in Korean,” the King Sejong Institute Foundation said in a statement.

“The foundation will continue spearheading in the globalization of hangeul.”