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| Kwon An-ja, 78, whose handwriting was used in President Yoon Suk-yeol's New Year's greeting card this year, poses with a sign reading, "Thanks Mr. President. I have no regrets now. From Chilgok grandmothers," Monday. Courtesy of Chilgok County office |
Font created by older women who belatedly learned Hangeul chosen for president's New Year's cards
By Lee Yeon-woo
Every year, the sitting president sends New Year's cards to people dedicated to serving the nation, including civil servants. This year, President Yoon Suk-yeol's cards have drawn much attention because of their unique font. The font was the one created by a 78-year-old grandmother living in the rustic county of Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province.
At the bottom of the card is a disclaimer. "The handwriting used in this card is from Granny Kwon An-ja, who learned Hangeul at the late age of 76 in the Hangeul school of Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province," it reads.
It is one of the "Chilgok grandma fonts." The fonts consist of the handwriting of five grandmothers living in Chilgok: Kwon An-ja, Kim Young-bun, Choo Yoo-eul, Lee Won-sun and Lee Jong-hui. They are in their 70s or 80s and learned how to read and write their mother tongue in their sunset years.
Born into poor families in the 1930s or 1940s when the country was under the Japanese colonial rule, the grandmothers had been deprived of the chance to learn and sacrificed themselves to support their families.
"I can die without any regrets now," Kwon, 78, unable to contain her joy, said after hearing that her handwriting was chosen and used in the president's New Year's card.
In December 2020, Chilgok County gathered the penmanship of some 400 grandmothers who learned Hangeul at a late age in an adult literacy class. The county chose five elderly women's works and transformed them into a font that people can use free of charge.
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| President Yoon Suk-yeol's New Year's greeting card / Courtesy of Chilgok County |
For months, the women practiced their handwriting day and night. Each of them used up 2,000 sheets of paper. What made them struggle most were the English alphabet and special characters. Their grandchildren helped them write the letters by their side.
The fonts have been a huge joy and feat for the elderly women.
Since their launch, the fonts have become popular as their stories became known to the public.
In 2021, the National Hangeul Museum preserved the fonts on a USB drive as a historical relic and exhibited the framed handwriting of the grandmothers. Hancom, which runs the word processing software, Hancom Office, a Korean version of Microsoft Word, also added the fonts to its given list of fonts in the same year.
At that time Choo, 88, said that she could be remembered forever through her handwriting, even after she dies.
President Yoon is known to be an avid supporter of the fonts. He promoted the fonts on social media two years ago when he was the country's prosecutor general.
"The Chilgok grandma fonts are a historical relic of the last generation who couldn't receive regular schooling. They left their mark and wrote a new story in Hangeul," Chilgok County Office Head Kim Jae-wook said.
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| Five elderly women hold boards written in their own handwriting in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, December 2020. From left, Kwon An-ja, Lee Won-sun, Choo Yoo-eul, Kim Young-bun and Lee Jong-hui. Courtesy of Chilgok County Office |
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