[PyeongChang 2018] South Korea promotes ‘Hangul’ calligraphy at Winter Olympics

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province — South Korea took the opportunity to promote Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, with a Hangeul calligraphy performance held on the sidelines of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday.

Korean Hangeul culture and arts promotion team for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics brought together five local artists for the event.

Korean calligraphy, also known as “seoye” in Korean, is the tradition of artistic writing created via careful brushstrokes. Early Korean calligraphy was written in Chinese characters, known as “hanja” but modern versions are written using Hangeul, the native Korean alphabet.

The event took place twice during the day -- once in the morning at the Gangwon Media Center in Gangneung, which houses the Olympic ice rink stadiums, and once in the afternoon at the Main Press Center in PyeongChang.

During the morning run, five Korean calligraphy artists drew the five iconic Olympic rings together in a group, which was followed by a solo performance by Korean calligrapher Han Gyu-dong’s Hangul calligraphy.

The international visitors at the scene were given the opportunity to try out Korean calligraphy themselves, by writing their names in Hangeul inside the five Olympic rings, organizers said.

The afternoon session offered guests a chance to try writing Korean calligraphy on Xuan paper, a traditional paper of Chinese origin made of rice used for writing and painting, as well as on specially-made postcards and traditional Korean fans.

“We hope that the international athletes and guests visiting PyeongChang for the Winter Olympics will be able to gain a better understanding of Korean culture,” stated the Gangwon Media Center, in hosting the event.

The calligraphy event was hosted by the Kangwon Ilbo in partnership with the Korean Hangul culture and arts promotion team for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. It was sponsored by the Korea Calligraphy Design Incorporated Association.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)