Race event celebrates Hangeul Day in Sejong

SEJONG — From runners in perfect gear to families with strollers and couples with dogs, nearly 7,000 participated in a fun race in the city of Sejong on Wednesday, celebrating King Sejong’s great gift to the Korean people, Hangeul.

The 2024 Hangeul Run, held at Sejong Lake Park to mark the 587th anniversary of Hangeul’s proclamation in 1446, featured two courses: a 10.9-kilometer run commemorating Hangeul Day and a 5.15-kilometer course celebrating King Sejong’s birthday. Rapper Sean led the pack of runners in the front.

"I would appreciate it if everyone could focus on the purpose of the event, which is to experience the joy of the creation of Hangul," Sejong Mayor Choi Min-ho said via a statement read by a city official at the start of the event.

The event was co-organized by Sejong City, the Sejong Culture and Tourism Foundation, National Hangeul Museum and Herald Media Group, publisher of The Korea Herald.

The North Face served as the main sponsor for the event, with Serenity Golf and Resort and Genesis BBQ participating as key sponsors.

Choi Jin-young, CEO and publisher of Herald Media Group, highlighted the global significance of Hangeul during his speech at the event.

"Hangeul's writing system has a documented explanation of its principles, background, and purpose in the Hunminjeongeum (the book that introduced the Korean script),” Choi said. “This makes Hangeul not only a great cultural heritage for the Korean people but a treasure and legacy for all humanity."

Sean, a Korean rapper known for his philanthropic work, was spotted warming up with an energy bar alongside fellow runners.

“Recently, I visited three different countries in a month and discovered how many foreigners are interested in Korean culture and can even speak Korean,” Sean told The Korea Herald. “At a time like this, it’s important that we cherish our culture more and take the lead in understanding it better. I think this event might be a crucial starting point.”

Sean performed three of his hit songs impromptu, firing up participants so that they were ready to run.

Lee So-jung, 38, and Lee Gwang-suk, 48, a married couple with a seven-month-old baby living in Sejong, also participate in the race, getting ready while dancing to Sean's music in front of the stage.

"My husband will run 10.9 kilometers, and I will carry our baby and walk 5.15 kilometers," Lee So-jung said. She added that race events are rare in Sejong compared to Seoul, and she was happy to participate as a family.

The race was non-competitive, focusing on community spirit rather than recording times.

Participants included people in wheelchairs, families with strollers, and dogs, creating a festive atmosphere.

After around 30 minutes, runners from the 5.15-kilometer course began crossing the finish line.

Adrianna Simil, 28, an English teacher from the US who participated in the 5.15-kilometer race, said she traveled from Gyeonggi Province with a friend for the event.

"I'm still a beginner, so it was a bit challenging, but I liked it," she said when asked after completing the run.

"I thought it was creative how the race matched the date of Hangeul’s creation and King Sejong’s birthday,” she added.

Another standout feature of the event was the T-shirts worn by participants.

Sponsored by Youngone Outdoor's brand The North Face, the shirt featured four "sungyeongeum" consonant phonemes -- light sounds created by the lips in ancient Korean -- and one "banseolgyeongeum," a "half-tongue" sound associated with a consonant pronounced similarly to "r" in English, also used in ancient Korean.

These phonemes were once part of the Korean language but are no longer used.

The design was inspired by Youngone Outdoor Chair Sung Ki-hak's regret that the sungyeongeum phonemes, which enriched the pronunciation of Hangeul, have fallen out of use.

"Please take an interest in promoting and restoring the sungyeongeum in the Korean language," Sung said.

The name of the race event, Hangeul Run, was also written in Korean using the Banseolgyeongeum characters, resembling the Korean letters Rieul and Ieung stacked vertically.