South Korea held a ceremony to mark Hangeul Day at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on Thursday, celebrating the cultural legacy of the Korean alphabet on its 579th anniversary.

Under the theme “The More You Know, the More You Love Hangeul,” about one-thousand-200 people, including government officials, diplomats and civic representatives, attended the event.

The ceremony began with a multimedia performance and readings from the Hunminjeongeum, the Korean script created under King Sejong in 1443, before recognizing eight individuals and one institution for advancing the global use of Hangeul, including American scholar Mark Allen Peterson, who has taught Korean for over 40 years.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok praised Hangeul as a key pillar of the K-culture wave, saying its expressive power connects global audiences through K-pop lyrics and Korean dramas.

He added that Hangeul is “no longer just our script, but a language of shared culture leading the future.”

Across the country and overseas, local governments and embassies also hosted separate cultural events and writing contests to commemorate the day.