[100 Years Ago Today] November 4, 1926 – Seoul Holds Its First “Gagyanal” to Honor the Korean Alphabet, as Braille Script “Hunmaengjeongeum” Is Promulgated the Same Day

1. Hook Opening

Under Japanese rule, a few hundred people gathered at a Seoul restaurant to celebrate an alphabet. The restaurant was Sikdowon, and the day was Thursday, November 4, 1926. The Dong-A Ilbo ran a short item on page five. Its subtitle read, “Announcing our script to the world for the first time; let us remember this day forever.” The holiday was called Gagyanal. It is the ancestor of today’s Hangul Day.

2. Korea Under Colonial Rule

The Korean Language Society (Joseon Eo Yeonguhoe) and the magazine company Sinminsa organized the event. They picked the date from the Annals of King Sejong, which record that the Hunminjeongeum was completed in the ninth lunar month of 1446. They treated its last day, the 29th, as the promulgation day. That fell on November 4, 1926, the 480th anniversary, or eight 60-year cycles. The name “Gagyanal” comes from the first syllables of the old learner’s chant, “ga-gya, geo-gyeo, go-gyo.” The order of events, the hour and the guest list are not confirmed by our research.

The same day, Park Doo-seong, a teacher in the blind department of the Jesaengwon institution, promulgated a six-dot Korean Braille called Hunmaengjeongeum, “the correct sounds for teaching the blind.” Some sources date its completion to 1929. We found no record of that day’s weather or rice prices.

3. East Asia in Turmoil

In China, Chiang Kai-shek’s Northern Expedition had its headquarters at Nanchang. Accounts describe a lull in November before fighting flared in December, though sources disagree on the timing. A New Zealand paper reported on October 9 that Koreans had long been crossing into Manchuria to farm border wasteland, an early sign of the tensions between Japan and Zhang Zuolin over their status.

4. The World Stage

In Stockholm, Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium married Princess Astrid of Sweden in a civil ceremony at the Royal Palace, with Mayor Carl Lindhagen officiating. The religious ceremony followed on November 10 in Brussels. In New York, about 2,000 mourners attended Harry Houdini’s funeral, held at the Elks clubhouse on West 43rd Street. He was buried in Queens beside his mother. In Washington, Judge George W. English resigned before an impeachment trial could begin. In London, the Imperial Conference, running since October 19, was moving toward the Balfour Declaration, adopted on November 15. In Moscow, Trotsky and Kamenev had been removed from the Politburo on October 23.

5. Colonial Parallels

The Balfour Declaration would recognize the dominions as equals within the British Empire. Korea had no such standing, and its people could not claim a state. They claimed a script. Language held a similar place for other peoples without a state of their own, including the Irish. Here, an alphabet became the nation’s shared property.

6. Person of the Day

Park Doo-seong (1888-1963) joined Jesaengwon in 1913. In 1923 he and his students formed a Korean braille research committee. According to one timeline, a 63-character system was settled on August 12, 1926. He chose one of several proposals and named it Hunmaengjeongeum. Today November 4 is Korea’s legal “Hangul Braille Day.”

7. Understanding Daily Life

Thursday is a working day, but the day’s wages and prices are not documented in what we found. What we can say is that two rooms in Seoul mattered. One was a banquet room where hundreds honored the written word. The other was a classroom where blind students traced six dots with their fingertips.

8. Century Mirror

In 1926 the holiday lived in a restaurant, on the lunar calendar. In 1928 it was renamed Hangul Day, after the magazine “Hangeul” spread the name in 1927. In 2026 it marks the 100th anniversary of the holiday’s founding, with ceremonies at Gwanghwamun Square. Braille now has its own legal day. Millions around the world first met Korea through K-pop and K-drama, and the script they read in the subtitles is the one honored that evening.

9. Tomorrow’s Preview

Tomorrow is Friday, November 5, 1926. Until then, good night, and see you at 10:10.