Ahead of the three-day golden holiday starting Friday, people are busy finalizing their plans. Travel fever is running high, with an estimated 165,000 tourists expected to visit Jeju alone. However, this year's Hangul Day carries a weight beyond that of a simple public holiday. It marks the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of 'Gagya Day,' the predecessor to Hangul Day, which was first established by the Korean Language Research Society in 1926 during the Japanese colonial period.

While this is a historic double celebration—the 580th anniversary of the creation of Hangul and the centennial of Gagya Day—the social atmosphere isn't entirely festive. Behind the celebration of our beautiful writing system, the debate over declining literacy among youth, fueled by changes in the digital environment, has become a hot topic. At a recent academic forum held by the Korean Language Culture Institute, experts expressed deep concern about a generation accustomed to short-form content struggling to read long texts and losing depth of thought.

These concerns are leading to concrete actions in education. The Gyeongsangbuk-do Office of Education has decided to run a month-long Hangul responsibility education program for elementary students, while the Chungcheongbuk-do Office of Education has introduced a Hanja (Chinese character) curriculum, noting that over 70% of professional terminology is composed of Hanja, to teach both the sound and meaning of words. This reflects a growing sense of urgency that without building the literacy to grasp the precise meaning within words—beyond the simple act of reading—educational gaps may only continue to widen.

This holiday is a great opportunity to take a break from our busy daily lives. At the same time, it is also a meaningful time to reflect on the importance of the language we use every day and to consider how we can cultivate the ability to properly read and understand text amidst the flood of digital information.

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