Bill Text: NY J00435 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim October 9, 2021, as Hangul Day (Korean Alphabet Day) in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-03-02 - ADOPTED [J00435 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-J00435-Introduced.html

---

Senate Resolution No. 435

BY: Senator LIU

        MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
        October 9, 2021, as Hangul Day (Korean Alphabet Day)
        in the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  custom  of this Legislative Body to recognize
official days that are set aside to  enhance  the  profile  of  cultural
diversity  which  strengthens  the fabric of the communities of New York
State; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim  October  9,  2021,  as
Hangul  Day  (Korean  Alphabet  Day)  in  the  State  of  New  York,  in
conjunction with the observance of National Hangul Day in  South  Korea;
and

  WHEREAS,  Hangul  Day is a national Korean commemorative day marking
the invention and the proclamation of Hangul by the 15th Century  Korean
monarch Sejong the Great; and

  WHEREAS,  Hangul  Day  was  declared  as a national holiday in South
Korea in 2013; the holiday is called Hangul Proclamation Day, or  Hangul
Day for short, and commemorates the promulgation of the Hunmin Jeongeum;
and

  WHEREAS,  Before  the  creation of Hangul, people in Korea, known as
Joseon at the time, primarily wrote using  classical  Chinese  alongside
the  native phonetic writing systems that predated Hangul by hundreds of
years, including Idu, Hyangchal, Gugyeol, and Gakpil; and

  WHEREAS, However, due to the  fundamental  differences  between  the
Korean  and Chinese languages, and the large number of characters needed
to be learned, there was much difficulty in learning how to write  using
Chinese  characters  for  the  lower classes, who often did not have the
privilege of an education; and

  WHEREAS, To assuage this problem, King Sejong  created  this  unique
alphabet  to  promote literacy among the common people; according to the
Sejong Sillok, King Sejong proclaimed publication  of  Hunmin  Jeongeum,
the  document  introducing  the  newly  created  alphabet which was also
originally called by the same name, in the  ninth  month  of  the  lunar
calendar in 1446; and

  WHEREAS,  In  1926,  the  Korean Language Society, whose goal was to
preserve the Korean language during a time of rapid forced Japanization,
celebrated the octo-sexagesimal (480th) anniversary of  the  declaration
of  Hangul  on  the  last  day of the ninth month of the lunar calendar,
which is on November 4th of the Gregorian calendar; and

  WHEREAS, Members of the Society declared it the first observance  of
Gagyanal;  the  name  came  from Gagyageul, an early colloquial name for
Hangul, based on a mnemonic recitation beginning gagya geogyeo; the name
of the commemorative day was changed to Hangullal in  1928,  soon  after

the  term  Hangul,  coined  originally  in  1913 by Ju Si-gyeong, became
widely accepted as the new name for the alphabet; and

  WHEREAS,  The  day  was  then  celebrated  according  to  the  lunar
calendar; in 1931, the celebration of the day was  switched  to  October
29th  of  the  Gregorian Calendar, the calendar which is in contemporary
use; and

  WHEREAS, Three years later, the date was moved to October  28th,  to
coordinate  the date with that of the Julian Calendar, which had been in
use during the 15th Century when King Sejong made his proclamation; and

  WHEREAS, The discovery in 1940 of an original  copy  of  the  Hunmin
Jeongeum  Haerye,  a  volume  of  commentary to the Hunmin Jeongeum that
appeared not long after the document it  commented  upon,  revealed  the
Hunmin  Jeongeum  was  announced  during  the first 10 days of the ninth
month; and

  WHEREAS, The 10th day of the ninth month of the 1446 lunar  calendar
was  equivalent  to October 9th of that same year's Julian calendar; the
South Korean government, established in 1945, declared October 9th to be
Hangul Day, a yearly legal holiday which  excused  government  employees
from work; and

  WHEREAS,  Major  employers  pressured the South Korean government to
increase the country's annual number of work days; in 1991,  to  balance
out  the  adoption  of  the  United Nations Day, it vacated Hangul Day's
status  as  a  holiday;  by  law,  Hangul  Day   remained   a   national
commemoration  day,  and the Hangul Society campaigned for the holiday's
restoration; and

  WHEREAS, On November 1, 2012, the Society won  that  campaign,  when
the  National  Assembly voted 189 to 4 (with 4 abstaining) in favor of a
resolution that called for the  return  of  Hangul  Day  as  a  national
holiday; and

  WHEREAS,  It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when methods
of communication, such  as  Hangul,  are  created  and  brought  to  our
attention,  they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens
of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Andrew  M.  Cuomo to proclaim October 9, 2021, as
Hangul Day (Korean Alphabet Day) in the State of New  York;  and  be  it
further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the  State  of
New York.