President Lee Jae-myung publicly proposed on the 6th that the signboard at Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, display both Chinese characters and Hangul, drawing attention to the reasoning behind the idea. It was the first time Lee has personally endorsed the dual-script option since the debate began with a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism report in January. The remarks are expected to intensify the controversy.
Lee made the comments during a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House while discussing the value of Hangul and the proper use of the Korean language. "At Gwanghwamun, the most important place in the Republic of Korea, Hangul cannot be seen. The Gwanghwamun signboard is written in Chinese characters," he said.
The gate currently bears a Chinese-character signboard restored to match its appearance when Gyeongbokgung Palace was rebuilt under King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty. In January, Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young reported to the Cabinet a plan to keep the existing Chinese-character signboard in place and add a Hangul signboard below it, and the ministry has been gathering opinions since. Two public forums were held in March and July, but even at these government-led sessions no conclusion was reached, with views split evenly between those urging that the symbolic value of Hangul be reflected and those insisting the original form of the cultural heritage be preserved.
Against that backdrop, Lee leaned toward the dual-script approach, while noting that "this is not something I can decide as I please, nor should it be." He said: "There was a movement in the past to switch to Hangul. It was changed to Hangul and then changed back to Chinese characters. My thinking now is that leaving the Chinese characters as they are and placing Hangul on the level below — dual display — would be acceptable." He added that "it may look like a trivial matter, but I think it is a question of principle."
Lee went on to say that keeping only Chinese characters on a symbolic structure at the center of the nation's capital, simply because they have been used since the past, is problematic. "It will be difficult this time, but I think we need to settle it and reach a conclusion by next year," he said.
Choi responded by saying he would widen public discussion around Hangul Day. "We will expand the public debate so that more citizens can take part in this discussion," the minister said. "As the president said, we will try to set a direction within the next year."
The question of a Hangul signboard at Gwanghwamun has been a recurring issue under successive administrations. In 2024, under the previous Yoon Suk-yeol government, an attempt to replace the current Chinese-character signboard entirely with a Hangul version fell through. Now, early in the Lee Jae-myung administration, the proposal has resurfaced in the form of a dual-script display.
Hangul advocacy groups actively support a Hangul signboard, while most cultural heritage organizations oppose it. The Korea Heritage Service, which oversees Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun, is also known to take a negative view.
