Order of Cultural Merit (Silver Crown) Awarded Posthumously to Seok Geum-ho, Late CEO of Sandol, Who Developed Over 1,000 Hangeul Fonts

Baek Taehyun, Vice President of Korea University in Central Asia, Receives the Order of Cultural Merit (Jade Crown)
Ministry of Culture to Honor 8 Individuals and 2 Organizations at Hangeul Day Ceremony

The late Seok Geum-ho, CEO of Sandol, who contributed to elevating the cultural and artistic value of Hangeul by developing and distributing more than 1,000 types of Hangeul fonts over the past 40 years, will be posthumously awarded the Order of Cultural Merit (Silver Crown).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on October 6 that a total of eight individuals and two organizations, including CEO Seok, have been selected as recipients of the “2026 Hangeul Advancement Contribution Awards” in recognition of their efforts to promote Hangeul and the Korean language. The awards ceremony will take place on October 9 at 10 a.m. during the event commemorating the 580th Hangeul Day at the Sejong Center in Seoul.

The late CEO Seok established the font company Sandol to independently develop and distribute Hangeul typefaces. Over 40 years, he developed and distributed more than 1,000 kinds of Hangeul fonts. In particular, he was recognized for establishing the technological foundations that enable diverse visual expressions of Hangeul in computer environments, thereby enhancing its cultural and artistic value.

The late Geumho Seok, CEO of Sandol. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

This year, the Order of Cultural Merit (Silver Crown), the Order of Cultural Merit (Jade Crown), two Medals of Culture, three Presidential Citations, and three Prime Minister’s Citations will be awarded to contributors to Hangeul advancement.

The Order of Cultural Merit (Jade Crown) will be awarded to Baek Tae-hyun, Vice President of Korea University in Central Asia. Vice President Baek contributed to Korean language education and research on Koryoin (ethnic Koreans in Central Asia), and led the founding of two Korea universities in Kyrgyzstan. He also helped expand the educational infrastructure and foster the next generation of Korean studies experts through initiatives such as the Leading University for International Cooperation project.

The Medal of Culture will be presented to Sujin Cho, President of the Korean School Association of the Mid-Atlantic States in the United States, and to Choi Hong-sik, President of the King Sejong Memorial Society. President Cho developed Korean language curricula for overseas Korean students in the US, thereby strengthening the foundation for Hangeul education. President Choi contributed to promoting the academic value of Hangeul through works such as “Phonetics of Hunminjeongeum” and interdisciplinary research on the principles behind Hunminjeongeum’s phonological system.

The Presidential Citation will be awarded to Lee Youngjoon, Professor at Hirosaki University in Japan, the Tashkent Weekend Hangeul School, and the Korea Institute at the Australian National University.

Professor Lee held the “Let’s Speak Korean Together” Aomori competition to promote Korean language and culture in northeastern Japan. The Tashkent Weekend Hangeul School has provided Hangeul and ethnic identity education to children of overseas Koreans in Uzbekistan. The Korea Institute at the Australian National University has expanded the foundation for learning and studying Korean language and culture in Australia through Korean language education, support for Hangeul schools, literary translation, and scholarship exchanges.

The Prime Minister’s Citation will be given to Kim Kyungseok, President of the Korea Speech & Oratory Association; Laura Tamosiunaite, Associate Professor at Mykolas Romeris University; and Seo Won Ji, Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore.

President Kim has devoted efforts to spreading Korean speech and oratory and has developed the World Korean Speech Contest into an international event with participation from 30 countries. Associate Professor Tamosiunaite served as the first director of King Sejong Institute in the Baltic region and established Lithuania’s first undergraduate program in Korean studies. Associate Professor Ji became the founding head of Korean language education at the National University of Singapore and expanded the educational landscape by introducing Korean language courses and institutionalizing Korean language as a minor program.

Myung Suhyeon, Director General for Cultural Policy at the Ministry, stated, “The reason Hangeul is used vibrantly in daily life and studied around the world is due to the long-standing dedication of the award recipients. We will continue to provide steadfast support for educational and exchange activities that enhance the value of Hangeul and connect people who wish to learn Korean.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.