King Sejong Meets the “King Sejong of the Visually Impaired”

 - The Special Exhibition “Hangeul and Korean Braille” to be Held, Marking the 100th Anniversary of Hunmaengjeongeum, Korean Braille (May 15–July 19, 2026)

The Historic Site of King Sejong Management Office (Director Yi Jae-won) of the Korea Heritage Service Royal Palaces and Tombs Center will hold the special exhibition “Hangeul and Korean Braille” at the History and Culture Museum of King Sejong in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do from May 15 to July 19, 2026. The exhibition commemorates the centenary of the promulgation of Hunmaengjeongeum, the Korean Braille system. It is organized in collaboration with Your Way (CEO Na Jong-cheon), a corporation that advocates for the independence and rehabilitation of people with visual impairments.

This exhibition juxtaposes King Sejong’s (r. 1418–1450) invention of Hangeul with Bak Du-seong’s (1888–1963) creation of the Korean Braille system in 1926 and highlights how Bak’s enterprise inherited the King’s faith in humanity and love for the people despite the suppression of the Korean mother tongue under Japanese colonial rule.
* Bak Du-seong and Hunmaengjeongeum: Bak Du-seong was born in 1888 in Gyodong-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon. From 1913 to 1936, he taught blind students at Jesaengwon, an institution established by the Japanese Government-General of Korea. Determined to enable his students to read and write in Korean, he secretly developed a braille system together with his students. On November 4, 1926, he announced the six-dot Korean Braille system, Hunmaengjeongeum.

The exhibition is divided into two sections, “Breaking the Barrier of Illiteracy: Hunminjeongeum, Hangeul” and “Breaking the Barrier of Disability: Hunmaengjeongeum, Korean Braille.” The first section presents Samgang haengsildo (Illustrated Guide to the Three Bonds), which King Sejong published to edify the common people through illustrations of moral behavior. Also on display is Worin seokbo, compiled by a later king in 1459, which contains an explication of the Hunminjeongeum in Hangeul. The second section features a collection of Bak Du-seong’s own belongings, including the Hangeul Braille Chart which he developed, his handwritten journal kept from August 12, 1926 to 1954, zinc embossing plates for braille printing made by Bak himself, and the braille typewriter he personally used. Visitors will also be able to take part in a hands-on activity where they can write their names using magnetic braille blocks.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will host a special event titled “A Barrier-Free World Experienced Through the Five Senses” on the square in front of the building on May 15, the opening day of the exhibition, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Participants can wear special glasses to feel the everyday experience of people with visual impairments, create “Tactile Art in the Dark” while wearing blindfolds, and view photographs and paintings made by visually impaired artists. Also, a guest lecture, “From Script to Dots: A Humanities Perspective on Korean Braille,” will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the video room of the museum.

The exhibition is free of charge to all visitors to the History and Culture Museum of King Sejong during the exhibition period. Visiting hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in May and from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in June and July. The center is closed on Mondays.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the museum will provide, upon request, an on-site audio descriptive tour presented by a professional who will be stationed in the gallery throughout the day for visitors with visual impairments. All exhibition content has also been translated into English for international visitors. In addition, the museum has designed the exhibition to be sustainable by using modular reusable walls, thereby reducing waste by more than eighty percent.

This exhibition is being held with the cooperation of the Songam Braille Library, operated by the Incheon Blind Welfare Union, as well as the National Hangeul Museum, the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, Seoul National University Library, and Seoul National School for the Blind for the loan of artifacts and related support.

The Historic Site of King Sejong Management Office is committed to sharing King Sejong’s legacy with a wider public by utilizing various collaborative programs interweaving history, culture, and the arts.