A second public forum will be held to discuss whether to add a "Hangul signboard" to Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. However, the discussion is expected to face difficulties as much of public opinion remains negative.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday that it will hold "Everyone's Debate," a pan-government policy communication forum, together with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the topic of "Adding a Hangul Signboard to Gwanghwamun" on the 26th in Seoul, and that it is recruiting citizen participants to take part directly in the debate.
At the event, about 200 citizens, along with officials from related institutions and relevant experts, will gather to hold deliberative discussions from multiple perspectives. The overall program will go beyond simply gathering opinions, forming an organic structure that includes expert presentations, panel discussions, and small-group discussions in which citizens participate directly.
The Culture Ministry explained, "In this forum, we plan to gather citizens' voices without reservation on core issues, such as whether to view Gwanghwamun as a national symbolic space that can embody modern values, or as a cultural heritage that should be preserved in its original form."
The forum will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 26th at Baeyang-nuri, Yonsei University, in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and any citizen of the Republic of Korea can apply and attend. Citizens wishing to attend can apply easily from the 7th through the 14th via the websites of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, or through "Sotong Innovation 24," the online public communication platform. "Everyone's Debate" is a public participatory forum operated by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The Gwanghwamun Hangul signboard issue has been under discussion since Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young reported on Jan. 20 a plan to install an additional Hangul signboard while keeping the existing Chinese-character signboard, at a Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Jae-myung. An expert forum on the feasibility of this plan was also held on March 31 at the auditorium of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, but opposition was considerable. Overall, opinions have been largely negative outside of Hangul-related organizations.
Subsequently, ahead of the "629th Anniversary of King Sejong the Great's Birth" event at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on May 15, Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said at a meeting with officials from Hangul-related organizations, "Gwanghwamun is both a cultural heritage and a symbol of the nation." He added, "The meaning of placing a Hangul signboard here is good, but because of that, public consensus seems to be a very important part."
The "Gwanghwamun Hangul signboard" issue was also raised under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, when the argument was to remove the existing Chinese-character signboard and instead install a new Hangul signboard. At that time, too, opposition was strong and the discussion was halted.
