AI has identified pure Korean words that have become unfamiliar in daily life, such as ‘yunseol,’ ‘sutnun,’ and ‘boluumul.’ Yunseol refers to the shimmering ripples on water reflecting sunlight or moonlight. Sutnun means clean snow that has fallen and accumulated untouched, while putnakh refers to a relationship where people know each other just enough to be acquainted. Boluumul means dimples.
SK Telecom is running the ‘2026 Malmoi’ campaign in collaboration with the National Institute of Korean Language and the National Hangul Museum to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Hangul Day. The core of the initiative is analyzing records of the Korean language preserved in writing and sound using AI to facilitate their reuse in everyday life.
The manuscript for ‘Malmoi,’ a dictionary of the Korean language compiled character by character over a century ago by Professor Ju Si-kyung and his disciples, has been reborn as a font through artificial intelligence (AI). SKT analyzed the full scanned version of Malmoi, along with the National Institute of Korean Language’s Standard Korean Dictionary and Our Word Source, using its proprietary AI foundation model ‘A.X K2.’ Based on this analysis, they developed the ‘Malmoi’ font and, after review by the National Institute of Korean Language, selected ‘100 Beautiful Pure Korean Words Collected by Artificial Intelligence.’
The Malmoi font originated from the description of ‘ㄱ (galjuk)’ remaining in the manuscript. A.X K2 analyzed the characters in the manuscript as images to organize the shapes of consonants and vowels, completing the typeface based on this process. The font is available for anyone to download and use from the Hangul Academy website.
SKT used ‘A.X K2’ to identify 100 pure Korean words that have become distant from daily life, such as ‘yunseol,’ ‘sutnun,’ and ‘boluumul.’ These words were selected because they △ contain lyrical or positive imagery, △ can be utilized in titles, names, and subtitles, and △ do not feel awkward when used today. SKT also produced these selections as a booklet and decided to donate it to the National Hangul Museum.
The ‘sound’ from 100 years ago is also being revived. SKT produced a campaign video connecting the Malmoi manuscript with audio recordings of Professor Lee Geuk-ro, a Hangul scholar, preserved at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and released it through SKT’s YouTube channel. Professor Lee Geuk-ro served as the secretary-general of the Korean Language Society and led the compilation of the ‘Great Dictionary of the Korean Language.’
General users can also participate in Malmoi. Through its official social media channels, SKT introduces regional dialects and new words by generation, and runs a program where users collectively gather today’s Korean words.
Lee Seung-yeol, Head of Strategy Communications at SKT, said, “We organized this campaign to continue the work of our ancestors who collected the Korean language over 100 years ago using AI, allowing everyone to share it through a font and words that anyone can use.” He added, “We will strive to ensure that AI is used to preserve the value of the Korean language and culture.”
in TECH
