Hanwha Group has received a commendation from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism for its 27-year effort to produce and distribute Braille calendars free of charge, contributing to improved access to information for visually impaired individuals and the promotion of Braille culture.
The company said that it received the award at the "100th Anniversary Commemoration of the Release of Hangul Braille," held on Wednesday at Nurikku Square in Sangam-dong, Seoul. The ceremony was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Union of the Blind. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the release of "Hunmaengjeongeum," the Hangul Braille system, which was promulgated on November 4, 1926, by Songam Park Du-seong.
Hanwha Group's production of Braille calendars began with a letter from a visually impaired person in 2000 requesting attention to the needs of people with disabilities. After reading the letter, Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group, proposed, "Let us enable visually impaired individuals to share in the joy of the New Year," and the company produced its first batch of 5,000 Braille calendars that same year. It has continued to produce and distribute them free of charge every year since then, with cumulative distribution exceeding 1 million copies as of last year.
This year, Hanwha Group plans to produce and distribute 40,000 copies of the 2027 Braille calendar for free. Applications are being accepted until the 13th. The calendars are designed with Braille and standard print characters displayed side by side so that they can be used by both visually impaired individuals and those without disabilities. In addition to dates and days of the week, essential life information such as the lunar calendar and solar terms is also available in Braille.
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