Each year the Hedgers Abroad set out on one of South Korea’s most unique holidays to challenge themselves both mentally and physically to decide Who…Wins…Hangeul Day!!! One of our favorite holidays, this celebration for the Korean alphabet’s creation pits both Stephanie and me against each other in some random challenge that we cook up at the last minute. This year we put a small amount of planning into the conception of Hangeul Day Challenge and we are proud to present the video of our competition. Enjoy!


[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P6wdbuDeA4&w=1150&h=800]

What is Hangeul Day?

Hangeul is the Korean alphabet, created by King Sejong back in the year zero (or something) to level the playing field between the educated elite and the illiterate lower classes. After designing a simple alphabet that could be learned very quickly, the Korean people began to revolutionize education and separate themselves from the Chinese language that had previously been a staple. Today it is celebrated as a National Holiday.

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Hangeul Fan!


Hangeul Day Annual Challenge!

In our odd annual celebration of this alphabet, we visited Jeonju with my mother to explore the historic hanok village. While exploring this awesome old-town, we donned a bit of traditional garb and set out to decide who would prove victorious and settle our 1-1 tie score.

As you can see, it was yet another heated battle of physical skill and mental prowess. In previous competitions we let more capable athletes settle the debate of greatness for us, then later we tested our abilities in the Korean alphabet Hangeul. Check out our past videos and challenges here! This year’s competition mostly tested our Korean Festival Competency, in that it forced us to improvise and quarrel in the olden ways of “Joseon Selfie,” “Throw the Stick into the Tube Thing,” and finally duke it out in a traditional struggle of “Kaleidoscope Slushee Chugging.” Enjoy our video and witness the true nature of Korea’s most important holiday (at least one of our favorites): Hangeul Day!

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EXTRA PHOTOS FROM THE SELFIE CHALLENGE!

Ryan