Lee Chae-young, a Ph.D. student in the Typography Design Lab at the Graduate School of Techno-Design at Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul), won the Chairman’s Award—the top prize—in the Design Font category at the “33rd Hangul Typeface Design Contest.”
 
The awards ceremony for the 33rd Hangul Typeface Design Contest was held last July at the King Sejong Memorial Hall. The contest was jointly organized and hosted by the King Sejong Memorial Foundation and the Sandol Cultural Foundation, and was held to honor the spirit of King Sejong’s creation of Hangul and to expand the aesthetic and artistic value of Hangul typefaces.
 
The contest was divided into two categories: “Design Typefaces” and “Handwritten Typefaces.” The Design Typefaces category focuses on typefaces suitable for use across various media environments, including print, advertising, broadcasting, and digital media, while the Handwritten Typefaces category focuses on distinctive handwritten or calligraphic typefaces. The judging panel evaluated the entries based on originality, visual artistry, and practicality, selecting one Grand Prize (King Sejong the Great Award), three First Prizes, five Second Prizes, 50 Beauty Prizes, and three Special Awards for International Participants.
 
The typeface submitted by student Lee Chae-young is a condensed style characterized by a high contrast in stroke weight between horizontal and vertical strokes and classic-style serifs. Inspired by lettering from old newspaper advertisements, she reinterpreted the shapes of serifs and terminal strokes in a modern way, and by utilizing elongated vertical strokes and sleek curved strokes, she captured both a sense of tension and a static impression. Through this work, she received the Chairman’s Award of the King Sejong the Great Memorial Foundation, one of the First Prizes.
 
This award is particularly significant as it demonstrates the potential for new typeface designs based on the structural characteristics and aesthetic qualities of Hangul. The official review noted that Lee Chae-young’s work harmoniously applies curves and variations in stroke weight within a Gothic framework, while offering a balanced reinterpretation of Hangul’s forms within a geometric structure.
  
Lee Chae-young is currently researching typography and typeface design at the Typography Design Lab in the Graduate School of Techno-Design at Kookmin University. “I am very interested in reinterpreting old-style typefaces in a modern context, so I find it deeply meaningful that the typeface I created has been well-received and awarded,” said Lee Chae-young. “It is even more meaningful to win this competition in the year marking the 100th anniversary of Hangul Day. Since the work is scheduled to be exhibited this coming October, I hope many people will visit the exhibition to see it in person.” She went on to reveal her future plans, stating, “I plan to further refine the work I submitted to the contest, expand it to 2,780 characters, and complete it as a full font set for official release in the future.”
 
Meanwhile, the Hangul Typeface Design Contest is held annually to broaden interest in Hangul typefaces and discover new typeface designs. This year’s winning entries are scheduled to be exhibited in October, and the work awarded the King Sejong the Great Prize will undergo a separate typeface production process before being developed and distributed as a mobile font.

△ Photo courtesy of Lee Chae-young, Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate School of Techno-Design, Kookmin University