Hangeul Festa is a festival where non-native speakers write their own languages using either standard Hangeul or "Nuri-Hangeul."

To participate, simply tell a story in your native language, transcribe the sounds into Hangeul or Nuri-Hangeul, and create a YouTube video featuring it.

For Hangeul Festa 2026, the Foundation has revised and applied the common rules for "Nuri-Hangeul"—first introduced during Hangeul Festa 2025—along with updated transcription guidelines for four languages.

"Nuri-Hangeul" is a writing system proposed by the Hangeul Nuri Foundation. Based on the creation principles and character forms of Hunminjeongeum, it enables the transcription of sounds from various global languages into Hangeul.

Nuri-Hangeul restores four Hunminjeongeum characters that are no longer in use—‘ㆁ, ㆆ, ㅿ, ㆍ’—and utilizes specific characters (such as the glottal sounds ‘ㅇ, ㆆ, ㅎ’, the semi-alveolar ‘ㅿ’, and the lingual ‘ㄹ’) to serve as distinctive markers.

It also features a structured approach to representing complex vowels (diphthongs and triphthongs) by writing the trailing vowel sound in a smaller size.

This year, the common rules for Nuri-Hangeul (originally announced in 2025) have been revised, and the transcription guidelines for English, Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese have been partially updated accordingly.

FFurthermore, plans are underway to expand the system to support a wider range of languages and enable PC-based input. 

Hangeul Festa 2026 Overview

Hangeul Festa 2026 consists of two categories: the "Hangeul Category," where participants transcribe the sounds of their native languages using the modern Hangeul writing system (comprising 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels); and the "Nuri-Hangeul Category," where participants transcribe the sounds of their native languages using "Nuri-Hangeul"—a system proposed by the Hangeul Nuri Foundation for four specific languages.

The theme for both categories is the same: introducing traditional food or traditional games from the participants' respective countries or ethnic groups.

The competition runs for three months, from May 15 to August 13, 2026, and the winners will be announced on the official website on October 1.

One overall winner will be selected from across both categories to receive the top honor, the "Sejong Award," along with a prize of $10,000.

A total of $62,000 in prize money will be awarded to 99 winners, with prizes given for 1st through 5th place in each category.