The Korean language has become increasingly familiar to international audiences through Netflix dramas and K-pop. But South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, one of the country’s most recognizable television stars, has spent the past 15 years promoting Korean writing far beyond television screens and concert stages.
Song, internationally known for Netflix’s hit drama The Glory, has supported a campaign to bring Hangul, the Korean alphabet, to historical landmarks around the world. Working with Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at South Korea’s Sungshin Women’s University, she has funded the production of Korean language signs, historical guidebooks and commemorative artworks for 40 sites overseas.
The initiative has reached the United States, where growing interest in Korean entertainment has introduced the language to audiences unfamiliar with it. In July, Song and Seo donated 10,000 guidebooks to the Old Korean Legation Museum in Washington, D.C., connecting the Korean alphabet’s growing international visibility with a chapter of American diplomatic history that predates the Korean War.
The donation has drawn renewed attention ahead of Hangul Day on Oct. 9, a South Korean national holiday celebrating the country’s writing system. Created under King Sejong in the 15th century, Hangul remains a central part of Korean cultural identity. The holiday commemorates its introduction, recognizing an alphabet designed to make reading and writing accessible to ordinary people.
The Washington guidebooks, published in Korean and English, introduce visitors to historical locations associated with Korea’s early diplomatic relationship with the United States and its independence movement during Japanese colonial rule.
The Old Korean Legation Museum occupies a building that served as Korea’s diplomatic mission in Washington from 1889 to 1905, when Japan stripped Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty. The building was restored and reopened as a museum in 2018 before being added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2024.
Its presence in Washington reflects a diplomatic relationship that began long before South Korea emerged as a major American economic and security partner. Song’s donation provides visitors with historical information in both languages while extending the reach of her campaign to promote Korean writing overseas.
The Washington project is part of a larger effort that has brought Korean historical materials to 11 major cities, including New York, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai and Mexico City.
Over 15 years, Song and Seo have supplied Korean language guidebooks, Hangul signs and relief sculptures honoring Korean independence activists to 40 historical sites around the world. Seo has organized the projects, while Song has provided financial support.
Their collaboration has focused on locations connected to Korean history, particularly sites associated with the country’s struggle against Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945.
In October 2021, the pair donated a large bilingual sign to a historical residence in Jiaxing, China, where officials of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea once stayed while working toward independence.
The sign, written in Korean and Chinese, was installed at the entrance to explain the building’s historical significance. The project coincided with Hangul Day, continuing a practice of organizing donations around important Korean commemorative dates.
Other initiatives have taken place around Independence Movement Day on March 1, which remembers nationwide demonstrations against Japanese colonial rule in 1919, and Liberation Day on Aug. 15, which commemorates Korea’s liberation in 1945.
The campaign has continued throughout much of Song’s acting career, which began in 1996 when she won a modeling competition in South Korea.
She rose to national prominence through the 1998 television sitcom Soonpoong Clinic and became a major star with the 2000 romantic drama Autumn in My Heart. Subsequent hits, including Full House, All In and Descendants of the Sun, established her as one of South Korea’s leading actresses during the international expansion of Korean television.
Her global profile grew further with Netflix’s The Glory, which topped the streaming company’s worldwide rankings for non English television programs in March 2023. The series recorded more than 123 million viewing hours in one week, according to Netflix.
Song’s performance earned her the Best Actress award in the television category at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards, one of South Korea’s major entertainment honors.
Her success on Netflix reflects the increasingly international reach of South Korean entertainment. The American streaming company has helped Korean language productions find audiences around the world, expanding recognition of the country’s actors and cultural exports.
Song’s campaign to promote Hangul, however, began years before Korean dramas achieved their current international prominence.
Seo has repeatedly praised her commitment to the initiative. In a social media post last year, he described sincerity and consistency as her greatest strengths, emphasizing her willingness to continue supporting the projects over many years.
He also recalled Song’s decision to reject an advertising offer in China from Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors because of concerns surrounding the company’s historical associations with Japan’s wartime activities.
Song has maintained her involvement in the campaign while continuing to pursue new acting projects.
She returned to the big screen after 11 years with Dark Nuns, taking on her first major role in the occult genre. Her next television appearance is scheduled for later this year in Netflix’s Tantara, a drama exploring South Korea’s entertainment industry from the 1960s through the 1980s.
The series reunites Song with screenwriter Noh Hee-kyung and features an ensemble cast that includes Gong Yoo, Kim Seol-hyun, Cha Seung-won and Lee Hanee. Netflix has scheduled the production for release in the fourth quarter of 2026.
As Song approaches three decades in the entertainment industry, her 15 years of cultural outreach have become a significant part of her activities beyond acting.
The campaign also reflects two different ways Korean culture has gained visibility overseas. Streaming platforms have brought Korean dialogue and entertainment into homes around the world, while Song’s donations have placed Korean writing and historical information at physical landmarks across multiple continents.
The Washington donation illustrates that connection. A building once used by Korean diplomats more than a century ago now distributes materials written in the same language that international audiences increasingly encounter through Korean television and film.
As South Korea marks Hangul Day, Song’s continued support for the campaign highlights a cultural effort that has grown alongside her international career. What began as a collaboration to provide Korean language materials at overseas historical sites has developed into a 15 year initiative spanning 40 locations, bringing Hangul and the stories behind it to audiences around the world.
