Mark Allen Peterson, a professor emeritus at Brigham Young University, will receive one of South Korea's highest cultural honors for his outstanding contributions to promoting the Korean language and spreading traditional Korean literature around the world. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday that Peterson is among two individuals selected to receive the prestigious Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit, the nation's third-highest cultural medal, in recognition of his lifelong dedication to advancing Korean language education and literature.
The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday to commemorate the 579th Hangeul Day, an annual celebration of Korea's unique alphabet system. Peterson is being specifically recognized for his extensive career as a Korean language educator, his leadership role in key academic associations focused on Korean language pedagogy, and his dedicated efforts in translating and introducing sijo—a traditional three-line Korean poetic form—to international audiences.
Sharing the top honor with Peterson is the late Professor Jang Hyung-doo (1906-1949), a former Seoul National University professor who will receive the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit posthumously. The distinguished botanist made significant contributions to preserving the Korean language by assigning native Korean names to indigenous plants, including creating terms like "baramkkot" (windflower) and "aegittongpul" (greater celandine) to ensure Korean botanical terminology remained rooted in the native language rather than foreign borrowings.
According to a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official, these awardees have dedicated themselves to teaching and spreading Hangeul both within Korea and internationally, significantly raising the alphabet's value and global standing. The recognition reflects their tireless efforts to promote Korean linguistic and cultural heritage across diverse international communities.
The two top honorees are part of a broader group of ten recipients—nine individuals and one organization—who will be celebrated during the 2025 Hangeul Day ceremony. The diverse group of awardees represents multiple countries including the United States, Russia, Australia, Canada, and Rwanda, demonstrating the increasingly global reach and influence of Hangeul across various fields and continents.
Additional Culture Merit Medals will be presented to Lee Ki-sik for his pioneering contributions to Hangeul informatization, helping to digitize and modernize the Korean writing system for the computer age. Darima Tsydenova of Buryat State University in Russia will also receive recognition for her decade-long commitment to promoting Hangeul education and Korean language studies in the Russian academic community.
The Korean Language School of Greater Montreal in Canada has been selected as the organization to receive the Prime Minister Citation. This institution is being honored for its active and sustained role in spreading Hangeul throughout Canada over the past 46 years through comprehensive Korean language and cultural education programs, hosting Korean language speaking and writing competitions, and organizing professional development training sessions for Korean language teachers across the region.
Hangeul holds special significance in Korean history and culture, having been created and officially promulgated in 1446 by King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The visionary monarch developed this unique alphabet system with the specific purpose of ensuring literacy for all Korean people, who previously had no accessible way to express their thoughts in writing due to the complexity of Chinese characters that were traditionally used for written communication. Hangeul Day is observed as a national holiday in South Korea every October 9th to celebrate both the invention and the official proclamation of this remarkable writing system that democratized literacy in Korea.
