Panel Abstract

Korea is renowned for its rich cultural identity, characterized by unique features and an innovative writing system, Hangul. The Korean Wave has gained international recognition and significantly influenced global culture across various media platforms, including music, film, fashion, and cuisine. This panel focuses on the relationship between tradition and innovation in visual communication design, particularly emphasizing the Korean language, Hangul, and its cultural and historical significance. Panelists include a well-established and diverse group of Korean American designers and educators actively engaged in practice, research, and teaching in the United States and South Korea. They provide valuable insights into cross-cultural exchanges. The panel showcases an innovative intercultural communication and information design project that utilizes Korean characters to enhance accessibility for various audiences. Additionally, it features a special section on Korean type and typography design from an internationally bestselling textbook section authored and designed by one of the panelists. This session aims to educate Western and English-speaking audiences about Hangul and bridge cultural gaps. The panel also presents compelling infographics created by a recognized Korean designer. These infographics tell stories about Korean history and culture while highlighting Seoul, South Korea’s vibrant capital. Further presentations include interactive bilingual workshops on Korean lettering. Another panelist discusses how language and typographic expression contribute to Korean identity. This dialogue aims to engage a broader audience interested in Korean culture, history, and language as powerful design mediums, fostering a greater appreciation for Korea’s rich cultural tapestry.

Presentation Abstract

This project explores contemporary expressions of Korean identity through the lens of design, with a focus on typography as both a cultural artifact and visual communication tool. Central to this inquiry is Hangul, the Korean alphabet, developed in 1443 to democratize literacy amongst the Korean people through its efficient and user-friendly design. Hangul’s symbolic importance of cultural resilience deepened during the Japanese occupation, when its use was banned in efforts to erase Korean cultural identity. Typography, inherently bound to context, carries layered connotative and denotative meanings. Hangul holds powerful semiotic potential in its ability to uniquely convey Korean cultural nuance through form, rhythm, and structure.

This initial presentation provides the background and context for a larger inquiry. By juxtaposing the work of Korean and Korean American designers, the project acknowledges how Korea’s complex history informs identity—marked by colonial occupation, war, and national division—and how this shapes a fragmented yet expanding amalgamation of what it means to be Korean in an increasingly globalized world. This project asks: How does nostalgia shape identity for Koreans and Korean Americans? What concepts or expressions capture the essence of Korean identity? How do diasporic and domestic perspectives differ in their visual articulations of belonging? To explore this visual inquiry, the project focuses on typographic work that utilizes distinctly Korean words or concepts—whether geographic, historical, culinary, or otherwise. Together, these works aim to form a collective typographic investigation of Korean identity today, touched by tradition and articulated through design.