A Handwriting Contest the Digital Generation Is Obsessed With
The 1st PNU Handwriting Contest, held at the PNU museum, encouraged students to showcase their handwriting skills by writing the school song, with selected works to be turned into official fonts for the university.
Students gathered on the lawn in front of Pusan National University (PNU) Museum, With autumn foliage falling around the museum as a backdrop, each PNU student held a sheet of paper and a pen, writing down the first verse of the PNU school song.
On November 14th, from 10am to 4pm, the “1st PNU Handwriting Contest” was held at the PNU Museum. Organized for the first time this year, the event aimed to promote the beauty of the Hangeul and foster communication among campus members. According to the PNU Press, which hosted the contest, they prepared paper for over 360 pre-registered participants and 100 additional on-site registrants. Initially planned to take place only at the Gaon Hall of the museum, the unexpectedly high number of participants led to the inclusion of additional venues such as Narae Hall and the lawn.
The contest followed a simple format. Participants wrote down the first verse of the PNU school song in their handwriting and submitted it. The entries selected as the best and outstanding works will be registered as official typefaces available for use by all PNU members. PNU Press announced plans to name the winning fonts “Moonchangbyeol XX Typeface” and “Saebyeokddeul XX Typeface.” Choi Jin-Ah (Dean, PNU Press) said, “The purpose is to share students’ achievements and promote the PNU’s excellence by making the selected fonts publicly available for anyone to use. This event was also designed to align with the launch of the Dept. of Global & Interdisciplinary Studies in 2025, creating an inclusive experience for international students.”
Students at the event enjoyed the unique experience of writing the school song by hand. Kim Bo-Gyeong (Dept. of Life Science and Environmental Biochemistry, 23), one of the participants, said, “I rarely had the opportunity to encounter the school song, so I was curious about it. The handwriting contest seemed unfamiliar but appealing, so I decided to join.” Choi Ji-Hwan (Graduate School of Materials Science and Engineering, 24) also said, “After so much typing on keyboards, writing by hand felt refreshingly different.”
In keeping with the contest’s goal of fostering harmony between the Miryang and Yangsan Campuses, buses were provided for participants from the two campuses. Kim remarked, “It was very convenient because the university arranged a shuttle bus for us. It’s usually hard to access the lawn square, so this was a new experience for me.”
PNU Press plans to hold future handwriting contests in October to coincide with Hangeul Day. Kim Hyo-Jung (Associate Director, PNU Press Administrative Team), said, “Next year, we plan to host the contest in October, around Hangeul Day, with a wider range of themes.”
Reporter Jeon Ha-Eun
Translated by Seo Yoo-Jung