Award Documents

I will be the first to admit that the majority of this information was liberated from the Korean Government webpages located at https://www.sanghun.go.kr/nation/information/posangInfo6.do. I took the opportunity to show this information here because, unless you are familiar with the Korean language, it can be difficult to find.

Korean documents are done by professional calligraphers. This makes translating them somewhat difficult, especially for a novice like myself. Several examples below have the recipients’ identification blocked out due to privacy concerns. It is possible to replace a missing or damaged award. Regardless of when the original award was issued, it will be replaced by the currently issued design. Costs for the replacement are the responsibility of the awardee or his family. Documents, on the other hand, cannot be replaced. An awardee or his family can have the text of the document printed out.

Direction of writing

Historically, early Chinese writing was written vertically on long bamboo strips before the invention of paper. These narrow bamboo strips were then tied together to form a scroll or book. The use of bamboo slips as the primary writing medium lasted for centuries. Ts’ai Lun 蔡伦 is believed to have been the inventor of paper 紙. He officially reported his invention to the Chinese Emperor in 105 AD. But even after the invention of paper, writing continued to be done in columns. This practice was followed for centuries, not only in China, but also in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, etc.

In the traditional format, the characters are written in columns going from top to bottom, with columns ordered from the right to the left. After reaching the bottom of each column, the reader continues at the top of the column to the left of the current one. Traditional writing is known as 橫排 in China (simplified form 横排), as 横書き or 横組み in Japan, and as 橫書 (횡서 or 가로쓰기) in Korea. The modern writing format is horizontal and reads from left to right, as it does in English. Modern writing is known as 縱排 in China (simplified form 纵排), as 縱書き in Japan, and as 縱書 (종서 or 세로쓰기) in Korea. Traditional books open with the spine of the book to the right, while a modern book is printed with the spine to the left. The transition to horizontal printing was accomplished in Japan during the post-WWII era (1945-1950), in China in the 1950s, and in South Korea in the 1960s.

Examples of award documents for Orders of Merit from each President

Generally speaking, for Orders of Merit award documents, you will find the word for “Order,” “훈장” embedded in the opening line at the far right (1948-1969) or at the very top (1969 to present).

Other generally encountered documents are Merit Medal 보장 (Po Jang), Commendations 표창 (Pyo Chang), Medals 기장 (Ki Jang)¹ and Letters of Appreciation 감사장 (Kam Sa Jang). Government-issued Merit Medal award documents are very similar to the documents for orders of merit; however, there are hundreds of variations for the other types of government-issued award documents. In addition, there are thousands of different style documents for commendation and letters of appreciation issued by non-governmental organizations.

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Presidential Signatures:

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Great Seal of the Republic of Korea 대한민국 국새 (大韓民國 國璽)

On Korean documents, the largest seal stamp is the Korean National Seal. The Great Seal of the Republic of Korea is also known as the National Seal. It is used on the full text of the promulgation of the Constitution, letters of appointment to government officials of grade 5 or higher, important diplomatic documents, and decoration and award documents, etc. The seal is controlled under a presidential decree entitled 국새규정, which translates as “National Seal Regulations” or “Great Seal Regulations.” The national seal is managed by the Minister of Public Administration and Security 행정안전부장관.

• The 1^st Great Seal was produced at Cheonsangdang in Chungmuro, Seoul, in 1948. It was used from May 5, 1949, until December 31, 1962. The material was silver, and the face was 6.06 cm square. The text is engraved in Chinese characters 大韓民國之璽 (Seal of the Republic of Korea). The whereabouts of the seal are currently unknown, and the government has been searching since 2004. There is a controversy over whether the handle 인뉴 (印鈕) is a dragon (용) or a Sapsal dog (삽살개).
• The 2^nd Great Seal was used from January 1, 1963, to January 31, 1999. The material is silver; it is 7 cm square and weighs 2.0 kg. The text is engraved in Korean script, Hangul, with the words 대한민국 “Republic of Korea.” The handle is shaped like a turtle. The Great Seal is currently in the possession of the National Archives.
• The 3^rd Great Seal was used from February 1, 1999, to February 21, 2008. The material is gold, the face is 10.1 cm square, the weight is 2.15 kg, and the handle is a phoenix 봉황. The inscription is engraved in Korean script, Hangul, with the words 대한민국 “Republic of Korea.” It uses a Hunminjeongeum font. In 2005, the Great Seal was found to have cracks. The 3rd National Seal was repaired and used temporarily from Nov. 30, 2010, to Oct. 24, 2011, when the 5th National Seal was completed.
• The 4^th Great Seal was used from February 22, 2008, to November 30, 2010. The material is gold, the face is 9.9 cm square, and the weight is 2.9 kg. The inscription depicts the Republic of Korea in Hangul using the Hunminjeongeum font, and the handle is a phoenix. When cracks were discovered in the 3rd National Seal, it was decided to produce a new national seal in October 2005. The National Seal Production Advisory Committee was formed in March 2006, and Min Hong-gyu was selected as the national seal maker through a contest process. Along with the national seal, 16 types of national seal decoration items were produced by craftsmen in their relevant fields. However, in September 2010, the 4th Great Seal was scrapped when Min Hong-gyu was indicted on charges of fraud. He made and delivered the Great Seal using modern manufacturing methods, even though he had contracted with the government to make the Great Seal using traditional techniques.
• The 5^th Great Seal has been in use since October 25, 2011. The material is a gold alloy composed of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and iridium; the size is 10.4 cm square, and the weight is 3.38 kg. The inscription depicts the Republic of Korea in Hangul using the Hunminjeongeum font, and the handle is a phoenix and the Rose of Sharon (Mugunghwa). It was decided to produce the 5th national seal on October 29, 2010, and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) was selected as the producer of the national seal through competitive bidding. KIST began production on June 16, 2011, and the Great Seal was delivered on September 30th. The inside of the Great Seal was hollowed out, and the seal and seal were made by casting them all at once without separating them. Iridium, a rare metal, was added to prevent cracking. To prevent commercial use of the national seal, an application for design registration was applied for with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on September 9, 2011. The design application number for the national seal is 30-2011-0037989. The Defense Agency for Technology and Quality scientifically verified the material quality of the national seal.

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1. Ki Jang are the various breast-mounted medals, including commemorative medals, war service medals, campaign medals, and other miscellaneous medals.