National Foundation Day speech template (South Korea)
Published 10 October 2026 · Date checked on 5 October 2026 · Written by the Cue Card Converter team at EventProgrammer, event production professionals
National Foundation Day, Gaecheonjeol, is a national holiday in South Korea on 3 October. Its name means 'the day the heavens opened'. It celebrates the traditional founding of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, by Dangun, a figure from Korean legend; tradition dates this to 2333 BCE. The day honours the ideal of Hongik Ingan, often translated as 'widely benefiting humanity'. A national ceremony is held, flags are flown, and traditional rites take place at Chamseongdan, an altar on Ganghwa Island associated with Dangun.
- Date
- October 3
- Next dates
- Sunday 3 October 2027
Tuesday 3 October 2028
Wednesday 3 October 2029 - Country
- South Korea
- Tone
- Celebratory
- Typical events
- National and local ceremonies, Korean embassies and cultural centres abroad, Korean schools and community associations, and company gatherings held around 3 October.
- Length
- 175 spoken words · about 1.5 min at 130 words a minute · 4 cue cards
The National Foundation Day speech, ready as cue cards
A complete host script in 4 cards, about 1.5 minutes of speaking. Open it in the editor to add your names, change the card size or highlights, and print.
- THE DAY THE HEAVENS OPENED1 / 4
Good morning, and welcome. I'm {Your name}, and on behalf of {Organisation} I'm delighted to celebrate Gaecheonjeol with you. That is the Korean name for today, and it means the day the heavens opened. It is a lovely name for a day about beginnings. - AN ANCIENT STORY2 / 4
Korean legend tells of Dangun, who is said to have founded Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom. It is a founding story rather than recorded history, but it has been told for centuries. It also carries an ideal that Koreans still value: Hongik Ingan, to widely benefit humanity. - A COMMUNITY AWARD3 / 4
In that spirit, we honour someone whose work has benefited the people around them. This year our community award goes to {Award recipient}, for {Reason for the award}.
[APPLAUSE – AWARD PRESENTED]
Congratulations, and thank you for showing us what that ideal looks like in practice. - CLOSING4 / 4
Thank you, and congratulations once more to {Award recipient}. Whatever our own story and wherever our families come from, the idea of benefiting others is one worth carrying home. Enjoy the rest of the holiday, and happy Foundation Day to you all.
Red is used only for names, titles, organisations, dates, times and section headings. Replace the words in {curly brackets} with your own details; lines in [SQUARE BRACKETS] are stage directions and are not read aloud.
How to adapt it
- Present Dangun as a figure of legend and the founding date as tradition. Korean guests know the story well, and wording that does not treat it as recorded history suits every audience.
- Hongik Ingan, the ideal of widely benefiting humanity, is also named in Korea's education law as a guiding principle. It makes a natural theme for a community or volunteering award.
- Chuseok sometimes falls close to 3 October, creating a long holiday. Check this year's dates, and if they are close, add a warm Chuseok greeting to your welcome.
- Hangeul Day follows on 9 October. If you hold one event for both days, give each its own moment in the script so neither is lost.
Print and rehearse
“Edit and print these cards” opens the script in the free cue card maker, where you can choose A5, 4 × 6 or 3 × 5 inch cards, print several per sheet with cut lines or export PDF, PowerPoint and Word, and rehearse full screen in practice mode. To write your own programme around it, see how to write an MC script and the run of show template.
Sources
Date and background checked on 5 October 2026 against: 우리나라 국가상징> 국경일/기념일. Customs vary between organisations and regions; always follow the official programme of your event.
More South Korea speech templates
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- National Liberation Day · August 15