Hanwha (000880.KS) Group has published braille calendars for people with disabilities for 27 straight years.
Hanwha said on the 19th that it has produced 40,000 copies of the 2027 Hanwha Braille Calendar (pictured) for people with visual impairments and will distribute them free of charge. Applications are open through Nov. 13.
The braille calendar began in 2000 at the suggestion of Chairman Seung-youn Kim after he read a letter from a person with a visual impairment. Starting with 5,000 copies in the first year, the company has published the calendar every year for 27 years, with cumulative distribution reaching 1 million copies through last year.
The 2027 edition places braille and standard print side by side so that people with and without visual impairments can use it together. Along with dates and days of the week, users can check essential daily information in braille, including the lunar calendar, seasonal markers and public holidays. Hanwha said it incorporated feedback from people with visual impairments on the density and size of the lettering to improve readability and ease of use. The social enterprise Braille Publishing House took part in production.
"The braille calendar is a project we started to help people with visual impairments check dates and schedules on their own and plan the new year for themselves," a Hanwha Group official said. "We will continue to produce and distribute braille calendars free of charge to make daily life more convenient for people with visual impairments."
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the promulgation of Hunmaengjeongeum, the Korean braille system created for people with visual impairments by Park Doo-sung, on Nov. 4, 1926.