2025 KOREAN CALENDAR +
HISTORY BOOK

Inspired by the Korean tradition of gifting calendars as a gesture of gratitude and good wishes, this project reimagines a 2025 Korean calendar as both a cultural object and a personal gift. Designed entirely in Hangeul, it celebrates the beauty of Korean typography while combining traditional and contemporary aesthetics. The calendar functions as an everyday tool and a visual archive meant to be displayed and used throughout the year. Alongside it, a companion book explores the history of Korean calendars through research and archival sources. Both were created to expand accessibility, history, and cultural connection.

Book: 5.5 x 8.5 in
Calendar: 11 x 16 in

2025 is the year of the Blue Snake in South Korea. Inspired by the Korean calendar archives, I intended to create my calendar using typography as the primary visual language, rather than photographs, gradients, or 3D elements.

Using the shapes of Hangeul (Korean) and numbers, I created graphics that resemble blue snakes by stretching them, rather than using a condensed font, to represent snakes abstractly on the cover.

Under the limited graphic rule I created for myself, I used the Korean letter “ㄹ” to represent a blue snake. As I was experimenting with the shapes, I realized that when “ㄹ” is flipped vertically, it looks like the number 5. Also, when it’s not flipped, it looks like number 2. Therefore, I created a progress bar that represents both the snake and the year 2025 on the top page, in the bottom-left corner for each month.

Calendar cover

Book cover

Highlights from the Book

Highlights from the Calendar

Calendar App Prototype—Home

Year View—Overview of all 12 months at a glance.

Today (January 4th)—Daily view for the current date.

Add Event—Entry point for adding a new event to today's date.

Event Details—Expanded view for customizing event information.

Mood Log—“How was your mood today?” Daily mood tracking interface.

Shared Moods—Friends list showing shared moods and names.

Yearly Goals—A running list of goals set for the year.

Promises to Myself—A personal list of intentions and commitments for the year.

Profile—User profile page.

Settings—App settings and preferences.

Kelly (Seo Yeon) Kim

Information