Kakao said on the 4th that it produced the "2026 Kakao braille calendar" to mark the 99th Hangul Braille Day. Starting that day, Kakao will distribute 8,000 copies in phases to special schools for the visually impaired nationwide, related institutions, and organizations of people with visual impairments.
The Kakao braille calendar is one of the shared-growth initiatives pursued since last year under the group's integrated shared-growth slogan "Closer, Kakao." It aims to provide people with visual impairments with the character experience of Kakao Friends and improve everyday convenience.
Major distribution targets for the braille calendar include students and faculty at special schools for the visually impaired nationwide (2,200 copies) and institutions for people with visual impairments, including the Korea Blind Union (5,200 copies). Unlike last year, it will also be distributed to adults with visual impairments. In addition, so that people without disabilities can experience it as well, 600 copies will be sold through Kakao Makers, and all proceeds will be donated to Seoul Hyojeong School, a special school for infants and young children with visual impairments (ages 0–5).
The Kakao braille calendar features braille descriptions so that people with visual impairments can feel and understand the characters with their fingertips, with tactile lines added over characters such as Ryan and Apeach. This year, explanations of key commemorative days each month and item illustrations related to them were also expressed with tactile lines.
Details were also improved for user convenience. A new "braille calendar user guide" was added to explain the calendar's main functions and braille notation (lunar calendar, sticker symbols, and more). In addition, the tactile stickers were subdivided so that major everyday schedules such as "birthday, exam, important, trip, hospital" can be marked in braille, and the font size of the commemorative days/holidays overview was enlarged to improve readability.
Principal Ko Ung-jae of Seoul Hyojeong School said, "The Kakao braille calendar was produced with a high level of completion by striving to reflect the opinions of people with visual impairments," adding, "In particular, its usefulness is high as a teaching material that provides interest and educational stimulation to infants and young children with visual impairments."
Kim Hye-il, Kakao chief digital accessibility officer (DAO), said, "The Kakao braille calendar is a symbolic project that expands the experience of a digital platform into analog and opens up a new world for people with visual impairments," adding, "In 2026, we sought to further elevate this value and worked to provide practical help not only to students but also to people with visual impairments across various age groups."