President Park Geun-hye (center) waves to the crowd aside figure skater Kim Yuna, singers Lee Seung-chul and Lee Sun-hee, and a choir, greeting the audience at a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of Korean independence held at the World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Aug. 15.

President Park Geun-hye (center) waves to the crowd aside figure skater Kim Yuna, singers Lee Seung-chul and Lee Sun-hee, and a choir, greeting the audience at a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of Korean independence held at the World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Aug. 15.

Numerous events were held around the country to reflect upon the meaning of the 70th anniversary of Korean independence.

In celebration of Liberation Day, which is more meaningful this year than ever before, the Korean public paid their respects to the patriotic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence movement, and they reflected on the meaning of independence that followed 35 years of Japanese colonization. Everyone came together and thought about the solemn and overwhelming significance of national independence, and wished for reunification and prosperity, the only way to achieve a true and complete independence.

Over the past weekend, major celebrations were held across the country, including in Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Daejeon. Museums and Joseon palaces were open to the public for free. As Aug. 14, one day before the 70th anniversary itself, had been designated a national holiday, many people took a road trip or visited some other part of the country.

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After attending a 70th anniversary ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, President Park Geun-hye (middle) and others create a giant Taegeukgi, the national flag, by wearing different colored caps, at Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul on Aug. 15.

After attending a 70th anniversary ceremony at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, President Park Geun-hye (middle) and others create a giant Taegeukgi, the national flag, by wearing different colored caps, at Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul on Aug. 15.

President Park attended another 70th anniversary ceremony in the evening, the “I am a Republic of Korea” event held at the World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, Seoul. Along with a choir that consisted of people who were born in 1945, the year of independence, Park sang “Our Wish is Unification” along with the crowd.


President Park Geun-hye speaks during the 'I am a Republic of Korea' ceremony held at the World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, on Aug. 15.

President Park Geun-hye speaks during the ‘I am a Republic of Korea’ ceremony held at the World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, on Aug. 15.

 

President Park Geun-hye sings

President Park Geun-hye sings “Our Wish is Unification” along with a choir of people born in 1945, the year of independence.

Before singing the song, President Park said, “Today is a festive day that marks the 70th anniversary of our country’s independence. I hope that on such a meaningful day, we can become united, enjoy the joy of independence and pledge to make a new leap forward.”

“Looking back over the past 70 years, our countrymen came together and wrote a great history of economic development that has surprised the world. Although we faced endless challenges and difficulties, I believe that with our potential and ability we can overcome anything,” said the president.

President Park stressed Korea’s economic and social gains in a speech during the “Great Journey, New Leap Forward” ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of Korean independence on the morning of Aug. 15.

“I call upon everyone to marshal our collective strength to fulfill the Republic of Korea’s ‘miracle of a century’ and to usher in an era of a reunited peninsula,” said the president.

“Let us all stand together as one and build a peacefully unified peninsula. Let us thereby chart a bright future as a country that helps spearhead prosperity across the global village; a country that helps bring happiness to humanity through the arts,” added the president, saying that Korea’s leap forward could only be completed with the public’s cooperation and that it would contribute to the world.

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon Han, Cheong Wa Dae
jun2@korea.kr