President Yoon Suk Yeol on May 10 waves to the crowd at a music concert marking the first anniversary of Cheong Wa Dae’s opening to the public. (Kim Sunjoo)
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By Xu Aiying
President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee on May 10 attended a music concert marking the first anniversary of Cheong Wa Dae’s opening to the public at the garden Daejeongwon in the former presidential compound.
The Office of the President said, “We planned the concert to mark the first anniversary of Cheong Wa Dae’s return to the people, which came in May last year after 74 years, and to make Cheong Wa Dae a livelier and moving space for the public through performances of culture and arts.”
About 1,000 family members of people of national merit who sacrificed their lives for the country and those of firefighters and police commended for their work in disasters were invited.
Among the guests were Hwang Eun-tae, father of the late Sgt. First Class Hwang Do-hyeon, a soldier who fought until his last breath at the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong in 2002, and Kim Oh-bok, mother of the late Sgt. First Class Suh Jung-woo, who was killed in the 2010 shelling of Yeonpyeongdo Island.
“This space originally belongs to the people, so we left to let the people use it,” President Yoon said in his opening speech. “This is the same logic under which people now use palaces previously utilized by royalty as parks and cultural heritage.”
While introducing people of national merit, he added, “These people and their families made possible a free Republic of Korea, the foundation of our peace and prosperity.”
A music concert on May 10 is held at the garden Daejeongwon of Cheong Wa Dae to commemorate the first anniversary of the former presidential compound’s opening to the public. (Office of the President)Under the sub-theme “Youth: Cheong Wa Dae’s Spring,” (unofficial translation), the concert featured acts from a range of genres like pop featuring the male vocal quartet Forestella and singers Ailee and 10cm; Seodo Band, which plays fusion gugak (traditional music); and choirs of firefighters and children.
The full 90-minute concert will be aired on May 20 from 6:30 p.m. on the network SBS.
xuaiy@korea.kr
