Gwangju Dong-gu to Hold Special Exhibition 'Figures of Dong-gu in History' Until the 17th

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 9th that it will hold a special exhibition introducing 22 figures featured in the book "Figures of Dong-gu," which contains stories of modern and contemporary historical figures born in or active in Dong-gu, until the 17th on the first floor of the Dong-gu Office.

This research was conducted last year by entrusting the independent bookstore "Sonyeon-ui Seo" (Representative Im In-ja) with the project "Discovery of Dong-gu Figures and Production of Records" to highlight modern and contemporary historical figures and historical events born in Dong-gu.

"Sonyeon-ui Seo" selected 22 historical figures based on the opinions of advisory committee members and re-examined their stories through literature research and interviews with people around them.

Among the 22 are key figures such as Pastor Choi Heung-jong of Obang, who devoted himself to independence and social movements during the turbulent period of modern Korean history and dedicated himself to Hansen's disease patients; independence activists including Choi Han-young and Jang Jae-seong; human rights lawyer Hong Nam-soon; poet Moon Byung-ran; and Lee Han-yeol, a youth who became the catalyst for the June Democratic Uprising.

In particular, the stories of lesser-known women such as Hyun Deok-shin, Gwangju's first female doctor, and female independence activist Choi Hye-soon were also covered.

Dong-gu is currently in the final stages of publishing the records, and after this exhibition ends, it plans to distribute the records to Dong-gu and Gwangju area libraries and other community facilities around the end of this month to widely share them with citizens and students.

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, "Tracing the footsteps of the figures who have been a strong support as our parents in our hearts until today's Gwangju is more important than anything else to find our roots," and added, "Starting with the stories of the 22 figures discovered this time, we will continue to carry out projects to discover and honor the figures of Dong-gu."