[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, will hold a memorial cultural festival to honor the spirits of the victims who died in the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station areas during the May 1980 uprising, marking the 42nd anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement.
According to Nam-gu on the 9th, the "May 18 Songam-dong and Hyochon Station Area Civilian Massacre Victims Memorial Cultural Festival" will be held at Hyochon Station Plaza from 4 p.m. on the 19th.
The theme of the memorial cultural festival is "Connecting the Memories of That Day," and about 100 people, including bereaved families of the May 18 victims and local residents, are expected to attend.
Participants will join the memorial cultural festival for about three hours, starting with pre-event exhibitions and participatory activities at 4 p.m., followed by commemorative performances.
The main stage event will begin at 5 p.m.
It will start with a memorial speech honoring the victims who unjustly lost their lives 42 years ago in the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station areas due to state violence, followed by ensemble performances and memorial poetry recitations presented by local residents and youth.
Additionally, creative dance and performances themed on May 1980, as well as traditional Korean music (gugak) performances, are expected to be showcased consecutively.
The finale of the memorial cultural festival will feature members of the Gwangju May 18 Youth Orchestra taking the stage to sing together with participants for about 20 minutes, remembering May 1980 in Gwangju and comforting the spirits with united voices.
A Nam-gu official stated, "Although the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station civilian massacre incident is one of the three major civilian massacre cases during May 18, it has received relatively little attention. We hope this event will raise more awareness and we will do our utmost to prepare the memorial cultural festival to honor the spirits of the local residents who were sacrificed in this incident."
Meanwhile, to shed light on the Songam-dong and Hyochon Station civilian massacre incident, which occurred during the May 1980 democratization movement and involved casualties caused by martial law troops, Nam-gu will hold the May 18 Nam-gu Forum on the 11th at 2 p.m. in the large conference room on the 8th floor of the district office, and on the 14th, will conduct a "Our Neighborhood May 18 Event" together with residents of Songhwa Village in Nodae-dong.
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