Visit to Andong Hahoe Village and Ryu Seong-ryong Ancestral House for Korean Traditional Bogil
Andong Mayor Kwon Ki-chang Remembers the Connection of Andong Soju with Birthday Tables
Exhibition of 1999 State Visit Photo in Front of Memorial
Memorial space installed in front of ChungHyodang, the ancestral home of Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong in Andong City.
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] A memorial space honoring the late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, who passed away on the 8th, has been set up in Andong City, Gyeongbuk Province. Andong City holds a special connection with the Queen, who visited during her lifetime.
Andong City installed a memorial podium for Queen Elizabeth II in front of ‘Chunghyodang,’ the ancestral home of Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong in Andong Hahoe Village, which the Queen had visited.
For ten days following her passing, citizens and visitors are allowed to pay their respects and mourn.
About 20 photos commemorating the Queen are also on display, including images of her barefoot ascent onto the floor of Chunghyodang, receiving her 73rd birthday table, and placing stones on a stone pagoda at Bongjeongsa Temple during her visit to Hahoe Village.
In April 1999, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, made a four-day state visit to Korea at the invitation of the late President Kim Dae-jung and his wife.
Following the Queen’s wish to “see the most Korean and natural aspects,” she visited Andong Hahoe Village, the epitome of traditional Korean culture, received her 73rd birthday table, and formed a bond with Andong, leaving a significant mark in Korea-UK diplomatic history.
Since the two countries signed the Korea-UK Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation in 1883 and established diplomatic relations, this was the first visit to Korea by a British head of state, making it a notable event.
As the highest-ranking British guest and a historic visitor, the Queen’s visit attracted the attention of the entire Korean nation and the world, and it became an opportunity for Andong, considered the heart of Korea, to be introduced globally.
On the third day of her visit and her 73rd birthday, April 21, when she visited Hahoe Village, more than 10,000 people, including key dignitaries and citizens, warmly welcomed the Queen.
At that time, the Queen was treated to a grand birthday table prepared by Jo Ok-hwa (who passed away in 2020), a master of Andong Soju, at Damyeonjae.
The story of the Queen removing her shoes and stepping onto the floor of Chunghyodang became a worldwide sensation. The moment the Queen, who rarely exposed her feet, took off her shoes, domestic and international reporters fired flashes, broadcasting the Queen’s down-to-earth dignity unfiltered to the world. To commemorate this day, the Queen also planted a Korean nut pine tree in the yard of Chunghyodang.
Since the Queen’s visit, Hahoe Village has attracted over one million tourists annually and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. This became an important starting point for the registration of Confucian woodblocks, Bongjeongsa Temple, Dosan and Byeongsan Seowon academies as UNESCO documentary and cultural heritage.
Mayor Kwon Ki-chang of Andong said, “The Queen was a living embodiment of modern history and a symbol of the British Commonwealth, beloved and respected worldwide for her soft power,” adding, “We deeply mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and will forever remember the precious bond between Andong City and the Queen together with our citizens.”
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