Yemicon Chairman Lee Sang-cheol: "Each Island's Storytelling Should Be Utilized"
The ‘Heo Young-man Talk Concert’ for the successful hosting of the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo concluded with great interest, filling the audience seats.
Held on the 24th at GS Caltex Yeulmaru, this event was organized by the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo Citizen Preparation Committee (Chairman Ahn Gyu-cheol) to ensure the successful hosting of the expo and to create a pre-event buzz.
The concert featured legendary Korean cartoonist Heo Young-man, Lee Sang-chul, president of the Yeosu Future Contents Association (YeomiCon), Professor Park Joon-taek of Chonnam National University, and Jeong Tae-gyun, a specialist at the Jeollanam-do Island Development Support Center, engaging in lively discussions about the islands.
They debated passionately on the theme of the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo, ‘Islands, Connecting the Sea and the Future,’ discussing the past, present, and future of Yeosu’s islands, earning praise for significantly contributing to the establishment of the ‘Yeosu Island Culture Brand.’
Heo Young-man named Geumo-do Bireong-gil and Geomun-do Lighthouse Trail as his favorite islands in Yeosu, and recommended the true cockles from Gamak Bay as Yeosu’s representative seafood. When he even revealed his own cooking secrets, the audience responded with enthusiastic applause for a long time.
Heo also emphasized, “Once the moss on the stone walls is damaged, it cannot recover,” urging, “We must approach the islands carefully and steadily continue preparations for the Islands Expo.”
Lee Sang-chul, president of YeomiCon and operator of the ‘Seomdori YouTube’ channel, introduced a video titled ‘A Mother’s Boat Route,’ about a head of household rowing daily along a 34,000-ri sea route to send his daughter to school, which moved the audience deeply.
Lee said, “The head of household embodies a mother’s heartfelt love, determined not to pass down the sorrow of illiteracy,” adding, “If we use storytelling about islands with such touching stories as content for this expo, we can achieve great results.”
Chairman Ahn Gyu-cheol stated, “We will actively propose to Yeosu City to reflect the future vision for the development of Yeosu’s islands in policy through this talk concert,” and added, “Next year, we will also promote various projects such as citizen capacity building and domestic and international publicity activities.”
Meanwhile, Heo Young-man, who hails from Yeosu, is known as the supreme figure in the cartoon world and a legend of Korean comics, with hit works like Tazza, Baekban Journey, and Gourmet being remade into movies and dramas. He is currently active in broadcasting and also serves as a promotional ambassador for Yeosu.
Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr
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