Promotion of '100m Taegeukgi Flagpole' at Gwanghwamun Square
"Not suitable for the character of Gwanghwamun Square"
"Strongly oppose and demand immediate withdrawal"
Seoul City has announced plans to install a 100m-high giant flagpole in Gwanghwamun Square, but a petition opposing this has been raised.
On the 26th, a post titled "Opposition to the Gwanghwamun National Symbol Space Creation Plan" was uploaded on Seoul City's policy proposal site 'Sangsangdaero Seoul.' The author, Mr. Kim, stated, "I strongly oppose Seoul City's announced plan to create a national symbol space in Gwanghwamun Square and demand its immediate withdrawal."
He pointed out, "The 100m-high large Taegeukgi and the 'unextinguishable flame' evoke excessive nationalist symbols reminiscent of the past authoritarian regimes." He continued, "Gwanghwamun Square has been a space where citizens' political demands erupted amid various historical events in Korean society. The plan to create a space that suppresses the diverse historical memories of Gwanghwamun Square and emphasizes only loyalty to the state does not fit the character of Gwanghwamun Square as an open space used by citizens."
Furthermore, he emphasized, "I want Gwanghwamun Square to be maintained as an open space where all citizens can freely use it without leaning towards nationalism. Seoul City should immediately withdraw this plan and reconsider the future of the square through sufficient communication with citizens."
As of 10 a.m. on the 27th, the post had received 124 likes. When the number of likes exceeds 50, the responsible Seoul City department is obligated to respond.
Comments on the post included, "Is the tax money rotting away?", "There must be many other places to spend the budget; is this really necessary? Citizens do not want this," "Please refrain from arbitrarily installing symbols in citizens' spaces by Seoul City," and "Such a tacky idea in 2024."
Earlier, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that he would hang the Taegeukgi on a 100m-high flagpole, taller than the government office building and the tallest flagpole in Korea, and honor the spirit of national defense and veterans with an unextinguishable flame. On his Facebook on the 25th, he stated, "We will create a pine forest around the Taegeukgi flagpole area with pine trees from the eight provinces symbolizing the Korean people to make it a genuine national symbol space," and "To become a true landmark, various food venues will also be prepared both above and below ground around Sejong-ro Park."
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