Heated Debate Over 'Gagopa' Restoration ... Ongoing Conflict Over Masan Chrysanthemum Festival Name Change

The conflict over changing the name of the Masan Chrysanthemum Festival in Changwon, Gyeongnam, to the Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival continues.

Gagopa is a song composed by Kim Dongjin, with lyrics written by the late poet Lee Eunsang, a native of old Masan.

The song, which describes the sea off the coast of Masan, has been used for festivals and business names. However, separate from the poet's artistic achievements, claims have arisen that he supported dictatorship and acted against democracy, fueling ongoing controversy.

Interior decoration of the 15th Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival held in 2015.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The long-standing debate resurfaced last month when Changwon City held a festival committee meeting and decided to change the name from Masan Chrysanthemum Festival to Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival.

On the 1st, six organizations, including the 3.15 Uprising Memorial Association, the Kim Juyeol Martyr Memorial Association, and the June Democratic Movement Spirit Succession Gyeongnam Association, strongly opposed the name change.

They stated, "Gagopa is another name for Lee Eunsang," and argued, "By bringing back Lee Eunsang, who defended and praised dictatorship, they are turning the sacred city of democracy into a city that collaborated with dictatorship. If Changwon City does not immediately correct this, we will launch a campaign against the name Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival."

Moon Sungkyu, a Changwon City Council member from the Democratic Party, also insisted, "No matter how high the artistic value of Gagopa is, it cannot cover up Lee Eunsang's pro-dictatorship actions," and called for a public debate to gather citizens' opinions on the name change.

The Namha Lee Seunggyu Nosan Lee Eunsang Memorial Association is holding a press conference regarding the restoration of the name of the Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

In response, the Namha Lee Seungkyu and Nosan Lee Eunsang Memorial Association held a press conference on the 8th, countering, "Removing Gagopa from the Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival is a violation of trademark law, and the controversy over glorifying dictatorship is clearly defamation of the deceased."

The memorial association stated, "The Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival is a registered trademark since 2015 and is also listed in the Korean dictionary as a unique name," adding, "Restoring the name to Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival is a rightful action."

They further asserted, "Claiming that Lee Eunsang disparaged the 3.15 incident by answering that the 1960 Masan incident was caused by unreasonable and illegal circumstances is a baseless argument that slanders a great writer and independence activist," and urged, "Take legal action against the officials who violated trademark law and the civic groups that defamed the deceased."

Previously, Changwon City explained that the festival began as the Masan Chrysanthemum Festival in 2000, but after an international naming contest in 2005, the name Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival was chosen and used until 2018. In 2019, reflecting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's suggestion to simplify festival names, it was changed back to Masan Chrysanthemum Festival.

The city added that the name change to Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival is a restoration to the original name, pursued at the request of the city council during two regular sessions in December last year and June this year.

The city assessed that Gagopa represents both the emotional hometown of Koreans and is a representative cultural brand of Masan, the city of art, containing the double meaning of 'longing to go,' thus embodying the sentiment and nostalgia of the Korean people as a cultural asset.

However, the city plans to follow the decision of the city council, which has the authority to amend the ordinance regarding the name change.

If the ordinance on the promotion and support of festivals in Changwon is amended at the 136th temporary session of the Changwon City Council, which will be held from the 15th, the name will be changed to Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival starting this year.