Yangju City Hosts 'Park Hwa-mok Art Festival' Celebrating Poet Park Hwa-mok's 100th Birth Anniversary

At 3 PM on the 16th at Gyeonggi Textile Comprehensive Support Center Convention Hall

Yangju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kang Su-hyun) announced on the 12th that it will hold the ‘Park Hwa-mok Art Festival’ at 3 p.m. on the 16th at the Gyeonggi Textile Comprehensive Support Center Convention Hall.

Promotional material for Yangju City's 'Park Hwa-mok Art Festival.' Provided by Yangju City

This event is held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of poet Park Hwa-mok, the lyricist of ‘Yangju Citizen’s Song,’ and to host a cultural and artistic festival where Eastern and Western music, poetry, and stories harmonize, aiming to enhance the poet’s humanities achievements and brand value and develop it as a representative tourist resource in northern Gyeonggi.

The poet’s life will be divided into five periods, with narration for each period, and vocalists will perform Korean art songs and children’s songs set to his poems. The finale will be a special meeting of music and literature where the poet’s lyricism meets the universal emotions of world opera, enriched by the traditional melodies of haegeum and ajaeng combined with Western instruments such as piano and violin, making it a more abundant concert.

An official from Yangju City said, “We hope that this meaningful event honoring the achievements of poet Park Hwa-mok, lyricist of ‘Yangju Citizen’s Song,’ will create an atmosphere where citizens can unite and enjoy together,” and added, “We hope families, couples, and friends will enjoy watching the choir’s performance together.”

Meanwhile, poet and children’s literature writer Park Hwa-mok wrote the lyrics for the art song ‘Barley Field’ and the children’s song ‘Orchard Road.’ He formed a connection with Yangju by writing the lyrics for ‘Yangju Citizen’s Song’ in 1980. He passed away in 2005 and was buried in the cemetery in Bongyang-dong, Yangju City. Although his hometown is Hwangju County, Hwanghae Province, Yangju can be considered another hometown for poet Park Hwa-mok, who rests in Bongyang-dong after his death.