Ceremony for Naming Mapo-gu Honorary Road 'Kim Dae-jung-gil' Held...Accelerating Registration of Donggyo-dong Residence as Cultural Heritage

Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Gang-su) held a naming ceremony for the honorary road ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil’ on the morning of the 20th at Kim Dae-jung Peace Park (5-25 Sinchon-ro 4-gil).

The section of ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil’ created by Mapo-gu stretches from 1 Sinchon-ro 6-gil, adjacent to the Donggyo-dong residence and Kim Dae-jung Library, to 31-2 Sinchon-ro 2an-gil.

To make it easier for many people to visit the Donggyo-dong residence, ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil’ was established starting from the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail, with installation of guide signs and road nameplates. The road surface was also painted in a highly visible color.

Through this, Mapo-gu has made it possible to widely publicize and remember the achievements of the late President Kim Dae-jung, a symbolic figure of democracy and the first Korean Nobel Prize laureate.

Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, and Kwon No-gap, Chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation, are warmly greeting each other after the naming ceremony.

At the naming ceremony, Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, In Yo-han, Member of the National Assembly, Baek Nam-hwan, Chairperson of Mapo-gu Council, Kwon No-gap, Chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation, Moon Hee-sang, Vice Chairman, and Bae Gi-seon, Secretary General, attended to celebrate the birth of ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil’ and to wish for the registration of the Donggyo-dong residence as a cultural heritage site.

Also present at the ceremony were Kim Seong-jae, Executive Director of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Center, Namgung Jin, Director of the Asia-Pacific Peace Foundation, Jeon Byeong-heon, Representative of the New Future Democratic Party, Park Myeong-rim, Director of Kim Dae-jung Library, and Seo Hae-seok, President of the Jaegyeong Mapo Honam Association.

The naming ceremony proceeded in the order of a report on the background of creating ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil’, a commemorative speech by Mayor Park Gang-su, congratulatory speeches by guests, and a tape-cutting ceremony.

Mayor Park Gang-su of Mapo-gu said, “The late President Kim Dae-jung’s Donggyo-dong residence is a cultural heritage imbued with the spirit of peace and democracy, a symbol of modern Korean history, and a national asset for all citizens. Mapo-gu will closely cooperate with related organizations including the Kim Dae-jung Foundation and take the lead in preservation and management so that the Donggyo-dong residence, the honorary road ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil’, and Kim Dae-jung Library can be passed down as historic spaces to future generations.”

Mapo-gu plans to actively promote preservation measures such as cultural heritage registration and purchase of the residence by forming the ‘Kim Dae-jung President Donggyo-dong Residence Preservation Promotion Committee’ with the Kim Dae-jung Foundation.