Bukseong-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu
Local Cafe Faces Risk of Closure
Yook Jungmi, a proportional representative of the Democratic Party in the Daegu City Council, urged during a five-minute speech at the 3rd plenary session of the 319th extraordinary meeting on September 12, "We can no longer neglect the birthplace of poet Sanghwa Lee, which embodies the spirit and identity of Daegu, and it must be revived as an asset for the citizens."
Councilor Yook emphasized, "The national poet Sanghwa Lee expressed the pain and resistance of a nation deprived of its sovereignty through his poem 'Does Spring Come to the Stolen Fields?' and was an independence activist who led students in the March 8 Independence Movement, duplicating and distributing the Declaration of Independence, for which he was imprisoned. His older brother, Lee Sangjeong, was also active in the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. The two brothers are proud independence activists of Daegu."
The birthplace of poet Sanghwa Lee, where he lived until the age of 32, located in Bukseong-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu. This place is currently used as a cafe.
She continued, "However, their birthplace was demolished in 1956 and left neglected for a long time. It was barely revived as the complex cultural space 'Lilac Garden 1956' through private efforts, but is now facing the risk of closure. As a result, citizens registered it as the 'Endangered Birthplace of Sanghwa Lee' through a National Trust campaign and have begun a rescue movement. This is a shameful reality that reflects Daegu City's failure to fulfill its responsibilities."
She also pointed out, "There is confusion between the Sanghwa Lee Old House in Gyesan-dong and his actual birthplace, and many citizens are unaware of the existence of the birthplace itself. Even symbolic legacies such as the 200-year-old lilac tree standing on the site cannot be preserved by private efforts alone."
In particular, she stated, "World-class cultural heritage sites such as the Goethe House in Germany and Shakespeare's Birthplace in the United Kingdom have been thoroughly managed and developed as cultural content by governments and public institutions. Daegu, too, should no longer depend solely on private efforts to preserve its symbolic heritage."
Councilor Yook stressed, "Above all, what is urgently needed is for Daegu City to purchase the birthplace of Sanghwa Lee and establish a responsible management system. The 'Daegu Metropolitan City Ordinance on the Promotion of the Spirit of the Independence Movement,' enacted in 2021, provides grounds for the maintenance and support of independence movement sites. Based on this, practical preservation measures must be implemented."
She further suggested, "By linking the operation of the Sanghwa Lee Old House in Gyesan-dong and combining it with the 'Cultural Artists Value Expansion Project' promoted by the Daegu Foundation for Arts and Culture, the birthplace of Sanghwa Lee should be developed into a commemorative space that citizens can directly experience, rather than remaining merely as a record."
Councilor Yook Jungmi plans to emphasize, "Daegu is a city that has inherited the passionate sense of justice from the National Debt Repayment Movement, the March 8 Independence Movement, and the February 28 Democracy Movement. If we neglect the birthplace of Sanghwa Lee, we ourselves are damaging Daegu's identity, and we must remember that the preservation of cultural heritage is a debt owed to future generations."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
