The Funeral Ceremony of the Late Baek Giwan Held... Resting in Peace Amid Farewell from Citizens

Today, Baek Giwan, Director of the Unification Issue Research Institute, Funeral Ceremony
Over 1,000 Citizens Gather for Memorial Service... "To See Off the Final Journey"

On the morning of the 19th, the funeral rite for the late Baek Gi-wan was held at the Unification Issues Research Institute in Daehak-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, where the portrait was carried around the institute during the ceremony. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The funeral ceremony for the late Baek Gi-wan, director of the Unification Issues Research Institute, was held on the 19th.

Before the funeral ceremony that day, a farewell ceremony was held at the funeral hall of Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul. From early in the morning, mourners gathered at the funeral hall to pay their respects to Director Baek. Around 8 a.m., as the farewell ceremony began, the bereaved family bowed in front of the deceased’s portrait, then carried the portrait and memorial tablet to the resting room. The farewell ceremony concluded around 8:10 a.m. During this process, the family members showed tears.

Hundreds of mourners waiting for the hearse lined up on both sides holding black-and-white photos of Director Baek with the lyrics of "March for the Beloved." When the hearse came out, the mourners carried symbolic items commemorating him, such as a large hanji doll, paintings, and flags depicting Baek’s life, and headed to the noje (traditional Korean funeral rite) location continuing in Daehak-ro.

Director Baek’s funeral ceremony was held around 11:30 a.m. at Seoul Plaza. About 1,000 citizens, including those following the funeral procession and those who had gathered in advance, watched over Director Baek’s final journey.

Father Moon Jeong-hyun, a longtime comrade of Director Baek, said, "Since you have gone ahead, we who are still alive will follow. Until the day we meet you again, we will keep your place."

Kim Mi-sook, director of the Kim Yong-gyun Foundation, recalled him, saying, "It is always hard and exhausting at the site of struggle, but now who else can play such a great elder role for us?" The funeral ended with singer Jeong Tae-chun’s tribute song "The 1992 Rainy Season, in Jongno," a chorus of "Songs of the People" by folk singers, and citizens’ floral tributes.

The burial ceremony will be held from 2 p.m. that day at Ma-seok Moran Park in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. The funeral committee included 6,104 citizens and 562 organizations from labor, unification, religious, civil society, and academic sectors.

Director Baek passed away on the 15th at the age of 89. According to Seoul National University Hospital, he peacefully passed away in the morning while hospitalized. He had been admitted since January last year for pneumonia symptoms and had been receiving treatment.

Director Baek was a leading elder in the progressive camp and a unification activist. Born in Dongbu-ri, Jangryeon-myeon, Eunyul-gun, Hwanghae Province in 1932, he devoted himself to farmers’, the poor’s, unification, and democratization movements since the 1950s. In 1964, he participated in the movement opposing the Korea-Japan Agreement, and in 1974, he led a one-million-signature campaign against the Yushin regime, for which he was imprisoned for violating emergency measures. He was also arrested and served prison time for leading the 'YMCA sham marriage incident' in 1979 and the 'Bucheon Kwon In-sook sexual torture exposure rally' in 1986.

In the 1987 presidential election, he ran as an independent people’s candidate but withdrew, appealing for the unification of candidates Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung. After running in the 1992 presidential election, he worked as the director of the Unification Issues Research Institute, which he founded.

Director Baek was also the original lyricist of the people’s song "March for the Beloved." His surviving family includes his wife Kim Jeong-sook, daughters Baek Won-dam (professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Sungkonghoe University), Baek Mi-dam, Baek Hyun-dam, and son Baek Il.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.