Gwangju Dong-gu Transforms May Spirit into Light... 'Fountain of Light' Construction Begins

Image of 'Fountain of Light' in Dong-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Dong-gu Office, Gwangju

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] Dong-gu, Gwangju (Mayor Im Taek) announced on the 29th that it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Light Fountain Construction Project,' which will play a key role in transforming the 5·18 Democracy Square into a world-class historical and cultural plaza.

The 'Light Fountain Construction Project,' with a budget of 4 billion KRW aiming for an opening in March next year, has recently completed preliminary administrative procedures such as reviews by the Cultural Heritage Committee and the 5·18 Memorial Project Committee, and has now entered full-scale construction.

By January next year, the basic hardware design and infrastructure will be completed, and from February, technical rehearsals will be conducted on-site to enhance the completeness of the content.

Once the 'Light Fountain' is established, Dong-gu plans to allow visitors to see the current fountain water jets during the day, and at night, it will feature ▲an embedded kinetic sculpture ▲a giant water screen ▲floor mapping of Democracy Square ▲and media art works that operate at specific times.

The signature work, 'Light and Fire,' is inspired by the torches carried by citizens yearning for democracy in May 1980. The torches held by Gwangju citizens against the martial law troops during the 5·18 uprising will serve as an important object symbolizing democracy and human rights.

The project involves renowned domestic and international artists including General Director Yoo Jae-heon, media artist Jin Si-young, composer Kim Hyung-seok, the UK media artist group Universal Everything, and Polish designer and artist Krzysztof Bodizko.

General Director Yoo Jae-heon said, "It is very heartwarming that the things we anticipated are becoming a reality one by one," adding, "The Light Fountain is a representative work of its era that embodies time and locality, and I hope it remains a work with diachronic significance through continuous communication with citizens."

Im Taek, Mayor of Dong-gu, said, "The 5·18 Democracy Square fountain is a cultural heritage that must be preserved, inherited, and developed as a representative historic site symbolizing the 5·18 Democratic Movement. Therefore, we will focus on preserving the original form of the fountain while promoting the project," and added, "Through the 'Light Fountain' to be unveiled to citizens in March next year, we will spread the spirit of May to people worldwide and concentrate all our efforts on making Dong-gu a world-class cultural tourism city."

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