Wando County Residents' Day Ceremony: Chairman Jeong Ji-won Receives 'County Resident Award'

‘Honorary Citizen’ An Seong-sik, Former Chief of Wando Maritime Police, and Donghwa Writer Hong Jong-ui

[Wando＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do held the 51st Citizens' Day ceremony on the 15th.

According to the county on the 16th, the event included the presentation of the Citizens' Award and honorary citizen certificates, commemorative and congratulatory speeches, and a chorus of Wando's anthem.

Shin Woo-cheol, the governor of Wando-gun, said in his commemorative speech, "We must create a wave of change to open the curtain on the hopeful future of Wando's 100 years, the second Cheonghaejin era," and emphasized, "We will promptly and steadily promote the early commencement of the second phase of the Gwangju-Wando Expressway included in the national agenda, the construction of the Wando-Goheung island and land bridges, and the establishment of the National Subtropical Arboretum."

Governor Shin also pledged, "We will accelerate the construction of marine healing industry, marine bio-industry, and marine tourism hub city, which are the future driving industries of Wando, and lead the county administration with communication with the citizens as the top priority."

This year's Citizens' Award was given to Jeong Ji-won, chairman of the Won Gyo Lee Kwang-sa Memorial Association, in the fields of education, culture, and sports.

Jeong Ji-won is a calligrapher who served as the head of the Wando branch of the Korea Fine Arts Association and chairman of the Won Gyo Lee Kwang-sa Memorial Association, and has been actively participating in domestic and international exhibitions after being certified as an inaugural artist by the Korea Calligraphy Association.

In particular, he was recognized for his contribution to nurturing over 1,000 disciples by guiding calligraphy and painting in Sinji-myeon for more than 30 years, continuing the calligraphic tradition of Won Gyo Lee Kwang-sa, a renowned calligrapher of the late Joseon Dynasty.

Moreover, he greatly contributed to the development of local culture and arts by engaging in extensive exchange activities to quench the thirst for culture among citizens and to consolidate the capabilities of local calligraphers.

Honorary citizens were selected as An Seong-sik, former chief of the Wando Maritime Police Station, and Hong Jong-ui, a children's story writer.

Former chief An Seong-sik contributed to maritime safety in Wando-gun by strengthening the civil-military-government cooperation system and establishing an emergency dispatch system, reducing ship accidents and casualties, as well as improving medical services through emergency patient transport in island areas.

Children's story writer Hong Jong-ui won several children's literature awards after being selected in the 1996 New Year's Literary Contest in the children's story category. He was recognized for promoting Wando by publishing works such as "Soando, the Island with a Song," based on the anti-Japanese movement in Soando, and "Jeon Bok-soon and Kim Chamchi," featuring the island child Go Tae-i from Bogildo.

Wando=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil ckp6737@asiae.co.kr

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