Jeongeup-si to Host the 1st World Revolutionary Cities Solidarity Conference from 4th to 6th

Published 01 Dec.2022 14:04(KST)

[Jeongeup=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jae-gil] Jeongeup City in Jeonbuk announced on the 1st that it will hold an international conference inviting revolutionary cities of the world for three days from the 4th to the 6th to commemorate the 128th anniversary of the Donghak Peasant Revolution.

The event will be held at the Donghak Peasant Revolution Memorial Foundation at the Hwangtohyeon Battlefield in Jeongeup and will be conducted as a collaborative project between Jeongeup City and the Memorial Foundation.

This year, the city invited researchers and activists of peasant revolutions from five cities for the '1st World Revolutionary Cities Solidarity Conference': Alta Gracia in Argentina, Dublin in Ireland, M?hlhausen in Germany, Sapporo in Japan, and Yan'an in China.

Among them, Martin Guevara Duarte, the great-nephew of the legendary South American revolutionary Che Guevara, will attend the conference in person and deliver a presentation.

Martin Guevara Duarte is the eldest son of Juan Martin, the youngest of Che Guevara's five siblings, and currently works as a Guevara researcher and writer in Spain and Argentina.

Additionally, from Dublin, the site of Ireland's independence struggle, Brandon Tilling, deputy director of the city library, will attend and present on Dublin's spirit of resistance and commemorative projects.

From M?hlhausen, Germany, Christina Pero, a researcher at the M?hlhausen Museum, will attend to discuss preparations for the 500th anniversary of the German Peasants' War in 2024.

From Japan, Koji Yokoshima, a young researcher at Sapporo University, is scheduled to present on the spirit of resistance and festivals in Hokkaido.

Meanwhile, from China, Liu Xinyue will introduce a unique commemorative project in the form of a large-scale chorus themed on the Anti-Japanese War and the city of chorus, Yan'an.

Before the presentations from the world revolutionary cities, on the morning of the 5th, Mayor Lee Hak-su and overseas attendees will pay tribute at the statue of General Jeon Bong-jun and the Donghak Peasant Army at the Hwangtohyeon Battlefield in Jeongeup and hold a solidarity declaration among the revolutionary cities.

Through this international conference, the city plans to develop the Jeongeup Donghak Peasant Revolution commemorative project into a new value of global dissemination of revolutionary spirit and solidarity among cities.

It also plans to shift the commemorative project from focusing on 'remembrance and consolation' to a message of 'hope and future.'

Furthermore, the international conference will be transformed into a festival space that citizens can participate in, rather than an academic gathering of a few researchers.

In particular, starting with this event, the city plans to refurbish key areas of Jeongeup's Donghak Peasant Revolution heritage sites such as the Gobu Government Office site, Manseokbo site, and the Hwangtohyeon Donghak Peasant Revolution Memorial Hall, and to make the Hwangtohyeon Donghak Peasant Revolution Memorial Festival citizen-centered.

Mayor Lee Hak-su said, "Jeongeup City has played a historic role not only as the center of the Donghak Peasant Revolution but also in commemorative projects, but now it is time to innovate the commemorative projects themselves," adding, "This World Revolutionary Cities Solidarity Conference will be the first step in such projects."

He continued, "In particular, I hope Jeongeup City will become a 'revolutionary city' that leads future values by pioneering solidarity and cooperation with cities around the world that have fought for democracy and equality beyond the Donghak Peasant Revolution."

Meanwhile, overseas participants and citizens attending the international conference plan to hold a small seminar on the 6th while touring major Donghak Peasant Revolution heritage sites in Jeongeup to share experiences and methods of commemorative projects.