'Political Festival' Held in Gwangju to Overcome and Promote Development of Democracy Issues

The 'Byeolbyeol Political Festival' was held in Gwangju to overcome the problems of democracy and to build a more mature and advanced democratic system.

According to the Democratic Politics Asteroid on the 12th, the Byeolbyeol Political Festival held the previous afternoon at the Gwangju 5·18 Memorial Culture Center Daedong Hall was a great success, with about 500 attendees including around 300 founding members and citizens.

The event was hosted and organized by Democratic Politics Asteroid, Cheongsori, and the Kim Dae-jung Foundation Youth Committee. Panelists included local issue experts such as Lee Hyun-joo, Chairperson of the Kim Dae-jung Foundation Youth Committee; Jo In-cheol, Director of the People's Budget Research Institute; Park Gyun-taek, Chief Lawyer of Gwangsan Law Firm; Jeong Jin-wook, Deputy Director of the Democracy Research Institute; Jeong Jun-ho, Executive Director of the Sympathy Forum; Kim Semi, Chairperson of Digital Era Sympathy; and Kim Seong-jin, President of the Korea Regional Economy and Industry Research Institute.

The event began with a pre-performance by the 4·19 Cultural Center Pungmul Troupe and proceeded with free discussions between citizens and panelists on three topics: ▲ Speaking about the history of democracy in Gwangju ▲ The role and direction of civil society participation activities ▲ Democracy as spoken by the youth.

The participants recognized the crisis facing the Republic of Korea, including security, diplomacy, and the economy, in the declaration made that day.

Through the declaration, Democratic Politics Asteroid pledged to ▲ aim for democratic participation by citizens beyond blind support for individuals ▲ practice ‘deliberative democracy’ based on sufficient information ▲ self-monitor and practice open discussions to avoid closed-mindedness ▲ transform conflicts into cooperation, reflection, and consent ▲ and commit to public interest and consideration of socially vulnerable groups for the whole society.

Kim Seon-min, Secretary-General who oversaw the Byeolbyeol Political Festival, stated, “We prepared this event recognizing the political instability caused by economic inequality and political polarization in Korean democracy and aimed to overcome it.”

Joo Su-ik, President of Democratic Politics Asteroid, the event organizer, said, “We will build a stronger democratic system based on mutual cooperation and reclaim the spirit of democracy and the independence movement,” adding, “We will strive for the reconstruction and development of democracy.”

Im Tae-gyun, Youth Representative of Cheongsori, emphasized, “I hope for a Korea that can actively and innovatively respond to rapidly changing demands of the times through political harmony between the older generation focused on the present and the youth generation who must live in the future.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Politics Asteroid plans to continue inviting experts and holding various events for the development of democracy.

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