Gwangju Dong-gu Unveils 'Udabang Street' Poster for Chungjang Festival

Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, has unveiled the poster "Udabang Street" commemorating the nostalgic Chungjang Festival.

On the 12th, Dong-gu announced that it had revealed the first work in the poster series, "Geumnam Pung光 (Gwang)," ahead of the D-100 day countdown to the "Nostalgic Chungjang Festival," followed by the release of the second poster work, "Udabang Street," to mark D-90 days.

"Udabang" refers to the stairs in front of the Chungjang-ro Post Office, a nickname given because it was used as a meeting place for people, much like a coffeehouse.

During the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980, Udabang also served as a preliminary gathering point for protest crowds, making it a place that holds many stories and memories for numerous people.

Choi Yong-ho, who oversees the production of Chungjang-ro posters, is a native of Gwangju. He graduated from the Department of Painting at Sejong University and majored in Illustration at the Graduate School of Design at the University of Seoul.

He is well known as the author of picture books such as "The Bird of the Sun," "Samjok-o," and "The Warmest Theater in the World," and has worked as the cover artist for the novel "Lisbon Night Train."

Choi said, "In the Udabang series, I tried to condense countless stories of myself, my family and acquaintances who were born and raised in Gwangju, as well as the citizens of Gwangju."

He added, "I hope the second poster will serve as an opportunity to reflect on the unique era and memories of Chungjang-ro Udabang, a 'coffeehouse that is not a coffeehouse,' unlike anywhere else in the world."

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