Who is the ‘Pumgyeoknam’ Seoul District Mayor Who Recited His Own Themed Poem at the District Office’s Signature Festival?

Seogangseok, Songpa-gu Mayor, Showcases Cultural Strength by Reciting Self-Composed Poem at 2023 Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival Opening Ceremony, Drawing Attention

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, reciting a self-composed thematic poem at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival

September and October are the best months for festivals. Because of this, Seoul's autonomous districts compete to hold their signature festivals.

First of all, festivals bring residents together in one place to converse and share laughter. For city dwellers who rarely see each other’s faces, festivals are an excellent opportunity to greet one another and feel the fulfillment of life.

Songpa-gu held the largest autumn festival of the year, the Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival. The festival, held over three days from the 22nd to the 24th last week at Olympic Peace Plaza, attracted about 300,000 visitors in total, demonstrating its popularity.

This year’s Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival, themed “The Power of Culture Crossing Rivers and Seas,” showcased the flourishing process of K-Culture spreading from Songpa to the world through high-quality cultural performances.

Especially for the first time this year, a 60-meter giant cutting-edge media stage was installed. The performances by the K-dance group ‘HolyBang’ and the K-music fairy girl group ‘Oh My Girl,’ along with other famous singers, were spectacular.

Popular singer performances are the highlight of the festival.

Moreover, at the opening ceremony, Seo Gang-seok, the district mayor, recited a self-composed thematic poem celebrating the 23rd Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival, earning praise from residents who said, “The district mayor truly has a different level of dignity,” drawing attention.

On the hill of Songpa

A lone pine tree stands tall,

The wind of the Han River breathes life into the new land

Two thousand years ago,

Receiving a heavenly mandate, the new history of Hanseong Baekje began,

The power of culture that has flowed proudly

Crossed rivers and seas and spread vigorously

The people of this land, the culture of this land

Flows unceasingly into tomorrow for thousands of years

On the hill of Hanseong Baekje Songpa

The culture shining like a sunrise has flowed endlessly following the spirit of the nation

Now it crosses the vast sea to become a culture of the world

The culture of Hanseong Baekje, today’s K-Culture goes out to the world

And the world’s culture gathers on the hill of Songpa

Our hearts beat again

The power of culture, deepened through years of endurance,

Trembles as the light of hope illuminating our future

Seo, the poet and novelist district mayor, wrote this thematic poem summarizing the festival’s theme ahead of the 23rd Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival and recited it at the opening ceremony.

This contrasted with other festivals where district mayors typically give ordinary greetings.

Seogangseok, the mayor of Songpa District, delivered a fluent thank-you speech in English at the closing ceremony, mindful of the participation of hundreds of foreigners.

Seo, who had a special interest and expertise in culture to the extent of directing a college club play, passed the civil service exam and retired as a Grade 1 official at Seoul City. Despite his bureaucratic background, he has been changing the theme each year for the Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival, including this year.

Also, Seo, who served as Seoul’s New York representative, attracted attention by expressing gratitude in fluent English to foreigners during the closing remarks at this year’s Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival closing ceremony.

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