Naju-si to Hold 'Citizen's Day Ceremony' on the 30th at the Culture and Arts Center

The ‘29th Naju Citizens' Day Ceremony,’ a gathering of unity and celebration for 120,000 Naju residents, will be held on the 30th at 9:30 a.m. at the Naju Culture and Arts Center.

According to Naju City on the 26th, this year’s Citizens' Day ceremony will be held under the theme “The Path to Independence Opened by Students, the Yeongsangang Era to be Opened with Citizens,” featuring various cultural performances and commemorative events to boost the pride of the patriotic citizens of Naju.

Scenes from the 28th Naju Citizens' Day ceremony last year.
[Photo by Naju City]

In particular, the Citizens' Day week, linked with the ten-day Naju Integrated Festival ‘2023 Naju Festival, Yeongsangang is Alive’ held from the 20th to the 29th, will be operated for three days from this weekend until the day of the ceremony.

On the first day of Citizens' Day week, the 28th, from 10 a.m., a poetry, city poem, and essay literary contest themed on the Naju Student Independence Movement will be held at the Yeongsangang Riverside Sports Park, the integrated festival venue.

Earlier, starting from the 21st, a ‘Fam Tour’ involving families of public institutions relocated to the Innovation City has been held three times, receiving great responses.

Families of public institution employees residing in the metropolitan area and other regions are enjoying the charm of Naju, their second hometown, through activities such as visiting Naju Forest Center, Naju Eupseong Rickshaw Tour, making Bae dessert, and attending the festival.

The Citizens' Day ceremony will open with a pre-ceremony performance by the ‘Together Yet Apart Orchestra 16,’ composed of members from 16 relocated public institutions’ instrument clubs, followed by an opening performance by Mirme Taekwondo.

Notably, the opening performance expresses the Naju Student Anti-Japanese Movement through Taekwondo, recalling the historical significance of the October 30, 1929, Naju Station clash between Korean and Japanese students, which was the starting point of the Gwangju Student Anti-Japanese Movement, one of the three major independence movements during the Japanese colonial period.

Following this, the ceremony will include viewing a commemorative video (Pride of Naju), commemorative and congratulatory speeches, congratulatory videos, and the reading of the Citizens' Charter.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae, Naju-Hwasun National Assembly member Shin Jeong-hoon, City Council Chairman Lee Sang-man, and Korea Electric Power Corporation President Kim Dong-chul will deliver commemorative and congratulatory speeches. Former Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok, world No. 1 badminton queen and Naju native An Se-young, and heads of domestic and international exchange cities will celebrate Citizens' Day through videos.

Additionally, an awards ceremony will be held for citizens who have contributed to regional development and citizen unity in various fields throughout the year, as well as for students who won the literary contest. This will be followed by an art performance conveying the vision message for the new Yeongsangang era and a choir singing the Citizens' Song.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “With the righteous spirit of Naju, which has always been at the forefront of overcoming national crises at critical moments in history, we will open a new Yeongsangang era together with the citizens. I warmly invite citizens, hometown natives, and public institution employees living in their second hometown to the 29th Citizens' Day ceremony, where we pledge a better and renewed Naju.”

Naju = Lee Han-hyuk, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr

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