Oh Cheon-jin, Chairman of the Seo Yoon-bok Commemoration Project Promotion Committee "By 2027, Mapo Seo Yoon-bok-gil Park...As a tourist attraction"
Oct 16, 2024
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- What motivated you to pursue the commemorative project?
▶Seo Yoon-bok is a person who penetrated life with a "goal and tenacity". That's the case with my career as a retired leader, administrator, sponsor, and master lecturer. Furthermore, the value of life he showed in the turbulent Korean peninsula led to the victory of the Boston Marathon, uniting our people in joy at the time. I hope that young people living today will run along Seo Yoon-bok-gil and create a life success story with goals and tenacity without conflict.
- First, Seo Yoon-bok was a student of Sohn Kee-chung, right?
▶Yes, you are both heroes who ran the world on the peninsula. If Son Ki-jung is the light of the dark ages before liberation, Seo Yoon-bok is the light of the dawn. In his 11th year, he won the championship, one in Berlin and the other in Boston by 11 years. Is it the moon symbolized by "1936 Taegukgi" and "1947 Korea" respectively? If you look at their lives, it seems like a small milestone in our country's modern history. Is there a road next to Son Ki-jung this time??I hope it will be a more meaningful paragon for Eun-eul.
- There is a plan to turn Seo Yoon Bok-gil into a park. How specifically?
▶'The road is not a place to pass, but a place to stay.' This is the conclusion that our promotion committee put our heads together. That way, we can capture the love and success stories of young people on the road. That's the starting point of the park development plan. In the future, Seo Yun-bok Road will be turned into a mural street, and the entire road will be "Photo Zone Street", with an abbreviation of 42.195km marathon course on the 1.2km Elastic Floor Paving Honor Road.
- Photo Zone Street is a bit unfamiliar...
The ▶Boston Marathon course has a heartbreak heel called "Hill of Heartbreak" near the finish line. In fact, Seo Yoon-bok's fox terrier rushed and fell down I got up and ran again. There are challenges that must be overcome in completing the marathon and winning, and it is symbolically included in Seo Yoon-bok-gil and holding an event to commemorate overcoming hardships. In addition, the Boston Marathon course has a kiss zone where athletes kiss women on the side of the road while they are running. It is an event created by Boston female college students to encourage the players, and it is called the culture of the competition. We would like to fill our roads with such events.
- How do you go from Mapo's landmark to South Korea's landmark?
▶If any path is made, it will be basic to contribute to the community. Our committee members agreed that Seo Yoon-bok Road should also be able to establish itself as a resting and cultural space in the local community, and that commercial districts near Ewha University and Daeheung Station, which are the starting and ending points of the road, including Sinchon and Gongdeok areas, should be activated. In short, it's the work of making Mapo's landmark. In the future, it will become a landmark of Seoul in connection with the Gyeongui Line Forest Road, and if it touches Son Ki-jeong-ro in Yongsan, it will be inferior to a Korean landmark. Then, just as the wave of `Taegeukgi' and the roar of "Korea" arose before and after liberation, wouldn't `Son Ki-ro-Seo Yoon-bok-gil' be on the lips of people around the world? It's a must-see path when you go to Korea. Perhaps the 'Jokpacheonha' monument near Seoyunbok-gil will also become a tourist attraction for foreigners.
- What is the mid- to long-term commemorative project plan?
▶Seo Yoon Bok-gil was created 77 years after winning the Boston Marathon. First of all, the Seo Yoon-bok Memorial Marathon was planned as an annual event, and the first shortened barathon was already held in April last year. It's following the senior Son Ki-jung-Nam Seung-ryong Marathon. And three years later, by 2027, the 80th anniversary of the Boston Marathon's victory, we will focus on 'Seo Yoon Bok-gil Park' and then work together to build statues and gyms. In the meantime, we are also considering the incorporation of the commemorative business association for smooth business promotion. While the Son Kee-chung Memorial Project is led by the state, the Seo Yoon-bok Memorial Project is a public-private partnership project. We look forward to cooperation between many institutions, organizations, companies, and individuals in the future.
- Lastly, what do you want through the Seo Yoon-bok Memorial Project?
▶ It can be said that the cheers of 'Korea' in 1947 led to the shouts of"Korea" in 2002. The difference is that "Korea" resonated abroad on the Korean Peninsula and "Korea" resonated abroad on the Korean Peninsula. "Korea" is before the establishment of the government, and "Korea" is after the establishment of the government. However, it is also in line with the fact that the two events took place in the ideology of modern Korean history and the conflict between the two Koreas. In Seo Yoon-bok-gil, I hope that young people living today will overcome the conflict and lead today's history through love and success.
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