[Gyeonggi-do DMZ 60th Anniversary ⓽] Tongilchon Brand Village Opening Ceremony
Museum opening ceremony and village party in celebration of 40th anniversary of the village settlement

◇ Governor Kim Moon-soo is giving an address at the opening ceremony of Tongilchon Brand Village on August 14. ⓒ Gyeonggi G News Heo Seon-ryang

Gyeonggi Province held the opening ceremony of Brand Village as well as a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the village settlement in Tongilchon, the civilian control line in Paju, on the morning of the August 14.

Over 350 people participated in the event, including guests such as Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo; Hwang Jin-ha, member of the National Assembly; Lee In-jae, Paju mayor; Eom Ki-young, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation chairman; Kim Gwang-seop, member of the provincial assembly; Kim Jong-joo, assistant division commander of the First Division of the army; and residents of Daeseongdong and Haemaruchon, surrounding villages.

There was the opening ceremony of the village museum under the theme of ‘An Outing to Tongilchon,’ followed by a tour around the village trail and a party with the residents.

In his address, Governor Kim said, “I extend my sincere congratulations on the opening of Tongilchon Brand Village and the village’s 40th anniversary,” adding, “With the National Liberation Day coming up, you are the true patriots living in Tongilchon with the dream of unification every day. The province as well as the city will exert the utmost effort to support you. Unification is our aspiration. As 70 million countrymen waiting for that day to come, I hope your dream comes true. Let’s pray together for that day.”

Paju mayor Lee In-jae commented, “850 residents live in the three villages inside the civilian control line, half of which live in Tongilchon. Today marks the 21st time that Governor Kim has visited the civilian control line. He has paid a visit for eight times since July when there was flood damage. He slept, sweated and cried with you. I think his greatest achievement is his love for the three villages near the civilian control line in which KRW 28 billion has been invested to date.”

Tongilchon Brand Village was selected as a pilot project for local brand globalization conducted by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration (MOSPA) last year. Gyeonggi Province and Paju-si created a village museum to show the history of the village and life of the people at a glance and repaired the old air-raid shelter and commercialized it for tourism. Sculptures characterizing Tongilchon such as Dangerous Playground, Nest Observatory, and Soybean Paste Factory Mural were installed on the roads of the village.

◇ Governor Kim and participants are pressing the unveiling button in the opening ceremony of Tongilchon Brand Village. ⓒ Gyeonggi G News Heo Seon-ryang

◇ Governor Kim is looking around the Tongilchon village museum. ⓒ Gyeonggi G News Heo Seon-ryang

Governor Kim held the signboard unveiling ceremony at the village museum with the guests, and broke a gourd in a sense of getting rid of misfortune that blocks peace and unification. Then he looked at the postwar relics displayed in the Tongilchon village museum. The museum shows the history of the foundation of Tongilchon, traces of war and the army, and community life as well as household items with stories, refurbished as a place of education for unification and security.

Governor Kim also enjoyed various programs as he walked along the village trail, such as painting a mural, making a handkerchief of peace and unification, tasting Tongilchon traditional rice cake jomangsaengi, and experiencing old air-raid shelters. Governor Kim painted two flowers on the south and north along with the truce line on the Korean Peninsula, and wrote “Peace and Unification” on the mural with other children.

Prior to the village party, there was a recorder performance by elementary school students in the region as well as Nanta performance by local women from the three villages, receiving thunders of applause.

Tongilchon Village, created with an aim of “fighting while working, working while fighting,” was first developed as a settlement by the command of former President Park Chung-hee in May 1972, and then, 40 households of the First Division discharged military personnel and 40 households of displaced people in August 1973.

Lee Wan-bae, the head of village commented, “Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the names of Tongilchon has been changed from Jangdankong Slow Food Village and Unification and Informatization Village, and now into Tongilchon Brand Village. Seven hundred thousand visitors come to Tongilchon every year, and now it will show history and culture to the visitors. We will make every effort to act as the front-line and more salubrious village for unification using the village brand,  Tongilchon.”

Seven year-old Min Ho-geun, who is a local kindergartener of Tongilchon, said, “I know much about unification because I heard many stories from my grandmother,” adding a hopeful remark, “I think Korea will be unified in 20 years.”

◇ Governor Kim is painting a mural in the hoping for unification on the wall of Tongilchon carefully. ⓒ Gyeonggi G News Heo Seon-ryang

◇ Governor Kim is looking around Tongilchon Village with Hwang Jin-ha, member of the National Assembly; Eom Ki-young, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation chairman; and Kim Hee-gyeom Gyeonggi Province administration vice-governor. ⓒ Gyeonggi G News Heo Seon-ryang

ⓒGyeonggi G News | Park Gwan-sik malbut@kg21.net

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201308141728247055C049&s_code=C049