hankyoreh

downtown Seoul

Controversy surrounds the government’s decision to support an extensive celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea on Liberation Day, August 15, by giving subsidies to outdoor markets across the country. Civic activists are opposed to the move and interpret the government’s action as an attempt to celebrate Liberation Day as the 60th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

The government recently decided to hold commemorative events in outdoor markets nationwide and give out, through the Small and Medium Business Administration’s Market Management Support Center, some 10 million won each to about 100 selected markets after receiving applications for support. The funds would reportedly be appropriated as part of the Small and Medium Business Administration’s joint marketing project budget.

Some 105 markets are to be selected: 11 each in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, 10 in North Gyeongsang Province, nine each in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, eight in Daegu, seven in Gyeonggi Province, six each in South Chungcheong Province and North Jeolla Province, five each in Gangwon Province and North Chungcheong Province and four each in Daejeon and Jeju Province.

The Small and Medium Business Administration said Friday it planned to provide support to markets in Seoul separately. He said the plan for the 60th anniversary events was made by the Small and Medium Business Administration and sent to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security for approval. The project will be hosted by the Prime Minister’s Office, an SMBA official said.

Support to commemorative events at traditional markets provided by the Small and Medium Business Administration consists of support for promotional material, reenactments, cultural and art performances and gifts to boost the Liberation Day atmosphere, including the hanging of standards and banners imprinted with the Korean flag, Dokdo and the Korean Peninsula.

Moreover, the Small and Medium Business Administration will support a one-week discount sale August 13-18 for some 60 products, an event to sell goods at their prices some 60 years ago, and support performance costs, including planning and personnel costs and costs associated with inviting entertainers to perform.

An official from the Small and Medium Business Administration said that last year the joint marketing project budget went to supporting traditional holidays like Chuseok, Korea’s autumn harvest holiday, and Seol, Lunar New Year’s Day, but this year it will support the Liberation Day holiday, taking into consideration the fact that many small businesses are suffering due to the continued economic downturn.

Cha Chang-gyu, the Korea Liberation Association secretariat head, opposes the idea of holding Foundation Day on August 15. He says that Korea’s founding was on April 13, 1919, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which says the republic inherits the spirit of the March 1 Independence Movement and the mantle of the Korean Provisional Government. He said that Korea’s heart was rotting.

Lee Jae-geun, a member of the administrative oversight team of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said it was inappropriate for the government to celebrate the Liberation Day event as the 60th anniversary of the nation’s founding when historians have even been unable to agree on the matter.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]