Gwangju, South Jeolla officials took dozens of trips to China to 'research' Zheng Lucheng

Social Affairs

Published: 30 Aug. 2023, 14:24 Updated: 30 Aug. 2023, 17:46

Gwangju, South Jeolla officials took dozens of trips to China to 'research' Zheng Lucheng

Member of veterans associations who are against the construction of a park commemorating Jeong Yul-seong try to break in to the city government of Gwangju on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Officials from Gwangju city and South Jeolla's local governments took 53 trips to China over the past 13 years to work on projects commemorating Jeong Yul-sung, a naturalized Chinese composer also known as Zheng Lucheng.

These business trips included not only watching musicals but also touring the Great Wall.

Earlier, officials from the North Jeolla government, Buan County, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the organizing committee of the World Scout Jamboree held at Saemangeum were accused of misusing overseas trips.

These trips were intended for preparing for the global scouting event but ended up being used for unrelated purposes, such as attending wine festivals and visiting famous landmarks.

According to records of public employees' overseas trips at the Personnel Management Ministry, out of the 53 trips, Gwangju city officials took the most with 16 trips, followed by 12 from Hwasun County, 11 by Nam District in Gwangju, and six by the South Jeolla government.

Gwangju is Jeong's birthplace, while Hwasun County is where he spent his childhood.

Jeong is revered in China and Korea for composing their military anthems but is a lesser-known figure in South Korea.

Thirteen veterans associations including the Korea Disabled Veterans Association protest demanding the city government of Gwangju to call off its move to build a park commemorating Jeong Yul-sung in front of the city hall on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

In the reports, the government officials that went on the trip stated that the purposes of these trips were to commemorate the historic figure, who was born in Gwangju and raised in Hwasun County, South Jeolla, and to create monuments and exhibitions that would attract Chinese tourists.

However, many of the sites visited in China were famous tourist destinations that were unrelated to the naturalized Chinese composer.

One of the trips involved four Hwasun County officials who embarked on a six-day tour in April 2019.

Despite claiming the visit was to enhance pride in Jeong, their first destination was unrelated — the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in Xi’an, central China.

They did pay their respects at Jeong's burial site at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, traveling 900 kilometers (559 miles) from Xi'an.

However, they also toured Tiananmen Square and visited other places like Yan’An in central China and Harbin, approximately 1,000 kilometers away from Beijing.

In the report filed after the trip, the county officials recommended that the county government sponsor trips for Hwasun County students, allowing them to follow in the footsteps of internationally acclaimed Korean-born figures like Jeong.

A year earlier, another group from Hwasun County went on a six-day trip, visiting northeastern China, including Beijing, Harbin, and Yanji.

Pedestrians pass by a photo wall commemorating Jeong Yul-sung along a road named after him at Nam District in Gwanju on Monday. [YONHAP]

Their first stop at Jeong's memorial hall in Harbin was unsuccessful due to repairs.

They then traveled to Beijing to visit the Great Wall and watch a musical titled "Golden Mask Dynasty." The only activity related to Jeong during their entire Beijing stay was visiting his burial site.

Hwasun County officials reported that it was shameful that China knows more about the composer than Korea, where he was born and spent his early years.

In October 2016, three Hwasun County members, including the deputy governor, took an eight-day trip to Shanghai and Beijing.

The only Jeong-related events during this trip were visiting his burial site and attending a music festival in his name.

The rest of the tour included visiting Mount Wuyi, a mountain range known for its scenery, the Great Wall and the Summer Palace in Beijing.

They were accompanied by the head of the Korea Tourism Organization's Beijing branch office.

In March 2016, 25 people from Gwangju's Dong District visited China on a six-day tour.

While the tour initially focused on researching the Korean-Chinese composer, including interviewing the head of Jeong's memorial in Harbin, the last two days were tours to famous destinations including visits to the Great Wall, a night tour along Tiananmen Square, and a musical show in Beijing.

A report filed after the trip highlighted that the composer is highly praised in China and is even revered as the military's "guardian spirit," suggesting the need to attract Chinese tourists.

Members of conservative groups hold a protest in front of a bust of Jeong Yul-sung, a naturalized Chinese composer revered in China and North Korea for composing military anthems, located in Gwangju on Monda. A protestor holds up a sign that reads ″I dont' like the communist party.″ [NEWS1]

Gwangju city has become the center of controversy after it was found to have spent 4.8 billion won ($36.3 million) in taxes to construct a park commemorating the Korean-Chinese composer, who sided with the communists and marched into Seoul during the Korean War.

The issue first came into light after the Minister of Patriot and Veterans Affairs, Park Min-shik, last week criticized Gwangju for using significant tax funds to commemorate a communist figure, who fought against South Koreans.

"Jeong Yul-sung was a cheerleader who boosted the morale of our adversaries, who aimed knives and guns at us," Park said during a protest held at Suncheon Station in South Jeolla on Monday.

"The lingering resentment and the blood of numerous patriotic souls, who had fallen victim to the actions of communist forces, have yet to subside."

The Gwangju mayor, Kang Ki-jung, countered these claims, arguing that the monuments would attract Chinese tourists and boost the local economy.

He also drew a comparison between Jeong's monuments to statues and roads named after Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in Germany.

Supporters of the Gwangju mayor argued that Jeong was an independence fighter during the colonial period.

However, there is currently no verified historical documentation proving that Jeong fought against imperial Japan.

"To be acknowledged as an independence fighter, there must be unequivocal evidence of such involvement," said Hong Sung-gul, a professor of public administration at Kookmin University.

"Moreover, that individual should not have undertaken actions conflicting with national interests. However, there are clear indications that Jeong Yul-sung, who composed the military anthem for China's People's Liberation Army, acted in opposition to national interests."

"Engaging in overseas trips without adequately researching Jeong Yul-sung is a classic moral hazard that treats taxes as if they were personal discretionary funds," Hong remarked.

BY KIM HYO-SEONG, SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]