Actress Song Hye-kyo donates guidebooks focusing on Korea's historic sites in Hawaii

Professor Seo Kyung-duk, left, and actress Song Hye-kyo / Courtesy of Seo Kyung-duk

By Dong Sun-hwa

Actress Song Hye-kyo has collaborated with Seo Kyung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University and an active promoter of Korea, to donate 10,000 guidebooks on Korea's historic sites in Hawaii to the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The donation was made to commemorate Korea's Liberation Day which falls on Aug. 15. Hawaii was a place where ethnic Koreans raised funds for the independence movements during Japan's colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945).

The guidebooks, available in Korean and English, provide details of different heritage sites linked to the independence activities, including Oahu Cemetery where the bodies of Korean independence fighters are buried.

“This year marks the 120th anniversary of Korean immigration to the U.S.,” Seo said. “We published and donated guidebooks hoping that more people would visit Korea's historic sites in Hawaii in addition to its major tourist attractions.”

Actress Song Hye-kyo and Professor Seo Kyung-duk have donated 10,000 guidebooks on Korea's historic sites in Hawaii to the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on the occasion of Liberation Day (Aug. 15). Courtesy of Seo Kyung-duk

Seo also urged Koreans to pay extra attention to the country's historical sites abroad, which are not in good condition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This will be helpful in preserving and promoting our sites,” he added.

Seo and Song have contributed guidebooks relating to Korea's heritage sites, among others, for the past 12 years, making their donations to 34 places around the world including the Korean Cultural Center in Paris and Utoro Peace Memorial Museum in Japan. The latter is a neighborhood close to Kyoto where approximately 1,300 Koreans were forced into labor for Japan's military during World War II.