Song Hye-kyo and professor donate Korean history booklets to Saipan

Actor Song Hye-kyo and professor Seo Kyung-duk have once again teamed up to promote Korean history abroad.

To mark the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the pair donated 10,000 Korean history guidebooks to Saipan and Tinian, islands in the western Pacific Ocean, according to Seo, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, Tuesday.

The guidebooks, available in both Korean and English, are being distributed at popular tourist locations, including the reception area of Saipan World Resort.

They provide detailed information on key historical sites, including locations where Korean laborers were forcibly conscripted, a memorial honoring Korean victims, a former cave site used for Japanese wartime sexual slavery, and the airfield where atomic bombs were loaded during World War II.

“Preservation of overseas Korean historical sites is far from ideal,” Seo said. “Continued interest and visits from Korean citizens are the most powerful way to protect them.”

He also encouraged those unable to travel to visit the official website, “History of Korea Found Abroad,” to download the guidebooks.

This marks the first of three projects the duo plans to carry out in celebration of the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day this year.

Over the past 14 years, Seo and Song have donated Korean-language guidebooks, Hangeul signage and relief artworks honoring independence fighters to 38 Korean heritage sites around the world.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.