Resident seeks to build King Sejong hall

Cho Ki-tae

By Choi Kyong-ae

Promoting a district has been the second major job in the past 25 years for Cho Ki-tae, who resides in a small Jongno-gu community near Cheong Wa Dae.

Cho, 70, a Hyoja-dong resident for nearly 50 years, is making a last-ditch effort to build a memorial hall in honor of King Sejong in the area which includes Hyoja-dong, Cheongwoon-dong and Tongin-dong.

“I was born in Yeongam, Jeolla Province, but our family moved to Hyoja-dong in the late 1960s,” Cho said in an interview with The Korea Times. “I found my better half here and have been happily married with two now-grown-up children. For me, this area is a hometown away from my hometown. So I am committed to making it a better place to live and visit.”

King Sejong the Great was born in this district on May 15, 1397, but there is no major landmark that commemorates his great achievements such as “Hangul,” the Korean alphabet and his contributions to technological advancements, he explained.

Separately from his advertising-related job, Cho set up a non-profit organization in 1991 to help develop the “regulation-punctuated” district in the vicinity of Cheong Wa Dae. Starting in 1995, the organization began to pay more attention to its cultural heritage, such as King Sejong’s birthplace. Currently, he is the chairman of the Sejong “Village” Promotion Committee, a non-government organization, in Hyoja-dong.

“In 2002, I was elected to serve as a district representative. Getting financial support from the government was always difficult, but I managed to win a budget from the Jongno-gu district to build a swimming pool in Cheongwoon Elementary School and to enlarge the Cheongwoon-Hyoja community service center,” the chairman said.

These days, however, Cho is kind of protective in his efforts to improve and promote the district.

“Over weekends, this area is bustling with a constant flow of visitors. But many of them just come and sip coffee without a chance to learn its historical heritage. So I felt the need to let them know about King Sejong and other cultural assets,” he said.

With support from the Jongno-gu district, the committee distributed 50,000 maps to visitors last year and has recently published 5,000 guide books to help visitors better find their way around and understand the significance of district, Cho said.

“The Seoul City Government is doing a feasibility study on whether to build the Sejong Memorial Hall,” he said. “I believe my decades-long efforts will pay off.”