By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Admiral Yi or King Sejong?
Seoul City will conduct a survey on whether to erect a statue of King Sejong to replace that of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, or to retain both, on Gwanghwamun Plaza to be established in the middle of Sejong street in downtown Seoul next June.
Currently, the statue of national hero Yi, an admiral of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) who defeated Japanese invaders, stands in the middle of the street. The problem with the existing statue is that the street was named after King Sejong, who created the Korean alphabet ``hangeul.'' There has long been a call for the replacement of Yi's statue with that of Sejong in line with the street's name Sejong-ro (Sejong Street). Also in the street is the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.
The statue of King Sejong is at Deoksu Palace, hundreds of meters away.
The city will build a 550-meter-long and 34-meter-wide plaza in the middle of the road by reducing the number of car lanes. The city government originally planned to keep the statue of Yi where it is and relocate that of the king to the middle of the plaza so that it will face the Sejong center.
However, many advisors of the city's design committee recommended the city reconsider the arrangement of the statues, saying people will not be able to see the 6.7-meter-high sedentary statue of King Sejong which will be behind the 18.5-meter-high standing statue of Yi.
Following the recommendation, the city will conduct a survey of 12,000 citizens and 3,000 bloggers about the arrangement by Sept. 10, and make a final decision by the end of October. Some 300 experts will also be consulted.
Citizens will select one among four plans: setting up only the statue of Yi as it is now; relocating the statue of King Sejong according to the original plan; setting up the two statues side by side; or erecting the statue of the king in the middle and those of Yi and Jeong Do-jeon, one of the founding members of Joseon, on both sides of the king.
In a survey the city government conducted earlier this year on some 3,000 bloggers, 56 percent chose to set up both statues. They mainly preferred leaving that of Yi where it is now and relocating that of the king in front of the Sejong center.
Some 27 percent voted for setting up only that of Yi, and 18 percent, for erecting only that of King Sejong.