By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
From entertainment programs and university festivals to demonstrations, many events are being canceled or delayed as the nation mourns the death of the former President Roh Moo-hyun.
With flags flying at half-mast, football and other sports stadiums have dropped their usual intermission cheerleader performances during the mourning period.
Government agencies and local governments are also putting off various other festivities. Seoul City indefinitely postponed an event to appoint K-pop singer Jung Ji-hoon, better known by his stage name ``Rain,'' as its PR ambassador. It also canceled an opening ceremony for an exhibition of Renoir works at the Seoul Museum of Art.
It asked its employees to avoid excursions or workshops and wear clothing suitable for the mourning period.
Dozens of state-backed events and festivals, scheduled for this week in Daegu, Gyeongsan, Yeongju, Pohang, Gyeongju, Gumi and Andong, were either canceled or delayed, according to each provincial government.
Universities are also in mourning mode, as many are canceling or scaling down their seasonal festivals. Jeju National University said it had canceled its intramural festival that was set to start Wednesday. Other universities also skipped such events. Lee Soo-min, president of students' association at Konyang University, said, ``It's quite natural to cancel festivals at least for the seven-day funeral period.''
The progressive Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union canceled its 20th anniversary event, scheduled for Thursday. Companies like LG and Samsung also put off prearranged events for about a week or so.