Yellow Wave Fills Seoul Plaza
By Chung Ah-young, Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporters
Citizens flocked to Seoul Plaza, where ``noje'' ― a street funeral rite ― was held Friday, to say goodbye to late President Roh Moo-hyun.
The plaza was opened to public around 7:50 a.m. for the first time since Roh's death Saturday. Traffic was blocked and an endless stream of mourners soon filled the 10-lane road. More than 30,000 came to pay homage to the late President.
Volunteers distributed yellow ribbons, sun visors and balloons in front of the plaza to express their affection and condolences to the former head of state. Many in the crowd held funeral banners mourning the tragic death of the late president.
Citizens who couldn't attend the official funeral ceremony at the courtyard of the Gyeongbok Palace due to limited capacity watched the funeral on a screen at the plaza.
``I wanted to go to the funeral ceremony, but a police officer there told me that an invitation is needed to get in to the palace where the ceremony is held,'' Park Ho-bum, 33, said. Park said he took a day off from work to participate in the funeral. ``I can't understand this. It's a public funeral and should be open for everyone.''
Some released yellow balloons after Roh's favorite song, Sangroksu, or evergreen, was played at the funeral.
The hearse left the Gyeongbok Palace around 12:30 p.m. and the procession headed to Seoul Plaza for a public ritual. The ride took longer than expected as grieving citizens filled the road. There were some minor scuffles as police attempted to clear a path for the hearse.
A pre-ceremony was hosted by TV host Kim Je-dong, and singers, including Yang Hee-eun and Yoon Do-hyun, sang to honor the late President. ``You told us to build only a small gravestone beside your home. But we will build huge gravestones in our mind.''
Yoon Ah-reum, a university student, held a yellow balloon in one hand and a yellow paper saying ``I'm sorry I couldn't protect you,'' and cried while watching the pre-ceremony. ``I can't believe that he is really gone,'' she said.
As the day went on, more and more citizens came out to say goodbye to Roh and the road to the Gwanghwamun area was soon filled with condolers.
A woman in her 30s came to the plaza but could not get in due to the massive crowd. ``I think I came too late,'' she said. Instead, she watched the ceremony through her mobile television with her four-year-old daughter in front of the Seoul City Hall building across the plaza.
`Rest in Peace'
Poet Do Jong-hwan hosted noje ― a street ritual to pay tribute to the dead. The rite started by invoking the spirit of the deceased. Some people burst into tears as Roh's hearse arrived at the plaza. The bereaved family also joined the rite.
The street rite is offered for the dead before going to the burial place. Friends, relatives and other mourners stop on the way to the gravesite and deliver condolences by presenting offerings and memorial writings. Unlike the funeral service, mourners usually read the memorial poems and sing the dead's favorite songs.
``It is the last farewell for both mourners and the dead and gives the chance for him or her to look back to the place where he or she used to be. Our ancestors held a street ritual in all of funerals to pay respect to the dead regardless of their social status. It has been the essential part of the funeral rite in Korea,'' Chang Jong-soo, director of the National Palace Museum of Korea, said.
He said that Japan and China have similar rites but Korea has a specific way of mourning the dead on the street. ``Koreans stay longer during the stopover in the street ritual to offer various events than Japanese and Chinese do,'' he said. ``The rite reflects the Korean way of thinking about life and death that provides a connection between the dead and the living. Koreans believe that the world after death is not entirely separate from the present world, but exists on the same continuum.''
Poet Ahn Do-hyun read an elegy titled ``Thank You, Sorry, Stand Up'' along with a dance to repose the departed soul. Poet Kim Jin-kyung presented another tribute poem, and noted traditional singer An Suk-seon offered a tribute song.
The crowd then sang ``With Love,'' a favorite song of Roh, as the last part of the rite.
About 180,000 citizens came to pay tribute to the former head of state at Seoul Plaza, according to police.
After the ceremony, people slowly marched to Seoul Station with the hearse carrying Roh's body, which was surrounded by funeral banners. Roh's body was then transported to Yeonhwajang in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, for cremation.
