Central Committee Members of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam Participate in 

“History Tour of Wartime Refuge Capital Busan with North Korean Defectors" 

The PUAC (Executive Vice-chairperson Kim Kwan-yong) hosted "History Tour of Wartime Refuge Capital Busan with North Korean Defectors" on June 18 on the occasion of the month of patriots and rewarding patriotism. About 30 Central Committee members from Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions, including Executive Committee Member Lee Jin-soo, participated in the event. It included a tour of the modern and contemporary historical and cultural sites of Busan, which was a provisional capital for 1,023 days during the Korean War.  

▶ Participants have a commemorative photo taken at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea

The event was designed to remember the forgotten history of freedom defense and prepare for unification. Professor Kang Dong-wan of Dong-A University, secretary of the PUAC Religion and National Concord Standing Committee, guided the tour, which included a visit to the Provisional Capital Government Building, Gamcheon Cultural Village, and the UN Memorial Cemetery in Korea. The Provisional Capital Government Building reflects the modern and contemporary history of Korea as it was the political center during the war. Looking at the figures of the then President, Speaker of the National Assembly, and Prime Minister, members of the Central Committee had a meaningful time thinking about how the Republic of Korea was able to overcome the moments of crisis that could have ruined the country.  

▶ Central Committee members visiting the Provisional Capital Government Hall 

The Central Committee members then moved to Gamcheon Cultural Village, which has been transformed into a cultural space filled with the painful memories of the war refugees. The members visited the briquette storage, cramped alleyways, and restrooms used by the refugees at the time, which gave them a chance to have empathy with the hard life of the refugees and reflect on the past history while comparing it to the current state of what has become a space of art.

▶ Commemorative photo at Gamcheon Cultural Village

Lastly, the members visited the UN Memorial Cemetery, the only UN cemetery in the world, to pay tribute to the soldiers from all over the world who fought together for freedom. A total of 2,328 war dead from the United Kingdom, Türkiye and Canada are buried in the cemetery, which consists of seven Main Grave Areas and a Symbolic Area, where the flags of the 22 countries that participated in the war, the Republic of Korea and the United Nations are flown year-round.

▶ Central Committee members paying tribute to the memorial tower 

▶ Commemorative photo after paying tribute to the memorial tower

The event included a "drive-in seminar" on a bus under the theme of "Riding for Unification in the Refuge Capital," in which local North Korean defectors shared candid talk about Korea's modern and contemporary history and unification. Heo Ji-yoon (21, Indiana University, USA) said after attending the seminar, "I first encountered God through South Korean broadcasts. I think 'unification' means spreading God's voice in North Korea, where surveillance and control have become the norm." Choi Tae-yang (33, Pusan National University), who dreams of becoming a film director, said, "My life goal is to make a movie for North Koreans that can change their basic thinking so that they can demonstrate their individuality just like South Koreans." "I will strive to create a North Korean society full of true love, not a society where people snitch and slander each other," he added. 

▶ Drive-in seminar with North Korean defector youth which were held between the history tours

Executive Committee member Lee Jin-soo who organized the event said, "If the Shanghai Provisional Government was a 'base of national independence' during the Japanese occupation, the Busan Provisional Government was a 'base of freedom' that fought against the communist invasion." 

▶ Executive Committee member Lee Jin-soo (left) who helped with the overall organization and implementation of the event and Kang Dong-wan (right), secretary of the Religion and National Concord Standing Committee

Starting with the historical tour of the day, the PUAC plans to expand interaction and capacity-building programs for Central Committee members in each region.