Jeonbuk Continues Democracy Activist Memorial Project with Music Drama for Cho Sung-man

A cultural project is underway in South Korea's Jeonbuk province to preserve the memory of democracy activists through the performing arts. Following a 2022 music drama honoring Lee Se-jong, the first casualty of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, this year's focus is on Cho Sung-man, a democracy activist from Gimje.

The Jeonbuk Democratization Movement Memorial Project Association and the Cho Sung-man Unification Activist Music Drama Promotion Committee announced that the music drama 'A Young Man's Last Letter, He Knocked on the Door of Unification Like That' will be staged on August 8 at the Samsung Cultural Center of Jeonbuk National University. This initiative aims to document the region's democratization history and share it with the public through annual music dramas.

Cho Sung-man, an alumnus of Jeonju Seoseong Middle School and Haesung High School who studied chemistry at Seoul National University, was active in student and Catholic youth movements. In 1988, during a festival commemorating the Gwangju Uprising, he died at the age of 24 after jumping from Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, advocating for joint North-South Olympics and the release of conscience prisoners. His final testament expressed his beliefs in unification and democracy, and he was officially recognized as a democracy activist in 2005. Seoul National University awarded him an honorary degree in 2008, and memorial stones have been erected in Gimje and at Haesung High School.

The music drama will reconstruct Cho's life and final act using music, theater, and video, emphasizing the values of democracy, peace, and community from a contemporary perspective. Local artists, including director Ryu Kyung-ho, playwright and lyricist Kim Jeo-woon, composer Lee Hyung-ro, and conductor Jo Sang-ik, are involved. The Lux Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bit-sori Choir will collaborate to enhance the performance's quality.

The promotion committee is also seeking public support through a "1,000-Person Promotion Committee" campaign until July 31 to fund the production. Committee chairman Lee Doo-yeop stated, "This music drama will be an opportunity to remember Jeonbuk's democratic history and share the values of peace and unification across generations." He urged provincial residents to show interest and participate.

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This music drama will be an opportunity to remember Jeonbuk's democratic history and share the values of peace and unification across generations. We ask for the interest and participation of the provincial residents.