Gwangju History and Folklore Museum to Host 'Youngman Moves Gwangju' Starting the 14th

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju History and Folklore Museum announced on the 12th that it will hold an exhibition titled "Young Men Move Gwangju," introducing the history and activities of the Gwangju YMCA, which has led regional social movements since the Japanese colonial period.

The exhibition, held from the 14th to December 13th, was planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Gwangju YMCA and to express gratitude for the organization's contributions and dedication to our region.

The exhibition is divided into four parts. Part 1, "100 Years of History, Opening the Future," introduces the process and significance of founding the Gwangju YMCA in 1920 under the leadership of Pastor Choi Heung-jong, reviving the experience of the March 1st Movement, and the changes in the Gwangju YMCA Hall, which was a cradle of youth movements at the time, through photographic materials.

Part 2, "Becoming the Foundation of the National Movement," focuses on educational projects among the various activities of the Gwangju YMCA in the 1920s and 1930s. During this period, the Gwangju YMCA actively carried out night school movements targeting the poor and women who were deprived of educational opportunities due to poverty and gender inequality.

Among the teachers who worked at the night schools operated by the Gwangju YMCA at the time was Park Hwa-seong, who later became famous as a novelist. The exhibition tells hidden stories of the night school movement through artifacts, photographs, and newspapers related to the movement.

Part 3, "From the City to the Countryside," introduces the story of how the Gwangju YMCA turned its attention to the lives of farmers devastated by Japanese exploitation and took the lead in rural enlightenment movements. The Gwangju YMCA taught literacy and delivered new knowledge to farmers suffering from poverty and high illiteracy rates through various lectures and night schools, and opened agricultural practice schools to consider ways to escape poverty together.

Part 4, "Citizen Movements and Regional Development," deals with the democratization movement carried out by the Gwangju YMCA during the harsh era of developmental dictatorship.

The "Gwangju Y Citizen Forum," which began in 1971, gained regional public sympathy with timely topics such as democratization and local issues. During this period, the Gwangju YMCA was also famous for carrying out regional development movements in the underdeveloped Gwangcheon-dong area.

Kim Oh-sung, director of the Gwangju History and Folklore Museum, said, "The 100-year history of the Gwangju YMCA has been like a lighthouse in our dark modern history," and added, "I hope this exhibition will serve as an opportunity to raise interest in civic organizations that have become a major pillar of our region today."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.