Singing for Unification in Hope of Peace on the Korean Peninsula
(The 9th “Dream of Unification!” Unification Song Lyric Adaptation Contest)

The Hamyang County Municipal Chapter of the PUAC (Chair Hong Jeong-deok) successfully held the 9th Unification Song Lyric Adaptation Contest at 2:00 p.m. on November 20 at the small auditorium of the Hamyang Culture and Arts Center.

The event was attended by approximately 250 people, including County Governor Jin Byeong-young; County Council Chair Kim Yun-taek; Provincial Assembly Member Kim Jae-ung; county council members Bae Woo-jin, Seo Young-jae, Lim Chae-suk, Lee Yong-gwon, Jeong Hyeon-cheol, and Jeong Gwang-seok; Lee Young-il, Chair of the Hamyang County branch of the Korean Senior Citizens Association; former chair Lee Young-jae; and local residents.

▶ Opening Remarks by Chair Hong Jeong-deok

In his opening remarks, Chair Hong stated, “I sincerely hope that the songs of unification sung here today will reach our compatriots in the North as well, becoming a new starting point of hope for a Korean Peninsula of peace and prosperity.”

The program proceeded in the following order: opening ceremony, unification song lyric adaptation contest, special performances by local singers, a unification quiz, judging and judges’ comments, and an awards ceremony. In the contest, 11 teams from towns and townships participated, creatively adapting popular songs by incorporating messages of hope for unification. Their performances—both engaging and poignant—captured the audience’s attention.

The performances included the following: Seosang-myeon’s “Unification Fire (Fire of Love),” Anui-myeon’s “I Came to Ride the Unification Train” (original: “Mother’s Sea”), Byeonggok-myeon’s “The Light of Unification, Hope” (original: “The Sorrowful Daedong River”), the Silver Song Class’s “Unification River” (original: “Imjin River”), Sudong-myeon’s “The Road Home” (original: “The Road to Jeokbyeok”), Jigok-myeon’s “When I Long for Unification” (original: “Love Gets Caught in the Rain”), Yurim-myeon’s “The Fragrance of Unification” (original: “Red Peony Flower”), Hyucheon-myeon’s “Springtime of Unification” (original: “Spring at the 38th Parallel”), Baekjeon-myeon’s “Song of Unification” (original: “Indifferent Passing Years”), the Hamyang-eup Residents’ Council’s “The Day We Meet Again” (original: “Stranger”), and Hamyang-eup’s “Unification” (original: “Hwoi”).

▶ Judges and Audience

One award-winning team shared, “We didn’t have much time to practice, so receiving an award feels especially meaningful. This experience gave us an opportunity to renew our interest in and commitment to unification. I hope that these small steps, when gathered together, will help bring us closer to peaceful unification.”

As a result of the competition, the Unification Prize (first place) was awarded to Park Hae-gi and others from the Senior Citizens’ Association/Silver Song Class; the Peace Prize (second place) went to Kwon Mi-sook of Sudong-myeon and Seo Myeong-im along with six others from Hyucheon-myeon; and the Democracy Prize (third place) was awarded to Kim Young-mi and one other participant from Baekjeon-myeon, Park Geum-ok and one other member from the Hamyang-eup Residents’ Council, and Lee Byeong-uk along with five others from Hamyang-eup.