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'We are nothing without history'

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Kim Hyun-jin
Kim Hyun-jin
By Lee Kyung-min

Kim Hyun-jin, a senior manager at Shinhan Financial Group, said organizing a food market to commemorate the heroes of the Independence Movement helped him learn the significance of remembering the "easily forgotten," Monday.

"It is in line with the well-known saying: there is no future for people who forget history. We are nothing without history. We are where we are because of the struggles made by those who lived before us," Kim said.

Organized by the Shinhan Dream Foundation, the one month event, which took place from June 19 to July 21, was part of Shinhan Financial Group's efforts to better honor independence fighters on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the country's China-based provisional government.

At the food market in Jongno, Seoul, officials from the group wearing clothes from the early 1900s served food frequently eaten by the independence fighters.

The menu included zongzi, a traditional Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves.

The dish is known to be a favorite of Kim Koo, a towering figure of the movement also known by his pen name Baekbeom, while he was on the run from the Japanese authorities during the colonial occupation (1910-45).

The rice dish is among 10 selected for sale by a group of food experts through careful and exhaustive research, with the help of historians.

About 6,000 people have visited the market ― an average of 190 on weekdays and 250 on weekends ― including not only senior figures who lived through the tough times, but also those in their 20s.

"They came for a meaningful experience and having a great meal was an unexpected bonus. We will organize similar events to better enrich our cultural and historical sprit to be grateful about where we stand," he said.


Lee Kyung-min lkm@koreatimes.co.kr


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