1 Million Hwaseong Special Hwaseong City, the Hometown of Filial Piety, Should Host a 'World Filial Piety Expo'

Last year, I wrote a column in Suwon Ilbo titled "Teacher Lee Hong-gu, the Leading Figure in the First Reenactment of King Jeongjo's Procession to the Royal Tomb." After reading it, 91-year-old Teacher Lee Hong-gu treated me to lunch, expressing his gratitude. The teacher was my homeroom teacher at Suwon North Middle School and my Korean language teacher at Seongsung High School. At that meeting, he expressed regret about the frequent suicides among teachers these days and spoke about the importance of character education.

The Character Education Promotion Act defines "character education" as "education aimed at cultivating human qualities and competencies necessary to develop one's inner self correctly and soundly, and to live together with others, communities, and nature."

The "Eight Core Values of Character Education" are filial piety, courtesy, honesty, responsibility, consideration, respect, communication, and cooperation.

Park Yong-geum, an academic research professor at Wonkwang University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences and principal researcher at the Institute for Studies of Mind, has stated that "filial piety does not merely end at serving one's parents, but becomes the foundation of self-cultivation (修身), and it is important to bring joy to parents' hearts and uphold their will (養志)."

It is true that filial piety is the foundation of self-cultivation.

The relationship between parents and children is connected through love and respect. Parents pour their love into their children, who are extensions of themselves. Children show respect toward their parents, who are their origin. This is filial piety. There is a saying that filial piety is the root of all conduct. Filial piety was also at the center of our people's traditional way of life, spiritual culture, discipline, and governance.

However, during rapid industrialization and modernization, while life became more affluent, filial piety—the traditional spiritual culture of our people—has been treated with contempt. Some cut off economic support to elderly parents, neglect them, or even abandon and kill them.

Various cases of elder abuse have become routine news items. It is not just an issue in our country. Elder abuse has long been a serious social problem, so much so that the UN designated June 15 as "World Elder Abuse Awareness Day."

Teacher Lee Hong-gu emphasized that in such times, character education centered on filial piety is most important. He then handed me a copy of "A Plan to Lead Filial Piety Culture" that he had compiled.

Following a declaration stating "'Filial piety is love, happiness, and the root of the soul. Filial conduct is the starting point of all actions and the fundamental principle of ethics and morality. Parents are the greatest teachers, and the home is the primary school,'" it contained a proposal to enact ordinances regarding the encouragement and support of filial piety culture.

Operating policies and activities were also described in detail, such as the need to establish and operate an Academy for Character Education in Filial Piety Culture.

I agreed with the proposal to establish a non-profit organization called the World Filial Piety Culture Center and host a "World Filial Piety Expo," an international symposium on filial piety culture, and a filial piety culture festival.

I would like to see Hwaseong City undertake such projects.

Hwaseong City is home to King Jeongjo, a ruler of "Cheonchi Filial Piety" (出天之孝), and the tomb of his father, Crown Prince Sado (later posthumously honored as Emperor Jangjo), as well as Yongju Temple, where King Jeongjo's filial devotion is enshrined.

Yongju Temple was built as the temple of the royal mausoleum (Hyungneung) where Crown Prince Sado rests. It was constructed on the site of Galyangsa, which was founded during the reign of King Munseong of Silla. Galyangsa was destroyed by war during the reign of King Gwangjong of Goryeo. During King Jeongjo's reign, the eminent Buddhist monk Bogyeong was appointed as the chief missionary (八道都化主) of the eight provinces, and Yongju Temple was built with 87,000 nyang donated by the central government and regional governors of the eight provinces.

King Jeongjo personally composed the "Yongju Temple Prayer Verse for Buddha" (龍珠寺 奉佛祈福偈), had Chancellor Chae Je-gong write the beam inscription (sangryangmun) for Yongju Temple's main hall, and had Deokmu Yi, a curator of the Gyujanggak library, write the temple's couplets. The Buddhist painting hanging in the main hall is a work by Danwon Kim Hong-do, regarded as the greatest painter of the time.

Yongju Temple is called the "temple of filial piety" because King Jeongjo published the "Scripture on Parental Beneficence" (부모은중경) at this location. It is said that this scripture was carved into wooden blocks and printed every winter solstice for distribution to the people.

The wooden blocks of the Scripture on Parental Beneficence are still preserved at Yongju Temple and have been designated as Treasure No. 1754. The bronze plates and stone plates given by King Sundo have also been well preserved to this day.

There is also a Parental Beneficence Pagoda at Yongju Temple, which testifies to it being a temple of filial piety.

The Hoseong Hall (護聖殿) is another building that confirms Yongju Temple's status as a temple of filial piety. Hoseong Hall enshrines the spirit tablets of Emperor Jangjo (Crown Prince Sado), Empress Hyeongyeong (Empress Hyegyeong), Emperor Jeongjo, and Empress Hyoui.

Is there a cultural heritage that symbolizes filial piety as much as Yongju Temple and Yeung and Geolleung where King Jeongjo's filial devotion is transmitted? Moreover, near Yongju Temple, there are also relics related to Choe Rubaek, a filial son of the Goryeo era who killed a tiger to avenge his father's enemy.

In the nearby city of Suwon, there are the UNESCO World Heritage Hwaseong Fortress and Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, built under King Jeongjo's direction, and every autumn the Procession of King Jeongjo to his father's tomb is held.

As the "hometown of filial piety," the city possesses an ideal historical and geographical environment for hosting filial piety expos, filial piety festivals, and establishing filial piety museums and filial piety experience facilities.

Furthermore, last year Hwaseong surpassed a population of 1 million and is on the threshold of entering the status of a special city.

I hope that the city will carefully consider and deliberate on filial piety-related projects.