Exclusive Song Monument Project for Choi Soon-ae's "Thinking of Older Brother" Fully Underway

The twinkling bird calls from the fields

The cuckoo bird sings in the forest

When my older brother rode a horse to Seoul

He promised to bring me silk shoes

The wild geese fly down from the north

The crickets sing sadly

But my brother in Seoul sends no word

And leaves just fall and scatter down.

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Lee Min-jeong] The song monument project for national lullaby "Thinking of Older Brother," composed by Choi Soon-ae, who was born in Suwon, is now in full swing.

The Promotion Committee for the "Thinking of Older Brother" Song Monument (Chairman: Kim Jun-gi, President of Suwon Poets Association) held a meeting at a café at the Hwaseong Museum on the 4th and decided to hold the monument unveiling ceremony and commemorative events on November 1, City Day.

Prior to that, in July, a lecture on "Thinking of Older Brother" will be held at Choi Soon-ae's alma mater, Maehyang Middle and Jeongbo High School, and Samil High School, with an invitation to Professor Yu Sung-ho (Hanyang University). From July to November, "Thinking of Older Brother" content will be produced and traveling exhibitions will be held at schools and libraries.

On November 1, the monument unveiling ceremony will be held alongside events including a centennial dramatic performance, lectures, and choir performances of "Thinking of Older Brother."

At the meeting, it was decided that if construction on public land becomes difficult, the monument will be built on private land. Additionally, the committee decided to open the door for not only committee members but also general citizens to participate in the monument construction.

Attending the promotion committee meeting were Kim Jun-gi (President of Suwon Poets Association), Choi Ho-woon (Chairman of Korea National Heritage Keepers Federation, President of Hwaseong Research Association), Han Jun-taek (Executive Director of Gyeonggi Renaissance Forum), Park Rae-hun (Representative Director of Suwon Cultural City Forum), Kim Myung-ran (President of Maehyang Middle and Jeongbo High School Alumni Association), Cho Yi-hwa (President of Haenggun-dong Merchants Association), Kim Young-gyun (Executive Director of Suwon Democratization Movement Succession Project), Kim Woo-young (Head of Editorial at Suwon Ilbo), Jung Soo-ja (Poet), Park Seol-hee (Poet), Park Tae-won (CEO of Sang-a T&S;), and others.

Additionally, Satong-paldal United Association (Chairman Jeong Chan-hae) and Palseekjo Volunteer Corps (Captain Chairman Kim Dong-woo) also pledged their support for the project.

Participants at the meeting clarified that while Choi Soon-ae's older brother Choi Young-ju and her husband Lee Won-su engaged in pro-Japanese activities, Choi Soon-ae herself was not a pro-Japanese collaborator. They stated that she should not be condemned for pro-Japanese collaboration due to guilt by association.

One participant said, "The older brother in 'Thinking of Older Brother,' written by 12-year-old Choi Soon-ae at the time, was simply a family member she missed. Moreover, her older brother Choi Young-ju was not a pro-Japanese collaborator at the time, but rather a pioneer in the children's movement alongside Sobae Bang Jeong-hwan. We should not apply the standard of pro-Japanese collaboration to this work."

Regarding her husband Lee Won-su, at the time he met Choi Soon-ae, he was an anti-Japanese activist who was arrested by Japanese police in connection with a reading circle incident. However, after 1942, due to financial hardship, he wrote several pro-Japanese works and was listed in the Pro-Japanese Dictionary.

Nevertheless, in 2003, Changwon City in South Gyeongsang Province established the "Hometown Spring Library" and the "Lee Won-su Literary Museum." The museum displays not only his life and literary works but also his pro-Japanese activities. Later, when Lee Won-su's children learned of this, they frankly admitted their father's wrongdoings on his behalf and made an official apology. The descendants frankly acknowledged and publicly apologized for their ancestor's mistakes on his behalf.

Promotion committee members unanimously agreed that a Choi Soon-ae Literature Monument should be built. They said, "The 'older brother' is simply the one in our hearts," and stated that if Suwon City does not take the lead, they will pursue the project centered on civic organizations.

"Since there is a song monument on Paldalsan written and composed by Lee Won-su and Hong Nan-pa, building Choi Soon-ae's 'Thinking of Older Brother' Song Monument near that area or in Buk-su-dong, her birthplace, would create interesting storytelling," the committee members argued. "The meeting of 'Thinking of Older Brother' by Choi Soon-ae and 'Hometown Spring' by Lee Won-su would also become a story and could create another tourist attraction," they said.

Meanwhile, for detailed information regarding the song monument project, contact the Gyeonggi Renaissance Forum (010-5483-5879).