The coastal forest of the stone-wall village in Bugok-dong, Donghae, Gangwon Province, was restored in 2007 after disappearing during the Japanese colonial period, when port and railway development wiped out the original woodland.
Today the forest blends seamlessly with Hapyeong Beach, serving as an everyday coastal retreat where residents walk and unwind. With cosmos flowers — harbingers of autumn — beginning to open, a harmony of pink blooms and blue-green sea is slowly taking shape.
On the evening of Liberation Day, Saturday, music will fill the Bugok stone-wall village coastal forest — a woodland that once vanished and has since returned to the community.
The Bugok-dong Residents' Autonomy Committee and Festival Organizing Committee will hold the "Liberation Day Commemorative Bugok Stone-Wall Village Coastal Forest Concert" from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the outdoor stage of the Bugok-dong stone-wall village coastal forest park, marking the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day.
This year's concert will open with a segment on the life and independence movement activities of Han Il-dong (pen name: Oknam, 1879–1951), a native of Bugok-dong who fought for Korean independence. The program adds meaning to Liberation Day by inviting residents to reflect together on the history their community holds.
The concert will then feature a diverse lineup open to all ages, including haegeum and harmonica playing, traditional janggu drumming, saxophone, youth performances, belly dancing and an amateur singing contest in which residents take the stage themselves.
The venue will also offer a variety of food and drink, including kettle-cooked chicken, corn, potato rice cakes and draft beer.
Bugok-dong chief Park Seon-ja said the event is "a gathering where we reflect on our community's history and the lives of independence fighters on Liberation Day, and where residents come together through music." She added: "We hope you will join us for a meaningful summer evening in the coastal forest — returned to the embrace of its residents — where music, the sea and cosmos flowers come together."
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