"I want to share the value of our country's islands with more people"

Singer Kim Jang-hoon [Yonhap]
Singer Kim Jang-hoon [Yonhap]

Singer Kim Jang-hoon's planned concert on the Gyeongnyeolbiyeol Islands in the West Sea — billed as the first pop music performance on the remote islets — was postponed Monday due to deteriorating weather conditions.

His agency, FX Solution, said Kim had planned to perform near the lighthouse on Bukgyeongnyeolbido, the northernmost of the islets, in Taean-gun, South Chungcheong Province, but worsening weather and maritime conditions made it impossible to land on the island.

Kim organized the concert to mark Dokdo Day on Sunday and to raise awareness of South Korea's western maritime territory. He had planned to perform live on Bukgyeongnyeolbido with the band Hanguksaram, with the show to be streamed live on South Chungcheong Province's YouTube channel and his own official channel.

Kim plans to reschedule the concert for next month.

"Just as I have worked to share the importance of Dokdo, I now want to let more people know about the value of the Gyeongnyeolbiyeol Islands and other islands of our country," he said.

Seogyeongnyeolbido dubbed 'Dokdo of the West Sea'

The Gyeongnyeolbiyeol Islands lie 55 kilometers west of Anheung Port in Taean and cover a total area of 514,603 square meters.

The island group consists of three islets: Bukgyeongnyeolbido, Donggyeongnyeolbido and Seogyeongnyeolbido.

Seogyeongnyeolbido serves as a baseline point for South Korea's western territorial waters, and its strategic and geographic significance has earned it the nickname "Dokdo of the West Sea."

Bukgyeongnyeolbido is currently state-owned, while Donggyeongnyeolbido and Seogyeongnyeolbido remain in private hands. South Chungcheong Province Governor Park Soo-hyun visited the Gyeongnyeolbiyeol Islands on Oct. 10 and called for the government to purchase the two privately held islets.

Park said at the time that the private ownership of the two islets had once alarmed the public when a Chinese national attempted to buy them, and that he had recommended their state purchase to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries last July.

South Chungcheong Province is conducting a basic and detailed design study for the development of a nationally managed coastal port on the Gyeongnyeolbiyeol Islands, with plans to complete the harbor development by 2030.

Meanwhile, Kim — long known for his support of Dokdo — recently collaborated with Sungshin Women's University Professor Seo Gyeong-deok to produce a video documenting the stories of people who have worked to protect Dokdo.

Dokdo Day commemorates Oct. 25, 1900, when Emperor Gojong explicitly designated Dokdo as a dependency of Ulleungdo in Imperial Edict No. 41 of the Korean Empire. The observance was first proposed in 2000 by Dokdosuhogdae, a civic organization dedicated to protecting Dokdo.


yul@heraldcorp.com