The Diplomat
On Thursday 5th May, the centenary of the establishment of Children’s Day in Korea and very close to Children’s Day in Spain, which is celebrated on 8th May, the Centro Cultural Coreano in Spain held a charity event at the Niño Jesús University Children’s Hospital in Madrid.
The event was attended by the managing director of the hospital, César Gómez, and health staff from the hospital along with the director of the Korean Cultural Centre and first secretary of the Korean Embassy in Spain, Oh Ji-hoon, who stressed “the importance of the commitment to solidarity with hospitalised children” and wished “the children a speedy recovery and that they enjoy learning about Korean culture”. The solidarity delivery consisted of children’s cultural products with illustrated books and Korean paintings.
In Korea, the origin of Children’s Day dates back to Saekdonghoe, Korea’s first children’s movement group, created to raise awareness of the belief that Korea’s future depends on children. Korean children’s writer Bang Jeong-hwan, a member of this group, established Children’s Day in their honour, and since then the holiday has been celebrated every 5 May in accordance with the wishes of Saekdonghoe and Bang Jeong-hwan.
At the same time, the Centro Cultural Coreano screened the family film: Secret Zoo by Son Jae-gon, in original version, with subtitles in Spanish, as part of the Korean Film Series that the Centre screens periodically and which has recently resumed its activity after a break due to the health crisis caused by Covid-19.
