2004 Seoul International Marathon Promotes Various Cultural Events

On the day of the 2004 Seoul International Marathon, the district communities of Seoul will hold various tourist attractions for the onlookers along the course of the marathon.

To start off, Jung-gu has invited 20 members of the Chongdong Theater to put on a Korean traditional dancing performance. The performance will be held in front of Sungryemun, which is one of the most famous cultural properties of Korea. Since the competition will be broadcasted live on television to the neighboring countries, China and Japan, this will also be a perfect chance to promote Seoul to the world. (1.2 km mark)

At the same time, in Tapgol Park, Jongno will present its popular tourist attraction, the performance “The Pododaijang and the Sunragun.” Pododaijang is the chief peace officer of the Chosun Dynasty which handled the security situation in the country, and Sunragun were his officers. Fifty actors, fully armed and dressed in traditional costumes, recreate the Chosun act of magistracy by reproducing the scenes of the criminal arrest, the court judgment, and the execution on stage. (8 km mark)

In front of the Dongdaemun-gu Office square, the female traditional percussionist group “Dongchun” and the Dongdaemun-gu Eagles TaeKwon-Do group will each present their musical and martial arts performances to the crowd. (12.5km mark)

From Seongdong-gu, the “Rose of Sharon” band, consisting of retired police officers, will perform in front of the Yongdap postal office, while Kim Ki-su, the 17th Intangible Cultural Asset of Korea, will perform a traditional mask dancing in Janghanpyeong Gunjanok. (14.5~15.5 km mark)

Gwangjin-gu will place a huge flag and an advertising balloon showing the pictures of the important historical site of Achasanseong. Gwangjin-gu’s two representative characters, Gwangi and Jini, will welcome the runners at Gwangjin-gu Office. (17.5~18.4 km mark)

Passing through the Lotte World intersection in Songpa-gu, the “Buckingham Band” of Lotte World will encourage the runners with its marching song. In front of Olympic Park, Songpa Eurhythmics Team will perform their rhythmic gymnastics show.

Songpa Silver Band’s performance and the Songpa Traditional Artist Group’s Korean folksong performance are also the two attractions that cannot be missed. In Gangdong-gu, people dressed as primitives will perform scenes from the prehistory era such as the war between tribes. At Gildong intersection, Gangdong-gu’s representative characters, Gangdongi and Gangdongmi, will come out with a Korean traditional dancing group.

Ji-Young Chae yourcat@donga.com