A statue of King Sejong the Great was unveiled at Los Angeles City College (LACC) on October 5, ahead of Hangul Day on October 9.
The ceremony, situated at the entrance of Jefferson Hall plaza, saw LACCD Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez, LACC President Dr. Amanuel Gebru, LA Consul General Youngwan Kim, Prince Imperial Lee Seok (grandson of Emperor Gojong of Korea), and Andrew Lee (adopted son of Lee Seok) in attendance.
Measuring at 8 feet in height — 3 feet for its marble base and 5 feet for the upper body made of bronze and other metals — and 4 feet wide, the statue was crafted by Amar Studio, known for their sculptures in “Game of Thrones.”
“Hangul is the world’s first language with a recorded founder and date of creation, and my ancestor, King Sejong, the fourth king of Joseon, made many achievements in various fields, including creating Hangul and reorganizing the judicial system,” said Lee Seok, chairman of the Imperial Cultural Foundation of Korea. “Establishing a statue of King Sejong is like engraving the face of the Korean people here in LA.”
“King Sejong created Hangul because he was saddened to see his people unable to express their thoughts because they didn’t know how to write,” said LACCD Chancellor Rodriguez. “Just as King Sejong did it for his people, LACC is committed to providing as many educational services as possible to anyone who wants to learn.”
Notably, LACC was the first community college to introduce Korean language classes and remains the only community college to offer an associate degree in Korean. “It’s time for Hangul to get the love and attention it deserves,” remarked Professor Mickey Hong, Director of the Korean Studies Program at LACC. “With the establishment of the statue of King Sejong the Great, we will launch the Hangul Project next January.”
BY YEJIN KIMÂ Â [kim.yejin3@koreadaily.com]
