▲ This photo, provided by the Imperial Family Cultural Foundation, shows Chairman Lee and the former U.S. Representative Mike Honda in front of the statue of King Sejong. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, Apr. 18 (Yonhap) -- A statue of King Sejong, widely known as Sejong the Great, will be erected at the center of the Los Angeles City College (LACC) Campus in California.

This statue of one of the most highly acclaimed kings of the Joseon period, who developed the Hangul system to improve the literacy of common people, will be set up at the entrance of the LACC Jefferson Hall in June, according to Lee Seo, the chairman of the Imperial Family Cultural Foundation in Jeonju, and Andrew Lee, CEO of the Foundation who is next-up on running the foundation.

Per the Imperial Family Cultural Foundation, the LACC has been building the statue over the past year with the sponsorship of CEO Lee and recently completed the construction. This 2-meter-44-centimeters-high and 1.22-meter-wide statue has an upper body made of bronze and a base built with marble. A total of USD 50,000 (around KRW 65.52 million) has been devoted to the construction of this statue.

Once it receives the final approval of the LACC board, the statue will be moved to the campus immediately. The two Lees are known to have donated USD 100,000 (around KRW 130 million) at the request of the College last April, which is currently being used to provide scholarships for about 1,000 students learning the Korean language and organize related cultural events.

The Foundation is looking forward to the construction of this statue contributing to the heightened zeal and zest of overseas students learning the Korean language as well as their love and support towards the overall Korean culture.

Chairman Lee Seok formerly held a ceremony in Beverly Hills in October 2018 to appoint Andrew Lee as the successor of the Foundation. Lee Seok, who was born and raised in Indiana, studied at Purdue Univesity and New York State University. He then started his own Internet business in his 20s.

He also reportedly contributed to the construction of the online virtual country “Joseon Empire (joseon.cloud)” to promote the Joseon royal family as well as the Korean history and culture.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

(END)

 

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]