Seoul — Actress Song Hye Kyo, together with Professor Seo Kyung Duk of Sungshin Womens’ University, has donated 10,000 guidebooks to the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The act was done to commemorate the Samil (March 1st) Independence Movement, also known as the Manse Demonstrations, as part of the “Meet Our Country’s History Abroad” series.
According to Soompi, this is the fifth time the actress has participated in the series. She has previously donated similar guidebooks to the cities of Shanghai, Tokyo, Paris, and more. The guidebooks are available in Korean and English, and they tell the history of the independence movement in Los Angeles. The guidebooks also provide information about the Korea National Association Memorial Hall, the Ahn Chang Ho family house, the place in LA that is related to Dosan (Ahn Chang Ho’s pen name) Ahn Chang Ho, Rosedale Memorial Park, and more.
Professor Seo Kyung Duk said, “Due to the influence of Hallyu, foreigners are also interested in Korean history, and we hope this will help to inform overseas Koreans and international students of the history of the independence movement in LA. Because of Covid-19, the situation of the independence movement sites that remain overseas is not very good. I think it is time for us to pay more attention.”
Song Hye Kyo also supports Korean education by helping provide Korean language services to famous museums around the world. Born on Nov 22, 1981, Song Hye Kyo is a South Korean actress. She gained international popularity through her leading roles in television dramas Autumn in My Heart (2000), All In (2003), Full House (2004), That Winter, the Wind Blows (2013), Descendants of the Sun (2016), and Encounter (2018). Her film work includes Hwang Jin Yi (2007), The Grandmaster (2013), My Brilliant Life (2014), and The Queens (2015).
In 2017, Song Hye Kyo ranked seventh in Forbes magazine’s Korea Power Celebrity list, and sixth in 2018. She is referred to as one of “The Troika” along with Kim Tae-hee and Jun Ji-hyun, collectively known by the acronym “Tae-Hye-Ji”. The success of Song’s television dramas internationally established her as a top Hallyu star. /TISG