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Passion drives 140 members of the Grand March to follow the 'independence trail'
Writer 글로벌전략팀 장지훈
Date 2017.08.11
View Count 3,230
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Dankook University students who took part in a ‘Grand March across the Korean Peninsula’ to commemorate the university’s 70th anniversary, completed the 400km journey without even a single member dropping out from the 9-day walk (July 6-14). 




Under the slogan ‘Trail of reunification, the trail of independence,’ members of the grand march followed the footsteps of independence activist Bumjeong Jang Hyung, who founded Dankook University during Japanese colonial rule, and his fellow patriots in order to relive the true meaning of loving one’s country. 




A kickoff ceremony was held on July 6th at the DKU Cheonan Campus where the 140 participants gathered to respectively take buses to travel to the two starting locations of Imjingak in Paju, Gyeonggi Province and Busan. 




The march started in straight lines with members holding specially made flags in their hands, guarded by ambulances and safety patrols to ensure safety. Spirits were high as students felt pride in following the trail of Dankook’s founder who took part in Korea’s independence movement. 





However, it was not an easy journey. What started off with a couple of raindrops soon became a downpour of 40mm per hour that held the groups back from moving forward, and scorching temperatures peaking at 37 degrees Celsius at times placed greater weight on their shoulders. As blisters got wet due to the rain, students having difficulty putting their shoes on continuously appeared, but they encouraged each other and supported each other to go on. 



On July 13th, one day before the final day of the march, Professor Sijun Han (Department of History, Director of the Academy of Asian Studies) gave a lecture on ‘the independence movement and Dankook University’ at the DKU Cheonan Campus.



Professor Han said that “there are not many universities in Korea that can proudly present their history,” and added that “the founder’s noble thinking that following liberation, the purpose of education is to build the nation and complete the thinking of our people has been deeply instilled in Dankook University.” 



On July 14th, the final day of the march, the Imjingak team and Busan team met at the Independence Hall of Korea (located in Mokcheon-eup, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan) after their 9-day journey. The Imjingak team walked a total 193km passing through Paju, Seoul, Yongin and Ansung while the Busan team marched a total 200km across Busan, Gimcheon, Daejeon and Cheongju. In order to encourage the members of the Grand March and support them, 60 faculty members including DKU President Hosung Chang, the university’s vice presidents, administrators, professors and employees also joined in on the march. 


Finally, both teams arrived at the Independence Hall at 2pm, overwhelmed and cheering as they announced the end of their march by throwing their caps up into the air.





President Hosung Chang said that “it was a long and tough journey, but even the notorious heat wave couldn’t stop the passion of our students who handed in their summer break to take this challenge,” and went on to say that “as a Korean private university that was concerned for Korea’s independence during Japanese colonial rule, I hope this will serve as another opportunity to promote the purpose of Dankook University’s founding.”