Gwangju, South Korea has a long history of voting for left-leaning politicians and is the main hub for the far-left Democratic party of Korea.
For years, Gwangju has built an extensive public culture of commemoration around composer Jeong Yul-seong.
Jeong joined the Chinese Communist Party. He composed the March of the Eighth Route Army, which later became the official military anthem of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
Jeong Yul-seong also composed military music for North Korea and returned to North Korea during the Korean War with the Chinese People’s Volunteers — the Chinese forces fighting South Korea and the United Nations Command.
Despite that history, his legacy in Gwangju has been honored for decades.
His name was placed on a road.
A bust was erected in his honor.
A street exhibition and memorial facilities were created.
His birthplace was restored.
Gwangju pursued a Jeong Yul-seong historical park project costing approximately KRW 4.5 billion, roughly $3.3 million.
Music festivals and other cultural projects were organized around his legacy.
And Korean children were brought into this commemorative system through the Jeong Yul-seong Children’s Song Competition.
The attached footage shows just how far this went.
Korean children perform Jeong’s songs. Chinese-language performances appear on stage. An award is presented in the name of the Confucius Institute at Honam University. Chinese participants praise Jeong’s status in Chinese music history, while an event official speaks about protecting his reputation.
The Confucius Institute’s role went beyond appearing on an award.
The children’s competition was jointly organized with the Confucius Institute at Honam University. Winning Korean elementary-school students were given opportunities to travel to China, where they performed Jeong Yul-seong’s songs, including in Chinese.
Chinese state media also took notice of these activities.
China’s interest is entirely understandable. Jeong Yul-seong occupies an important place in China’s communist revolutionary and military history.
What is extraordinary is the degree to which public institutions in a U.S.-allied South Korea helped transform that same figure into a local cultural icon.
The Chinese government’s interest extended beyond cultural events.
After Jeong’s bust in Gwangju was damaged, the Chinese Consulate General in Gwangju requested its restoration. In 2025, the local district government decided to restore it, reportedly citing diplomatic relations with China among its considerations.
The symbolism is remarkable.
A South Korean local government had erected and maintained a memorial to a figure celebrated for his contribution to Communist China’s military tradition. When the memorial was damaged, representatives of the Chinese government asked that it be restored, and the Korean local government agreed.
Hellbound and Down 