On January 15th, 251 overseas Korean middle and high school students from 31 countries participating in the '2024 7th Generation Overseas Korean Homeland Invitation Program (Winter Program)' hosted by the Korean Overseas Koreans Affairs (KOA) and organized by the Korean Overseas Koreans Cooperation Center (KOCC) visited the Independence Memorial Hall in Cheonan to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation.

After representatives including Kim Sa-hee (17, residing in Japan, great-granddaughter of independence activist Im Jong-gu) and Kang A-tur (18, residing in Russia, descendant of independence activist Kang Byeong-il) offered flowers at the '105 Steps Memorial' of the Independence Memorial Hall, all participants observed a moment of silence to honor the sacrifices of their ancestors.

Ko Eun-chae (17, residing in China), a descendant of Colonel Ko Geun-hong who died in the Battle of Dabudong during the Korean War, said, "This was an opportunity to feel anew the strength of our Korean people who have overcome the turbulent modern history."

Kang A-tur, a third-generation Goryeoin born in Russia, expressed, "I have been learning Korean for seven years because I really wanted to visit Korea. My desire to visit Korea grew even stronger when I received a Korean mobile phone as a birthday present from my parents. I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the country of my (great) grandfather."

Kim Young-geun, the director of KOCC, said, "This year, we are preparing various programs to widely share the significance of the 80th anniversary of liberation with growing overseas Korean youth by inviting 2,600 next-generation Koreans in more than 10 separate groups. He urged the next generation of overseas Koreans to actively participate in the homeland program.

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