Yunfu, a city in central-western Guangdong, held a Folk Culture Week from March 14 to 17 to commemorate General Chen Lin, a renowned military leader from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) who played a pivotal role in defending the Korean Peninsula from the threat of Japanese pirates during the Imjin War.
Centered on General Chen Lin, the culture week is a major local event integrating culture, tourism and business.
A 40-member delegation, including officials from South Korea's Haenam County and Chen's descendants in South Korea, joined local residents in remembering his heroic deeds. The event featured a dazzling drone show, Cantonese opera, fireworks, dragon and lion dances, local specialty exhibitions, and South Korean dance performances and parades, presenting a feast of cultural integration between China and South Korea.
Born in 1532 in Guangdong, Chen Lin was considered the founding hero of present-day Yun'an District, Yunfu City. As a distinguished naval commander of China's Ming Dynasty, he traveled north to present-day South Korea and led the combined forces of China and the Joseon dynasties on the Korean Peninsula (1392-1910) to defeat Japanese invaders more than 400 years ago, safeguarding peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Today, around 3,000 of his descendants live in South Korea and Guangdong. His heroic deeds, representing mutual assistance across national borders, are still deeply remembered by the South Korean people even after more than four centuries as a warm and true historical testament to the friendship and solidarity between China and South Korea.
Nowadays, related historical sites have been preserved in South Korea, and frequent exchanges have been carried out between Yunfu City in Guangdong and Haenam County in South Korea, making Chen Lin a lasting bond of friendship between China and South Korea.
Reporter | Huang Xinyi
Video/Poster | Qin Shaolong
