South Korean shows his love for Xi'an with poems

Lee Byung Sik from Jinju, South Korea, not only loves reading poetry, but also loves writing it. He prefers seven-character verses, and he regards Tang Dynasty (618-907) poets Li Qi (690-751) and Bai Juyi (772-846) as idols.

He has many poetry fans on social media platforms, such as Facebook. Now, Lee is a translator of Chinese for the Jinju municipal government.

Lee Byung Sik participates in the 2018 Xi'an City Wall International Marathon. [Photo provided to Xi'an Daily]

Lee has been highly praised for his poem about the Xi'an City Wall Lantern Festival. "Xi'an holds a large-scale lantern festival every year, which is similar to our Jinju Lantern Festival, but the scale of the Xi'an City Wall Lantern Festival is even more extravagant," Lee added. 

"My love for Chinese poetry was inherited from my ancestors," Lee showed the poems and books that were either read or written by his grandfather and father. The paper has turned yellow over the years, but the words are still clear.

The flowers that represent both Xi'an and Jinju cities are pomegranate flowers. So far, the two cities have jointly carried out 10 cultural exchange events between China and South Korea that were themed on these pomegranate flowers.

Wall calligraphy of Tang poetry that is written by Lee Byung Sik's father. [Photo provided to Xi'an Daily]

Taking this as an opportunity, the two cities officially became sister cities in 2016. Through events such as the Xi'an City Wall International Marathon, Xi'an-South Korea Week, and the Jinju Lantern Festival, the friendship between the two cities has deepened.

Since he has served as a Chinese interpreter for the Jinju municipal government, Lee has visited Xi'an many times. He has forged an indissoluble bond with Xi'an and witnessed the in-depth development of the cooperation and friendship between the two cities.

"Xi'an is my spiritual hometown," stated Lee. When talking about the friendly exchanges between Xi'an and Jinju in the future, Lee said, "I hope that through the cultural exchange events that are themed around pomegranate flowers, the two cities will not only further promote cultural exchanges, but also cooperate in economic, trade and other fields. This will improve and deepen all-round exchanges and cooperation between the two places."