According to the South Korean representatives of the International Organization for Migration, the statute of Kim Ha-jong, who is famously known as the ‘priest with blue eyes’, was built by sculptor Lee Hwan-kwon and erected on Sunday, the day before International Migrants Day. (Image: IOM)
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – A statue of Italian priest Kim Ha-jong has been erected at Seoul Plaza in celebration of the UN’s International Migrants Day, and will stand until Friday to symbolize migrants.
Standing 7 meters tall, the statue depicts Kim holding a broom, along with a panel explaining the history of International Migrants Day and the cause of the ‘ My Migrant Neighbor Ⅲ’ campaign. (Image: IOM)
According to the South Korean representatives of the International Organization for Migration, the statute of Kim Ha-jong, who is famously known as the ‘priest with blue eyes’, was built by sculptor Lee Hwan-kwon and erected on Sunday, the day before International Migrants Day.
Standing 7 meters tall, the statue depicts Kim holding a broom, along with a panel explaining the history of International Migrants Day and the cause of the ‘ My Migrant Neighbor Ⅲ’ campaign.
A statue of Italian priest Kim Ha-jong has been erected at Seoul Plaza in celebration of the UN’s International Migrants Day, and will stand until Friday to symbolize migrants. (Image: IOM)
Kim first moved to South Korea in 1990 as a priest, and has been helping homeless people in Gyeonggi Province’s Seongnam City for nearly 20 years. Kim was made known to the public after appearing on KBS documentaries.
Since 2015, the South Korean office of the International Organization for Migration has been working with Lee to erect statutes commemorating migrants at Seoul Plaza.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
