Members of 'Hangimhoe', a friendship gathering of figures from the entertainment and sports industries, spent a special day in Yanggu, Gangwon Province, away from Seoul. On the 15th, they visited sculptor Jo Eun-mi's exhibition 'Flowers Blooming on the Coast' at the Yanggu Bird Tree Art Warehouse, viewed the works, and encouraged local residents who participated in the exhibition. /Hangimhoe

[THE FACT|Reporter Kang Il-hong] Members of 'Hangimhoe', a friendship gathering of figures from the entertainment and sports industries, spent a special day in Yanggu, Gangwon Province, away from Seoul. While the members have mainly held regular meetings in Seoul, this time they boarded a chartered bus to Yanggu to support local culture and arts and feel the local atmosphere together.

On the 15th, Hangimhoe members visited sculptor Jo Eun-mi's exhibition 'Flowers Blooming on the Coast' at the Yanggu Bird Tree Art Warehouse, viewed the works, and encouraged local residents who participated in the exhibition. In particular, this visit held special significance as the chairman of Hangimhoe, Kim Young-chul, chairman of Vine Group, is from Yanggu.

This exhibition is a place where artist Jo Eun-mi, along with Yanggu residents, created works using Yanggu's white clay and wildflowers as materials, interpreting the region's nature, residents' lives, and the meaning of division and peace through art. The members looked around each artwork and listened to the residents' creative process and the meaning embedded in the works.

Chairman Kim Young-chul said, "Seeing the works created by the residents in my hometown, it seems to fully capture the emotions and feelings of Yanggu," adding, "I am grateful and congratulate the residents who created the works together and artist Jo Eun-mi."

The members also introduced their special connection with Yanggu and offered words of encouragement. Singer Tae Jin-ah said, "I used to come often for singing contests, but after a long time, the air is still good and it's a friendly place," adding, "I hope all the elders who participated in today's exhibition become great artists."

Comedian Um Young-soo shared his experience participating in Yanggu agricultural and specialty product sales events held in Seoul, saying, "I even bought Yanggu dried radish greens and gave them as gifts to comedians. I will continue to contribute to promoting Yanggu."

Hangimhoe has been evaluated as being different from exclusive friendship gatherings of celebrities. It aims to be a voluntary gathering where anyone can participate comfortably, based on mutual respect and consideration rather than popularity or vested interests. Attendance is also determined freely according to individual schedules.

This gathering began around 2013 as a casual meeting for celebrities when actor Jung Joon-ho was running a barbecue restaurant called 'Usabuilche' in Itaewon. Since then, it has continued its legacy for 13 years by holding regular meetings about once every three months. Although it did not have a specific name at first, it naturally came to be called 'Hangimhoe' after the surnames of Han Seung-seop, chairman of Geumsan Mihak Korean Medicine Clinic, and Kim Young-chul, who led the gathering.

Initially, Jung Joon-ho, Tak Jae-hoon, Park Joon-hyung, Kim Hyun-wook, Bae Do-hwan, Kim Hyung-il, Lee Jong-won, Lee Jung-yong, Park Sang-min, and Shim Kwon-ho participated. Later, figures from the entertainment and broadcasting industries such as Im Ha-ryong, Um Young-soo, Jo Young-gu, Park Young-rok, Lee Sook-young, Kim Byung-chan, Yoon Taek-sang, Kim Jung-yeol, Kang Il-hong, and Jo Eun-mi joined. With the addition of figures from the sports, culture, and legal fields, the scope of its members has also expanded.

At the Yanggu gathering that day, Chairman Kim Young-chul, singers Tae Jin-ah&So Myung&Lim Chang-je, comedians Um Young-soo and Kim Jung-yeol, announcer Kim Byung-chan, broadcaster Jo Young-gu, soprano Yoon Ye-won, actors Park Young-rok and Yoon Taek-sang, basketball player Kim Yoo-taek, announcer Lee Sook-young, film director Shin Cheol-seung, Lee Hae-in, CEO of World Farm, sculptor Jo Eun-mi, and Kim Young-moon, a lawyer at LKB, attended.

Hangimhoe, which moved its friendly gatherings of laughter and conversation from Seoul to the local cultural and artistic scene, recorded this Yanggu visit as a more special gathering in that it went beyond camaraderie among members to directly meet and support local artists and residents.

eel@tf.co.kr