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| The new sign at Seoul Metropolitan Library in front of City Hall / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Seoul City has unveiled its new Seoul Dream Board to encourage people to overcome the blistering summer heat.
The message for this summer, displayed on the outer wall of the Seoul Metropolitan Library, is "You who faces the sun, are acting as someone else's shade."
The phrase, like other contest winners, was coined by a Seoul resident, and a review panel of poets, professors, PR officers and journalists rendered it artistically onto the billboard facing Seoul Plaza.
The Seoul Dream Board was set up in June 2013 to share heartwarming messages. All submissions must be under 30 Korean characters and linked to the upcoming season. The city government sometimes puts its own messages up for short periods on anniversaries like Independence Day or the Sewol ferry disaster.
The winner of the contest for this summer season was Yoon Ha-eun, a 25-year-old Seoul resident.
"On a hot sunny day, I looked behind me to see a shadow. I found it comforting that even though I was completely exposed to the sun, at least the grass and flowers behind me were getting a cool break through the shade I created," Yoon explained in her contest entry. "Similarly, when one is facing intense heat in life, they can perhaps find comfort in the thought that they could be sheltering others."
The review committee said Yoon's phrase was "commanding and passionate" in its determination to overcome the summer heat, and "hopeful" at the same time for its theme of sharing rest and shelter with others despite having to go about one's busy life.
The contest this summer attracted 1,086 entries. Five were given honorary mentions. "Install a bright window in your heart and dry out your weary mind with fresh air," one read.
"We hope heat-stressed citizens will be reminded to allow themselves a quick break when they see the sign," Yoo Yeon-sik, the director-general of public communications at City Hall, said in a press statement. "We also hope the billboard itself will provide cool shade to those passing by."
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