South Korean actor-singer Lee Seung Gi performs the national anthem during a Memorial Day ceremony at the national cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, Monday. (Photo : Pictaram/Aisyah KaRendri)
Actor Lee Seung Gi, who is currently serving as an active duty soldier in Special Warfare Command, was given the honor of singing the national anthem amid a ceremony, marking the 61st anniversary of the Korean Memorial Day.
Along with the four other servicemen, Private First Class (PFC) Lee stood on the stage and sang the national anthem, to pay tributes to the men and women who died in military service during the Korean War (June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953). The Memorial Day ceremony took place at the Seoul National Cemetery and was attended by more than 10,000 individuals, including South Korea's president and leaders of the nation's main political parties, The K-pop Herald has learned.
According to the publication, this year's Memorial Day ceremony was aired on the local network channel, SBS. Adding on, actor Lee Seo Jin then later dedicated the poem, "Rose of Sharon," to the nation's fallen heroes. Along with a children's choir, singer Gummy also performed the song called "We Remember Them."
Further, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye paid respect to the nation's fallen heroes by delivering a speech amid the ceremony, urging the netizens to unite against the security threat from North Korea. President Park's also cautioned that Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions will prompt its self-annihilation.
The Memorial Day has been a national holiday since 1970, in an effort to honor more than 370,000 South Korean and 36,000 United States' Soldiers, who relinquished their lives for the nation, DVIDS reported. Two national cemeteries - one in Daejeon and another in Seoul - were established by the Government of the Republic of Korea.
Meanwhile, Lee garnered groundbreaking success as an actor with leading roles in "My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox", "Gu Family Book" and "You're All Surrounded." He is one of the most sought after male stars in his 20s and was applauded for his upright and positive image.
Lee enlisted his 21-month mandatory military service on Feb. 1 at Nonsan Army Recruit Training Center in Chuncheongnam-do. He completed a basic soldier training there for six weeks. He has been assigned to Special Warfare Command and was tasked to carry out the rest of his 21-month enlistment. Lee's expected discharge date is Oct. 31, 2017.
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