Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (far left), national soccer player Cho Gue-sung (third from right) and selected Seoul residents on Jan. 1 ring the Bosingak Belfry to mark the arrival of 2023. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)

By Park Hye Ri

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has selected 18 people to ring the Bosingak Belfry on New Year's Eve to mark the 70th anniversary of the event.

The city on Dec. 20 released its list of the 18 leading city residents who will ring the bell on Dec. 31 in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. This annual tradition has been the nation's leading New Year's event since 1953.

This year's edition saw the resumption of public recommendations and voting for the bell ringers for the first time in four years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 200 nominations were made between Nov. 13 and Dec. 8 of role models in social sectors who engaged in sharing and community service. 

Among the 18 are Kim Min-young, a Good Samaritan who quickly had an elderly man who fainted in front of her optical store rushed to the hospital and paid for his medical fees since he was on basic welfare; Baek Nam-moon, the head of Shinshin Wedding Hall who gave free weddings for 15,000 couples over 55 years; and Kim Jeong-ja, a 80-something woman who became the oldest person to take the College Scholastic Ability Test this year.

Also in the group is Albiol Andres, an Argentinian who gained a permanent residence status in 2017. He is also the nation's first foreign subway operator and works for the Gimpo Goldline.

The city said, "Amid the growth of the expat population, (Andres) shows that foreign nationals can choose occupations without discrimination like Koreans."

To expand the bell ringing to a global New Year's event featuring people around the world, the city will connect the festivities with this year's Seoul Con hosted by Seoul Business Agency and invite six global influencers to participate.

"The ceremony for ringing the Bosingak Belfry on New Year's Eve is even more meaningful because it'll be the first time since 2019 that the selection committee received public nominations to pick the civic representatives," said Choi Kyung-ju, head of the city's Culture Headquarters. 

"In the new year of the soaring blue dragon, I hope that the ringing of the Bosingak Belfry that wishes for peace and happiness for everyone touches the hearts of people worldwide."

hrhr@korea.kr