"I will listen to even the small wishes of the soldiers who defend this country and make them come true, one by one," Lee wrote on X, sharing a news report on the performance.
The concert grew out of Lee's June 24 visit to the island's Marine unit, the first by a sitting president since 2012. A sergeant days from discharge asked that his juniors get to see the show, and Lee ordered a review.
"I have never seen a single cultural performance on Yeonpyeong," the Marine told him, according to Lee, who said he was grateful the soldier "thought of his juniors first, even on the eve of his discharge."
The two-hour show on Nov. 4 drew about 1,000 troops and residents, with singers Kim Jang-hoon and So Yu-mi taking the stage, the Defense Media Agency said Thursday.
Wimun Yeolcha, a touring concert program for troops aired on the military broadcaster KFN TV, has staged more than 3,000 shows since 1962, including front-line performances during the Vietnam War.
The difficulty of reaching remote island units had kept it off Yeonpyeong since 2011 and off Baengnyeong Island since 2017.
Yeonpyeong lies just south of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border with North Korea. North Korean artillery shelled the island in November 2010, killing two Marines and two civilians.
AJP Takeaways
- A Wimun Yeolcha concert was held for the Marine unit on Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 4, 2026, the program's first visit to the island since 2011.
- The show came about after a Marine asked President Lee Jae Myung for it during Lee's June 24, 2026 visit, the first presidential visit to the unit since 2012.
- About 1,000 troops and residents attended the two-hour concert, according to the Defense Media Agency of Korea.
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