The first-ever classical music concert was held on Dokdo on Friday, under the sponsorship of the parliamentary Dokdo Guardians, a group of lawmakers devoted to advocating Korea’s sovereignty over the disputed islet.

Rep. Park Sun-young, lawmaker of the Liberty Forward Party and co-chairperson of the panel, together with other members, attended the concert held on the dock of the islet located in the East Sea neighboring Japan.

The afternoon event started with a performance by the Heart Blind Chamber Orchestra, the world’s only orchestra consisting of visually handicapped musicians, which played the overture from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, The Force of Destiny.

Then followed traditional Korean songs including “Dokdo Arirang,” which was composed by North Korean defector Kim Cheol-woong for the occasion.

“It was our intention to speak out to the world through music, which is an everlasting peaceful lingua franca, that Dokdo is and always has been our rightful territory,” said Rep. Park.

The event took place as planned, despite the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s protest on Wednesday.

The parliamentary panel initially planned to hold the concert last October but twice faced delays due to weather conditions.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)