Marianne & Margaret

 

On November 28, 2025, following the Marianne and Margaret Volunteer Award Ceremony, the opening cutting ceremony of the special exhibition 'Temperature' at the Marianne and Margaret Memorial Hall was held.

 

Father Kim Yeon-jun, Chairman of the Marianne and Margaret Promotion Committee, Gong Young-min, Mayor of Goheung County, Ryu Je-dong, Chairman of Goheung County Council, Kim Jun-gon, Vice Chairman of Goheung County Council, Jeong Yang-su, Director of the Provincial Happiness Communication Office, Song Hyung-gon, Chairman of Jeollanam-do Provincial Council,

 

Park Sun-jun, Member of Jeollanam-do Provincial Council, Noh Seung-han, Chairman of Sorokdo Residents' Association, Shin Kyung-rim, President of the Korean Nurses Association, and Lee Soon-ok, President of the Korean Midwives Association, gathered to celebrate the preliminary cultural heritage,

 

and conducted the cutting ceremony to announce the opening of the special exhibition.

 

The exhibition displayed two artifacts first selected as preliminary cultural heritage: a 'bread mold and a milk powder can'.

 

The theme of this exhibition, 'Temperature', originated from three numbers that show the life and heart of Marianne and Margaret.

 

The temperature of 180 degrees, at which the bread that brightened the patients' birthdays was most deliciously baked,

 

the temperature of 60 degrees, the warm milk handed to patients while touring the wards daily,

 

and 43 degrees, symbolizing the period of service of Marianne and Margaret who volunteered for a long time on Sorokdo.

 

 

These three temperatures symbolically show the dedication and warmth left by Marianne and Margaret.

 

The first artifact is the Gugelhupf bread mold that Marianne and Margaret used to bake birthday bread daily to celebrate the patients' birthdays.

 

This bread, made in the traditional German way, was sometimes called 'chamber pot bread' by the patients due to its unique shape.

 

In times when birthday candle culture did not exist, the Gugelhupf bread, with its hollow center, could hold a thick candle and was used as a birthday commemorative bread.

 

Looking at the candle-lit bread, the patients on Sorokdo could feel the heart of Marianne and Margaret and finally greet their birthdays with a smile.

 

The second artifact is the milk powder can used by Marianne and Margaret.

 

The saccharin container and spoon used to scoop the milk powder are also on display.

 

It was a container used to portion out milk powder supported by the Austrian Catholic Women's Association. Marianne and Margaret would start their day at 4 a.m. at the hospital children's room (M Treatment Room),

 

boiling water in a large aluminum kettle and mixing powdered milk and saccharin to make milk. They would then distribute this milk to patients while touring the wards and villages.

 

The warm milk, which began in the 1970s and was distributed daily by the two, naturally gathered the children of Sorokdo to the treatment room, which came to be called the children's room.

 

This children's room later became known as the M Treatment Room. The warmth of the milk, heated to save a life, is still remembered as the warmth of life.

 

This special exhibition 'Temperature' is a meaningful exhibition that makes us rethink the history of Sorokdo and human dignity through artifacts that testify to the love and dedication of Marianne and Margaret.