KOREA FOUNDATION

[Review] 2019 KF Public Diplomacy Project

BOBUSANG Team

The BOBUSANG team has returned home after two weeks of activities in Iceland for a KF public diplomacy project. At its “Halló, Ísland!” events held in the three cities of Reykjavík, Ísafjörður, and Akureyri, the team introduced Icelandic audiences to traditional culture and new technology from Korea through an interactive e-book of a Korean folktales. BOBUSANG also conducted an e-book production workshop, an exhibition, and a hands-on introduction to Hanbok, the traditional costume of Korea.
   On the first day of “Halló, Ísland,” participants had the opportunity to wear Hanbok and create e-books in which they starred as the heroes and heroines of Korean folktales. These e-books were exhibited on the second day while guests enjoyed traditional Korean culture by flying kites, writing with brushes, and trying on Hanbok once more.
   Among the participants in Reykjavík was Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, the Icelandic Minister of Education, Science and Culture, who previously studied in Korea. The Minister said she was deeply impressed by the Korean folktales and the unique way that the program was conducted.
   Other Icelanders gave positive feedback on the program as well, saying that it was nice to have a chance to appreciate elements of Korean culture that had previously been difficult to access. Some said that they would remember their experience for a long time to come, especially because they had the opportunity to go beyond simply reading books on Korea to actually making e-books of time-honored stories. They also expressed hopes to visit Korea in the future.

Korea Cartoon for Peace Team

The Korea Cartoon for Peace team hosted an exhibition of cartoons in France on July 12–21. The exhibition, held on the themes of the Korean independence movement and peace on the Korean Peninsula, took place in Brittany at the Saint-Brieuc Urban District Center.
   Over 40 works of art by more than 20 Korean cartoonists were on display. Included were cartoons on current issues that have run in Korean newspapers and other mass media, from artists such as Choi Seung-Ho, Kim Yong-Min, Kwon Beom-chul, Ryu Dong-Su, and Seo Min-ho.
   Some of the cartoonists drew caricatures of visitors to the exhibition and presented them as souvenirs while conversing about peace in Korea. A discussion session on peace was also opened with French university students. Particularly noteworthy was an interview with Jean Jacques Hong Fuan, the second son of Hong Jae-ha, a Korean independence fighter who lived in France.
   The Korea Cartoon for Peace team’s public diplomacy activities were held amid mounting international interest in peace on and around the Korean Peninsula. It is greatly hoped that their efforts helped to disseminate the significance of Korean peace to the peoples of France and other parts of Europe.

Public_Diplomacy Culture E-book Berlin