The governments of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the South Korean province of Gyeonggi share a long history of collaboration dating back to 1999, when the first institutional ties were established, driven by their role as economic engines in their respective countries. The collaboration between the two governments was renewed in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic and after the 20th anniversary of the relationship, in a context of exchanges in health and emergency matters.
This year, both governments have decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this twinning with an exhibition that emphasizes the shared experiences throughout these years.
The exhibition, which opened on Monday at the Palau Martorell in Barcelona and will be open until December 29, is titled Perspectives de la Contemporaneïtat and aims to show the perspective of young people under 40, Catalan and South Korean, on the world that has remained after the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The exhibition, curated by Kail Choi ---chief curator of the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation---, and by Enric Puig ---director of the Centre d'Arts Santa Mònica---, hosts almost fifty works by emerging Catalan and South Korean artists from different disciplines: painting, sculpture, video art, etc. These are already produced works, not made expressly for the exhibition, and part of the Catalan representation in the exhibition are pieces that have been elaborated in Santa Mònica. In the future, the possibility of the works also being exhibited in South Korea is being considered.
Regarding the content of the exhibition, and in the words of the Korean curator: "Artists portray how we live now in the present through new eyes on the world we live in after COVID-19. Much of what before the pandemic was interpreted as a social system, is now being reinterpreted in terms of personal viewpoints and the diversity of social members."
The official opening of the exhibition took place on Monday with an event attended by, among other authorities, the Minister of Culture of the Generalitat, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar; the general secretary of the Department of European Union and Foreign Action, Lorena Elvira; the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Barcelona, Young-Hyo Park, and the Ambassador of International Relations of Gyeonggi Province, Inchul Kim.
A long history together
During the celebration, the long history of relations ---economic, educational, and cultural--- between Catalonia and South Korea was recalled. These began with the twinning agreement between the cities of Barcelona and Busan in 1983, and the inauguration of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Barcelona in 1988. In addition, last year the Generalitat inaugurated the Government of Catalonia Delegation in South Korea, based in Seoul.
Commercial relations between both territories have grown in recent years, and already nearly 700 Catalan companies regularly export to the Asian country. In the field of education, three Catalan universities maintain more than 20 active agreements with Korean universities.
Regarding the cultural sphere, several experiences, collaboration agreements, and cultural exchanges have been carried out through the Institut Ramon Llull, in addition to initiatives developed by civil society.