- December designated as the Korea-Russia Virtual Culture Season -

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST, Minister Park Yang-woo), jointly with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (President Kim Yongrak), plans to launch the Korea-Russia Virtual Culture Season from November 30th to December 31st (Mon-Thu) to provide support to the Korean and Russian communities that have become weary of COVID-19 by offering a variety of virtual cultural exchange events.

As part of the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges celebrating 30 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries

The main partner in Korea’s “New Northern Policy”, Russia is traditionally rich in cultural heritage, exerting influence in the global community including in the fields of literature, music and ballet. In celebration of the 30 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Korean MCST and the Russian Ministry of Culture have designated the years 2020 and 2021 as the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges to deepen friendships and promote cultural development in both countries by boosting bilateral cultural exchanges.

To this end, MCST has been pursuing various cultural exchange programs with its Russian counterpart while providing direct and indirect support for unique cultural exchange programs led by the private sector and municipal governments through its “official certification program.” Particularly at a time when it is difficult to organize large-scale cultural exchange events due to COVID-19, this occasion has been planned to provide Koreans and Russians with programs to enjoy culture and the arts on a contact-free basis, as well as to set out new alternatives for mutual cultural exchanges amid the pandemic.

Korea-Russia Virtual Culture Season to open with a performance celebrating the Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges: Fate – Tales embedded in couture (Dec 1st)

A performance celebrating the Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges: Fate – Tales embedded in couture, will mark the opening of the Korea-Russia Virtual Culture Season on Tuesday, December 1st (7pm, Korea Standard Time). This composite arts production, organized jointly with Gangdong Cultural Foundation, highlights the relationship that has grown between Korea and Russia through a Hanbok fashion show featuring Korean traditional attire and by highlighting Korean culture in the form of dance and music. In particular, on Tuesday, December 1st (7:30pm, Moscow Standard Time), a recording of the live performance will be aired on the Russian national culture channel, Russia K [РОССИЯ К], so that viewers can enjoy the essence of Korean culture from a front-row seat at home. Starting from Thursday, December 10th, the performance can be viewed on Rosconcert (a federal state-funded cultural institution under the Russian Ministry of Culture), the Korean Cultural Center in Russia’s Youtube channel, and the Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges channel on Naver TV.

Colorful, contact-free cultural exchanges to be held in the two countries throughout the month of December

The opening performance will mark the beginning of various events featuring members of the cultural and arts community as well as content creators from both countries. On Friday, December 4th (3pm), the contact-free Korea-Russia Cultural Exchange Forum will be held, featuring a flashback of the past 30 years of bilateral cultural exchanges and a preview of the pathway toward future exchanges.

From Tuesday, December 15th to December 22nd, the Korea-Russia Online Film Festival will be held on the Korean Film Archive Korean Movies Database (KMDb) website (https://www.kmdb.or.kr/vod/main), featuring a total of nine movies produced in Korea and Russia.

Inviting Korean and Russian young artists who are active in the realm of contemporary arts including photography, painting and media arts, an online exchange exhibition will be held under the title, The Man Who Saw the Fourth Dimension, featuring works related to the common subject of “time.” Viewers can access the exhibition from Friday, December 18th to Wednesday, March 31st, 2021, at the Korean and Russian Youth Artists’ Online Exhibition website (http://www.thefourthdimension.gallery).

From December 21-23 (Mon-Wed), Russia Music Focus will be aired on the Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges channel on Naver TV, featuring three live performances at the Ural Music Night festival held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Programs featuring various aspects of Korean culture will also be made available for the Russian people to enjoy. The following Korean culture and arts programs, among many others, will warm our spirits amidst the freezing temperatures of winter:

▲ Korean Music Focus (Dec 9-11), an online festival highlighting various forms of Korean and Russian traditional music, ▲ Korean Children’s Picture Books Focus (Dec 16, ’20-Jan 31, `21), which introduces Korean picture books in the visual content realm for Russian children to enjoy, ▲ Korean Contemporary Dance Focus (Dec 17-19), which features 5 Korean contemporary dance productions through an online platform.

All Korea-Russia Virtual Culture Season programs can be accessed free of charge, and details of the event are provided at the Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges website (http://korrusculture.com).

According to a policymaker at MCST, “at a time when everyone is advised to stay home and refrain from conducting face-to-face activities due to the recent spread of COVID-19, the upcoming event is expected to help the Korean and Russian people overcome the worrying COVID-19 situation at home. Korea and Russia, a crucial part of Korea’s New Northern Policy, have become very important neighbors over 30 years of diplomatic relations which started in 1990, with trade volumes and number of mutual visitors increasing by 25 times on both sides since then. Entering the new year, we remain committed to pursuing exchange programs celebrating the Year of Cultural Exchanges to promote friendship between our two countries and enable the people of both countries to collectively enjoy quality cultural programs.”