By Yoon Sojung and Kim Ji Hoe
Photos = Jeon Han and Kim Sunjoo
Seoul l Nov. 1, 2017
An exhibition of the winning works in the Talk Talk Korea 2017 contest opened on Nov. 1 at the Seoullo 7017 park in Seoul. The contest targets non-Korean contestants who want to explore Korea in various media forms.
Approximately 100 works from the contest are on display. These were submitted by applicants in six categories on the theme of “Bring your own Korea” from May 1 to June 24.
The exhibition will also open in France and in Russia. In France, the winning works can be seen at the Korean festival scheduled from Nov. 15 to 25 in Montpellier. In Russia, the works will be on display at a Korean festival titled “Friends of Korea” slated for Dec. 20 in Moscow.
The winners in each category, who were invited to Korea, participated in the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
Expressing their interest in and affection for Korea, they were glad to learn that their works will be on display starting Nov. 1, exactly 100 days before the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The winner in the special PyeongChang category, Mishell Rodríguez from Guatemala, said, “I became interested in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games about one and a half years ago when I happened to see a video of figure skater Kim Yuna in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.”
Nothing that she has never seen snow first-hand, Rodriguez said, “I hope to see snow in Korea and I’m really interested in the bobsleigh and figure skating that will take place in Pyeongchang and Gangneung.”
The winner in the illustration category, Shauna Granger from the U.S., said that this is now her second trip to Korea. Granger said, “It’s s impressive to see Korea maintaining its traditional values while making rapid development.”
“This contest offered me an opportunity to learn more about the global side of Korea,” she said, while mentioning visits to the Demilitarized Zone and royal palaces as being some of the most memorable parts of her trip.
arete@korea.kr