Seoul hosts Russian and South Korean culture festival — Korea Herald
In Seoul, South Korea, Russian and South Korean artists performed at the Russia–Korea Culture and Arts Festival, held at the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. The event’s program combined concert performances and a photo exhibition, Korea Herald reports.
Festival program
The Moscow State Academic Dance Theatre “Gzhel” took part in the festival. The troupe presented the production “Dance Through Time” and a program of Russian folk dances.
South Korean performers from the Korea Culture and Arts Promotion Association presented a production based on Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” the original choreographic work “A Connection That Turned Into a Flame,” as well as “The Palace,” a production based on the traditions of Korean court dance.
During the concert, Marina Kuklina, director of the Gzhel Theatre, said that dance is a language that needs no translation. Former South Korean Minister of Culture Park Yang-woo stated that culture can cross borders when politics and diplomacy encounter obstacles.
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Context of bilateral relations
The festival took place amid changes in relations between the two countries following the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. South Korea joined international sanctions against the Russian Federation, an aggressor state, while Moscow’s strengthened military cooperation with the DPRK raises concerns in Seoul.
Nikolay Kropachev, rector of Saint Petersburg State University and chair of the Russian side of the Russia–Korea Dialogue Forum, emphasized in a video address the importance of preserving cultural and humanitarian ties. According to the organizers, more than a thousand people attended the festival over two days, including diplomats, scholars, cultural figures, and representatives of South Korea’s Russian community.
The Russia–Korea Dialogue Forum, founded in 2010, promotes exchanges in politics, business, education, culture, media, and youth issues. Woo Yoon-keun, chair of the Korean side of the forum and former South Korean ambassador to Russia, acknowledged the difficult circumstances in bilateral relations and said that cultural exchanges can promote mutual understanding between Russians and Koreans.
