한국국제교류재단

Since 1999 the Foundation has provided assistance to overseas publishers for the publication of Korea-related books. Reference materials and books recently published under this program include the following:

On October 13-14, the Fourth International Conference on Traditional Korean Culture took place at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, with support from the Korea Foundation. Some 50 papers were presented during this biannual event, which was participated in by Foundation President Lee In-ho and about 150 scholars and interested observers from Korea and China. This event has emerged as one of China's major international symposiums on traditional Korean culture, thereby contributing to the promotion of Korean-Chinese academic exchanges.

The Foundation extended financial support for the "Amazed World" exhibition held from September 11, 2001 through May 2002 in commemoration of the special U.N. General Assembly on children. The exhibition took place as scheduled despite the postponement of the planned special U.N. session due to the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States. Paintings by some 34,000 children from 131 countries were displayed in the visitors' lobby of the United Nations building in New York. The paintings were collected and exhibited by Korean painter Kang Ik-joog, and reflected the innocent dreams of the world's children, transcending political and social boundaries. The paintings also complemented the gallery's columns decorated with Korea's traditional colors, helping to introduce Korean art to the world.

A rare African sculpture exhibit was held at the Buil Gallery in Busan in September under the auspices of the Korea-Africa Association. The event, supported by the Foundation and various diplomatic missions from Africa in Seoul, featured a large collection of African photographs, sculpture, paintings, handicraft, and other artistic pieces. The exhibit also featured film and video presentations, which helped Koreans enhance their understanding of African art and culture. Proceeds from the event were donated to Unicef's African children's fund.

A Workshop on Korean Earthenware took place at several American universities, including the State University of New York at New Paltz, Alfred State College, Western Illinois University, the University of Iowa, and California State University at Long Beach from September 27 through October 24. Promising pottery artists Lee Gang-hyo and Oh Hyang-jeong demonstrated the art of creating traditional Korean pottery during the workshop.

The Foundation sponsored a Korean dance group who attended the International Cervantino Festival in Mexico on October 10-20. The 27-member Kim Yeong-hee Troupe performed six modern Korean dance programs, including 'Dreaming' and 'Arirang,' in Mexico City and Guanajuato. The Cervantino Festival, a major celebration in Latin America, marked the 30th anniversary of the annual event.

The Foundation sponsored an exhibit entitled " 'LUNAPARK': Contem-porary Art from Korea," which is currently being held at the Wuerttember-gischer Kunstverein in Stuttgart. Nine works by seven Korean artists, including Choi Jeong-hwa, Park Hyun-gi, Suh Do-ho, and Rhee ki-bong, are on display. The exhibition, which began on November 10, is scheduled to run through January 13, 2002.

With financial support from the Foundation, an international curators workshop was held at the SK building in downtown Seoul on November 5-9. Discussions focused on the status of fine art curators in a fast-changing world and the ideal role and vision of art in the years ahead. The workshop, organized under the theme "The Changing Curatorship Paradigm," was attended by a number of Korean and foreign curators, including Professor Song Mi-sook of Sungshin Women's University and Ute Mehta Bauer from Austria.

The Foundation provided financial support for a joint orchestra concert of Korean and Austrian musicians. The concert, performed by Korean youths studying in Austria and young Austrian musicians, took place at Vienna's Musikverein Brahmssaal on November 17. Lee Yun-guk, the permanent conductor of the Salzburg Kammer Philharmonic Orchestra, directed the concert, which included Korean folk songs and works by Antonio Vivaldi and Frederic Chopin. Lee, who teaches at the Mozart Music Institute, also serves as conductor for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Five prominet foreign figures, including Milan Knizak, director of the Czech National Museum of Arts, and former Chilean Finance Minister Carlos Caceres, visited Korea at the invitation of the Foundation. The Foundation also invited Martin Torrijos, secretary general of Panama's Party of Democratic Revolution, professor Helege Hveem at University of Oalo, and Tran Van Tao, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations to visit Korea as guests of the Foundation.

A large number of next-generation leaders from three countries visited Korea at the invitation of the Foundation. A group of 15 young Vietnamese, who were selected from a range of fields, held roundtable discussions with Korean experts in related fields and visited major cultural and industrial facilities. In addition, three Russian researchers and journalists were also invited to tour various academic and industrial facilities in Korea, and a group of 20 Japanese university student representatives were invited to visit major Korean university campuses and hold informal talks with their Korean counterparts.

The Foundation provided financial assistance for seven international conferences sponsored by the Korean Hispanists Association, the Korean Council on Latin America and the Carribbean, Peace Forum, Korean Academic Council on the United Nations System, Korean Political Science Association, the Korean Association of International Studies, and Kyunghee University Center for the Reconstruction of Human Society. In addition, with Foundation support 16 Koreans participated in various international meetings and academic events abroad.

The Foundation provided scholarships to 21 foreign graduate students specializing in Korean studies from five major American universities: Harvard Uni-versity, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and the University of Hawaii. In addition, as of October 8 scholars from six countries were engaged in Korean studies under the Fellowship Program, and another 45 students from 24 countries were studying Korean in Korea with support from the Foundation, including Korean language instructors, scholars, and post-graduate students.