Celebrating 100 years of a first act of Independence
The exhibition titled 100th Anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement: One Shiny Day, presents the underlying themes of the sorrow and restoration of South Korea, which has modern history similar to that of India.
As part of the cultural exchange between South Korea and India, an exhibition marking a century since the first display of Korean anti-colonial resistance, opened in Delhi, on August 14.
The show, titled 100th Anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement: One Shiny Day, celebrates the spirit of the March 1st Movement — a pioneering display of anti-colonial sentiment against its coloniser, Japan — and will continue till September-end.
Notably, the entire Korean Peninsula was under Japanese occupation for 35 years (1910-1945) before the Korean War (1950-53) separated it into the present day North and South Koreas.
On March 1, 1919, the movement was joined by people from different walks of life regardless of region, status and wealth, as people’s desire for independence grew.
The upcoming show will display art inspired by the North-South divide, the Korean War refugees, downfall of imperialists, the first freedom struggle and people’s solidarity.
“The exhibition will display the artworks of 12 artist teams: Kwon Hayoun,Kim BoMin, Kim Woojo, Bae Sungmi, Shon Sunghyun, Ahn Eun-me, Ahn Changhong, Lee Sanghyun, Lee Woosung, Jeong Jae-wan and Jo Dongwhan + Jo Haejun,” the Korean Cultural Centre India said in a statement.
The exhibition also celebrated 15th August, which is the Independence Day of India and the National Liberation Day of both of the Koreas.
“The exhibition presents the underlying themes of the sorrow and restoration of South Korea, which has modern history similar to that of to India. I hope the artworks promote the shared values of both people of India and Korea,” said the South Korean ambassador to India, Shin Bong-kil.
Additionally, to further strengthen Korea-India ties through shared culture, an exhibition on Gandhi’s Salt March in Dandi, curated by the NGMA, will open next year at Daegu Art Museum in the South Korean city.
The show of sculptures, paintings, sketches and art installations, will signify the non-violent independence movements of both Indian and Korean people.
The multimedia exhibition, Dandi Yatraa, is part of the year-long celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi and can be currently viewed at NGMA here.
