Related Service Implementation, 'International Puppet Theater School' Scheduled to Open Next Year
[Asia Economy Reporter La Youngcheol] Chuncheon has been finally selected as the host city for the '2025 UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette) World Congress' and the 'World Puppet Festival,' and is putting all efforts into promoting the event.
According to the city on the 22nd, to concretize the project, related services will be conducted promptly, and they plan to emphasize that this hosting is not a one-time event but the crowning achievement of the Chuncheon Puppet Festival, which has been nurtured for over 30 years.
Since last year, various events such as the Chuncheon Mime Festival, theater festivals, and film festivals have been held both online and offline to support cultural artists facing difficulties.
Additionally, next year, an 'International Puppet School' will be established to prepare Chuncheon to emerge as a world-class puppet city.
The city especially aims to make the World Puppet Festival an opportunity to achieve peace between South and North Korea.
Mayor Lee Jae-su of Chuncheon stated, "The 2025 UNIMA World Congress will be an event where the world shares the resonance of life and peace through puppetry," adding, "We plan to invite puppet troupes from North Korea and organize joint performances."
These two events, held every four years for 10 days to two weeks at the same location, involve about 100 theater companies and 3,000 related personnel.
Unlike other international events, no new facility investments or invitation costs are required, and all participants attend the event at their own expense.
The city plans to use the hosting of the event as an opportunity for One Source Multi-Use (OSMU) through puppetry. It includes various genres such as visual arts, music, theatrical elements, and animation.
Chuncheon has the only specialized puppet theater in Korea, and the Chuncheon Puppet Festival, along with the Mime Festival, has represented Chuncheon’s cultural and artistic festivals for 33 years.
During the event, not only the Chuncheon Puppet Theater but also local universities such as Kangwon National University, Hallym University, and various performance spaces like Nami Island will be utilized as puppet venues.
The mayor said, "UNIMA is not widely known domestically, but in Europe, the organization holds a very high status," adding, "Among cultural and artistic organizations, it is the most representative, with a history of nearly 100 years."
In the Asian region, the event has been held in Japan, and in 2012, it was held in Qingdao, China, where as many as 3 million people participated in the festival.
Meanwhile, the person who laid the foundation for puppetry in Chuncheon was planner Kang Junhyuk, who passed away in 1989.
He took the first step of Chuncheon puppetry at the Samcheon-dong Children's Center. Mayor Lee also served as the president of the UNIMA Korea branch and chairman of the Chuncheon Puppet Festival in 2014.
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