Olympic City Paris, Immersed in Korean Culture

National Arts Organizations Hold Performances, Media Art, and Exhibitions

Korean culture will be prominently showcased in Paris, France, where the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics will be held.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 23rd that it will heat up the festive atmosphere by holding performances by national art groups, media art, and exhibitions until September 14. It plans to continue the momentum of the 'Korea Season,' which has been taking place across France in cities such as Paris, Avignon, and Nantes since May. Korea Season is a seasonal program that presents various Korean cultural arts over the course of a year.

The National Contemporary Dance Company will perform 'Jungle' at the theater in Paris's 13th arrondissement on the 23rd and 24th. The performance expresses the fierce clash of the body's instincts and vitality through creative movements on a symbolic stage.

At the Grand Palais Immersif in central Paris, 'Decoding Korea' will be held for a month starting on the 26th. This is a media art exhibition by Korean artists that examines modern Korean history from artistic, cultural, and historical contexts. It explores Korean society from multiple perspectives and showcases new trends in Korean art.

The National Ballet Company will hold a special gala performance on the 28th and 29th at the Korea House (Maison de la Chimie) Grand Theater. Alongside classical ballet, the performance will include original works harmonizing ballet and traditional Korean music (gugak), demonstrating the global capabilities of Korean ballet. Korea House is a resting place established by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to support Korean athletes participating in the Paris Olympics and to promote Korean culture.

During the Paralympic period, Paris will be adorned with diverse exhibitions. A representative example is 'ArtPara,' held from September 2 to 11 at the headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. This program develops and supports the potential of artists with disabilities. It gathers around 100 works by 80 painters with developmental disabilities from 30 countries, as well as 25 works by Kim Geun-tae, a developmental disability painter who received the 2020 Korea Culture and Arts Award, all in one place.

The Korea Craft & Design Foundation will present crafts that blend traditional and modern Korean styles in collaboration with the French luxury furniture brand Liaigre from September 5 to 14.

Fifty-one works by sixteen world-class Korean craft artists, including Jung Da-hye, who won the craft grand prize from the Loewe Foundation in 2022, will be exhibited and promoted. A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, "We plan to actively support entry into overseas markets so that this can lead to local sales."