Former President Moon Jae-in and his wife visited Gwangju on the 12th to attend the "2025 Gwangju Design Biennale" and the "2025 World Archery Championships."
Former President Moon Jaein and First Lady Kim Jungsuk are watching the women's individual recurve event of the 2025 World Archery Championships held on the afternoon of the 12th at the May 18 Democratic Square near the National Asia Culture Center in Donggu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News
On the morning of the same day, former President Moon, accompanied by his wife Kim Jung-sook, visited the Biennale Exhibition Hall in Buk-gu, Gwangju, to view the exhibition themed "Inclusive Design." Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung and his wife Yoo Gwisuk also joined them. Before viewing the exhibition, former President Moon wrote the phrase "Innovation and Inclusion in Design Art" in the guestbook.
Former President Moon, his wife, and Mayor Kang spent about an hour touring the exhibition, exploring major works such as "35 Years of Inclusive Design: OXO and Smart Design," the Gwangju Design Center’s Inclusive Design Project for the Gwangju Urban Railway, and more. Former President Moon remarked, "Design is usually thought of as something that brings beauty, but this Gwangju Design Biennale focuses on inclusive design as its theme. The emphasis on 'togetherness' between you and me is refreshing, and the Gwangju Design Biennale continues to grow with each edition."
Former President Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook are appreciating the exhibition works of the "2025 Gwangju Design Biennale" at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall in Yongbong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju on the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News
Mayor Kang Gi-jung stated, "The value of 'togetherness' mentioned by former President Moon is at the core of the Gwangju spirit. It is very meaningful that the spirit of inclusion and solidarity, which began with the May 18th Democratic Movement, is now spreading worldwide through this Design Biennale."
Afterward, former President Moon, his wife, and Mayor Kang attended the women's individual recurve event of the World Archery Championships held at the May 18th Democratic Square near the National Asian Culture Complex in Dong-gu, Gwangju. In response to the cheers from the audience before the match, former President Moon and his wife waved and made a hand-heart gesture. Smiling throughout the event, the couple stood up and applauded when Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis) secured the gold medal in the finals.
This visit marks former President Moon's first trip to Gwangju in a year, following his attendance at the 6th anniversary ceremony of the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in September of last year. Since his retirement, he has also visited Gwangju for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, when the 13th and 14th Gwangju Biennale events were held.
Former President Moon Jaein is greeting after watching the recurve women's individual event at the 2025 World Archery Championships held on the 12th at the 5.18 Democracy Square in the National Asian Culture Complex, Donggu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, the 2025 Gwangju Design Biennale will run until November 2 at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall, featuring 429 designers and 84 organizations from 19 countries, including the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. With a series of international events such as the Gwangju Design Biennale and the World Archery Championships taking place, the city has declared this year as the "Year of Visiting Gwangju" and is hosting a variety of cultural and tourism events.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
