□ The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural
Exchange (KOFICE) will jointly hold public lectures and a workshop under the theme of “Meeting
Russian Contemporary Arts” at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul on October 19–20.

□ After Korean and Russian leaders agreed to designate 2020 as “The Year of Korean-Russian Mutual
Exchange” during their summit meeting in June, public interest in artistic exchange with Russia has
been mounting, but related information is still in short supply. The DDP lectures are designed to
provide the Korean audience with the opportunity to learn contemporary trends of Russia arts from
the Russian curators most active in their fields, while contributing to vitalization of bilateral contacts
in culture and arts.

□ The lectures will introduce Russian art institutions and festivals that draw strong public attention
with exhibitions, research, and publishing and educational businesses, including the Garage Museum
of Contemporary Art, which is known as the base of Russian contemporary art; the New European
Theater (NET) Festival, the feast of contemporary performing arts centered around Moscow; the
Moscow International Experimental Film Festival (MIEFF), Russia’s only festival specializing in
experimental movies; and the V-A-C Foundation, the organization that supports artistic creation and
appreciation by offering a platform for open discussion. Meanwhile, the workshop for participating
curators will seek to find ways to enhance cultural exchange between the two countries.

□ KOFICE President Kim Yongrak said, “By introducing the sites of ‘ongoing’ culture and arts of
Russia, not the classical literature, music and ballet that are quite familiar to the Korean audience, the
lectures and workshop will serve as significant stepping stones to promote culture and arts exchange
and cooperation between the two countries.”

□ The lectures are open to curators, students, researchers, or anyone interested in Russian culture and
arts or in international cultural exchange. Detailed information is available at the KOFICE website(www.kofice.or.kr).