By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
The diversity of life and culture in Asia is just a click away, with a free online photography database showcasing different Asian lifestyles having just been unveiled.
The UNESCO Asia Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Office for Hub City of Asian Culture have worked together to launch the Photo Archive of Asian Cultures.
``With increased diversity stemming from international marriages and migrant labor, there is an increasing necessity in Korea to better understand Asian cultures and lifestyles. The Photo Archive of Asian Cultures shows that it can improve people's understanding of Asian cultures and atmosphere with just a single photograph. Unlike written and spoken means of expression, photographs can exclude subjective prejudices and show objects and phenomena as they are," APCEIU said, in a statement.
The photo archives can be found at the Web sites https://photo.unescoapceiu.org and www.cct.go.kr/photo in Korean and English.
More than 7,000 photographs were taken by Korean and Asian photographers in Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan as part of last year's ``Development of Materials for Understanding Asian Cultures" project.
The photo archive is divided into the categories of cultural diversity, peace, human rights, sustainable development and globalization and includes photos of food, kitchens, costumes, markets, festivals, religious ceremonies, classrooms and cultural heritage items of Asian countries.
``We hope that the photo archives will be an important cornerstone in showing that although cultures are different, there are also important similarities in the lives of people of different races and cultures, and also help in understanding the diversity and universality within Asia," APCEIU said.
APCIEU believes that photographs are effective instruments for educating people about cultural diversity.
``For instance, when we think about the expression `minority race,' it may trigger negative thoughts deeply embedded in our minds. Oftentimes, this is because we tend to judge cultures we have not experienced according to our own personal standards… However, by looking at the photographs of Indian minority groups featured in the Photo Archive of Asian Cultures, we can be liberated from our narrow standards of judgment. We may be able to learn that certain minority groups are not inconvenienced by the lack of civilized instruments but are completely in harmony with nature," APCIEU said.
There are plans to annually update the archive with photographs from other Asian countries and to develop other materials, such as a comparative map of Asian cultures, video clips and cultural lifestyle games.
The Photo Archive of Asian Cultures can be accessed free of charge, but photographs cannot be used for commercial purposes. Those interested in reproducing the photographs need to fill out a form available on the Web site.