Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Shvydkoy hopes to bring contemporary Russian culture to Korea
Mikhail Shvydkoy, special representative for the Presidential Council for International Cultural Cooperation in Russia, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times ahead of the opening ceremony for the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges at Westin Josun Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Cyber University
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Russian cultural expert Mikhail Shvydkoy emphasized the importance of exchanging contemporary culture as Korea and Russia celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties through cultural exchanges this year.
Shvydkoy, special representative for the Presidential Council for International Cultural Cooperation in Russia, visited Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges in Seoul.
He is a high-profile and influential figure in Russia's cultural circles. Shvydkoy studied theater at the Russian University of Theatre Arts and worked at Theatre magazine and founded the Kultura television channel. Shvydkoy served as the Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2004.
In 2017, Shvydkoy visited Korea to attend an international conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of cultural exchanges between Korea and Russia, co-hosted by the Korea Russia Arts and Culture Society (KORACS) and the Russian Embassy in Seoul.
During his short stay, Shvydkoy kept himself busy promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries through meetings with officials from KORACS, the National Museum of Korea and the National Library of Korea.
"This is not my first time in Korea. Again and again I understand more Korean cultural area and people who are very open for contact with Russia," Shvydkoy said in an interview with The Korea Times at a hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.
"Korea has something for all of us. When I was young, it was a fairytale. When I grew up, there were movies, literature, music and fine arts. My first encounter with Korean culture was in 1958. I was a 10-year-old boy and I read books of Korean fairytales. It was translated by our great poet Anna Akhmatova. She was one of the superstars of poetry in the 20th century," Shvydkoy recalled.
"When I first read about Korea for the first time, Korea was the country of morning fresh. I was very astonished and tried to understand the smell and feeling of this morning fresh. I couldn't catch this when I was young.”
The opening ceremony for the 2020-2021 Korea-Russia Year of Cultural Exchanges is held at Westin Chosun Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
Korean readers have a wealth of knowledge about Russian classics such as works by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Chekhov. However, contemporary Russian literature is little known in Korea.
"Last year, there was a very distinctive connection between contemporary Russian literature and Korean literature. As part of a cultural exchange program, we introduced works by five Russian writers in Korea and five Korean writers in Russia. We must discover the contemporary faces of the two countries," he said.
Shvydkoy emphasized the importance of the young generation in cultural exchange and how young Russians became more open to Korea and its culture.
"In Russia, Korean language is now included in educational programs as a foreign language. Some Russians have the privilege to study in Korea through the governmental educational program for foreigners," he said.
"I think Korea and Russia never had real difficult problems between each other. Despite ideological contradictions, we see friendly possibilities in the Republic of Korea. Of course, the Russian Federation has historical connections with North Korea, but we have new relations with the Republic of Korea in the new era."
The Russian Season, scheduled for the second half of the year, will bring a variety of Russian culture to Korea, including Russian music at the Jeonju International Sori Festival, animated films at the Russian Year section of the Bucheon International Animation Festival and Russian media art at the Suwon International Photo Festival.
“We will present the highest level of Russian culture including, ballet, classical music and fine art,” Shvydkoy said. "This is going to be interesting for us to bring Russian culture to Korea after the pandemic.”
Shvydkoy sees many possibilities in the Korea-Russian relationship, especially from communication between the young generations.
"We have very talented young writers, film directors and pop musicians in Russia, but they are little known to young Korean audiences. I think we must present Russia not as a country of the great tradition, but a country of contemporary life. Young Russians share the same interests and expectations with the new generation in Korea," he said.