Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Culture ministry brings global art, literaterary figures to Korea
Ezequiel Martinez, director general of Argentina's Buenos Aires International Book Fair / Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
By Jhoo Dong-chan
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, officially launched this year's K-Fellowship, a prestigious international exchange program designed to connect global cultural leaders with the country’s rapidly growing domestic art and literary scenes.
Marking its 18th anniversary, the annual initiative targets a strategic shift in cultural diplomacy. Following last year's focus on the performing arts, this year’s program zeroes in on visual arts, literature and publishing, bringing 10 influential global experts to Korea for highly tailored, site-specific itineraries.
The initiative is built around high-impact, practical networking. Rather than standard sightseeing, invitees engage in custom-tailored programs — including direct museum and institutional visits, participation in major national exhibitions and one-on-one executive consultations — aimed at laying down the infrastructure for future institutional partnerships.
The fellowship began its 2026 run by hosting Ezequiel Martinez, the director general of Argentina’s renowned Buenos Aires International Book Fair, who visited Seoul from June 22-28. As the head of one of the Spanish-speaking world's most influential publishing platforms, Martinez met with officials from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and the Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea to discuss exporting Korean literature to Latin America. Crucially, the talks explored the possibility of Korea participating as the guest of honor at the 2028 Buenos Aires International Book Fair.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, a highly curated roster of global heavyweights is set to arrive in Seoul, representing institutions and platforms that are typically difficult for private sector entities to engage independently.
The visual arts and media sectors will see visits from Tobias Berger, curatorial director of Hong Kong’s Cerakai Studio; Daniela Burkhardt, chief coordinator of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in Karlsruhe, Germany; Solveig Ovstebo, director of Norway's prestigious Astrup Fearnley Museet; and Amit Gupta, founder and editor-in-chief of the digital architecture and design platform STIRworld.
Additionally, the literary, academic and experimental art spaces will be represented by Luke Neima, deputy editor of the historic British literary magazine Granta; Caroline Busta, co-founder of Berlin-based research platform New Models; Elitza Dulguerova, associate professor of Contemporary Art Theory at Université Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne; and Carly Whitefield, senior curator of Berlin's LAS Art Foundation.
"The K-Fellowship serves as a vital bridge between international cultural opinion leaders and Korea’s creative ecosystem," said Kim Jae-hyun, director general of the Culture and Media Industry Office at the ministry. "We are committed to translating these elite-level exchanges into concrete, long-term international collaborations."
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.