I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Artist seeks to thaw Seoul's chilly ties with Cuba, NK
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Han Sung-pil’s “Harmonious Havana,” a massive image of a stone pagoda in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, was installed on the building of Editora Abril during the 12th Havana Biennale in May. / Courtesy of Han Sung-pil
By Kang Hyun-kyung
By Kang Hyun-kyung
DMZ, Gyeonggi Province — Visual artist Han Sungpil believes in the power of art in easing diplomatic tensions. He says artists can play a role in breaking stalemates in international affairs that even influential politicians and seasoned diplomats fail to solve.
Han, 43, came to such a realization after his massive image of a stone pagoda in the southeastern city of Gyeongju was installed on the building of Editora Abril during the 12th Havana Biennale in May and drew critical acclaim from the Cuban media and people.
Cuba’s state-controlled media, Granma, ran a story on Han, featuring the image of his 30-by-28-meter installation on its front page on May 23. It was the first time that a South Korean story made the headline of the Cuban media.
Some foreign policy watchers said the ability of Han’s artwork to capture the hearts and minds of Cubans is comparable to the effect of ping-pong in the namesake diplomacy in 1971 that helped thaw the icy U.S.-China relations.
Han said he was thrilled to receive such positive feedback from the Cubans.
“After receiving an invitation from the Biennale’s organizing committee, I thought deeply about what to present there because it was my first time to join an event held in Cuba,” he told The Korea Times during a recent interview in Yeoncheon, on the border of South and North Korea.
Han Sung-pil at the spectacular columnar jointing cliff that stretches across Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, on Thursday / Courtesy of Kim Choung-hyun
He is now working on another installation project near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the county.
“I came up with the idea of a giant image of the national treasure because I wanted to show the Cuban public an inspiring cultural project that can ignite their curiosity in Korean culture,” he said.
Cubans already have some idea of Korea from the Korean dramas and K-pop concerts they watch. But Han is skeptical about the impact of such cultural products on Cubans’ understanding of “the real Korea.”
He said he chose the stone pagoda, which was built in 682 during the Unified Silla Kingdom, to symbolize Korea’s cultural power and promote peace and harmony amid today’s foreign policy challenges.
King Sinmun directed the pagoda project, which was intended to declare the kingdom’s willingness to live in peace with its neighbors, which frequently invaded the peninsula.
South Korea has yet to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. Since the rapprochement of the United States and Cuba this year following a series of mutual conciliatory gestures, including a prisoner swap, South Korea has also taken measures to establish relations with the Caribbean country.
There are, however, hurdles to that diplomatic goal.
Cuba has been a close ally of North Korea since Fidel Castro and the late Kim Il-sung formed a bond while they were still in power. Castro visited North Korea in 1986. But there was no reciprocal visit from the North Korean leader, reportedly because he hated flying.
Cuba’s close ties with North Korea were again confirmed in 2013 when the Panamanian authorities seized a North Korean ship carrying Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets from Cuba. The ship was released months after the payment of a $700,000 fine to the Panama Canal Authority.
Its close ties with the North make Cuba wary about building ties with the South.
Asking for anonymity, a government official said South Korea is not in a rush to establish diplomatic relations. “At the moment, we, the South Korean government, are trying to gradually expand cultural ties with Cuba,” he said. “It is unlikely that the two sides will sign an agreement to establish diplomatic relations in the near future. Several Korean companies are operating in Cuba. In terms of trade, we have no problems.”
NK factor
“I produced the Harmonious Havana installation project in the hope that shared values can bring the people of the two countries together,” he said.
Amid this optimism, however, Han realized that Cuban government authorities’ political considerations affected the venue of his installation.
His artwork has become a source of debate in Cuba. He said the organizing committee of the Biennale initially planned to put the giant installation on the building of the El Capitolio, or National Capitol Building, in Havana, which had been the seat of the Cuban government and is now home to the Cuban Academy of Sciences.
However, the plan was not approved by the government there. They were wary that allowing the South Korean artist’s work to be placed on the iconic building would generate speculation that Cuba was seeking to establish ties with South Korea.
Inspired by his moderate success in helping facilitate South Korea-Cuba relations, Han has turned his attention to inter-Korean relations, another diplomatic stalemate that began more than six decades ago after the Korean War.
Han is now working on a DMZ project involving an installation and other artworks using his unique artistic technique, facade. The finished project will be showcased at the Security Education Hall near the Taepoong Observatory in Yeonchon next year.
“In the past, the hall was used to raise the public’s awareness of the cold reality that Korea is divided and that we are facing an enemy in the North,” he said.
“What I am going to do is find some linkages between the two sides for my forthcoming project to break the negative stereotyping of Yeoncheon.”
He said the image of the county was misrepresented, mainly because it is near the DMZ.
“When they think about Yeoncheon, most people imagine images of tense security, such as a divided Korea or South Koreans living in the bull’s eye because North Korea is just hundreds of meters away,” he said. “As you can see, there’s a lot to discover here.”
He pointed out the spectacular columnar jointing cliffs that stretch across the county. The southern coast of the resort island of Jeju is the only other place in the country where such a volcanic rock formation can be found.
Yeoncheon has more breathtaking scenes, including the 18.5-meter-high Jaein waterfall, he said.
He will be using his images of the county’s beautiful scenery for his DMZ project.
Han characterized himself as a contemporary artist. Unlike other photo artists who perform little to no alterations on the images they take, Han uses the facade technique to turn his images into art.
He said a great work of art can change existing perceptions of a particular object and ultimately help lead to a paradigm shift.
“Photos are much more than a replica of objects,” he said. “They are given new life by artists, who produce new images based on their interpretation.”