The Korea Times

Red Cross warns of rising global conflicts with 'Wars Have Limits' exhibition in Seoul

Marking the 60th anniversary of Korea’s accession to the Geneva Conventions, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) opened a special exhibition, "Wars Have Limits," in the lobby of the Seoul Museum of History, on May 15. Displaying the history of the Geneva Conventions and the humanitarian efforts of the Red Cross during the 1950-53 Korean War, the exhibition highlights the grave dangers posed by modern warfare technologies and examines the challenges they present to international humanitarian law, particularly with the emergence of drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous weapons. While humanitarian needs are growing as wars continue to devastate lives around the world, the resources that can help affected populations are shrinking fast. As the world grapples with rising conflicts, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on a principle the entire world has agreed on — that even in war, there are limits. At a reception event on June 4, David Quesne, head of the ICRC mission in Seoul, said that there are currently over 130 conflicts worldwide, more than dou

1h agoBy Bereket Alemayehu

Red Cross warns of rising global conflicts with 'Wars Have Limits' exhibition in Seoul

Global Community

World Refugee Day festival brings communities together in Seoul

To mark World Refugee Day, people from different walks of life gathered on Saturday for the fifth "Shall We Walk?" Refugee Festival at Ttukseom Hangang Park beneath Cheongdam Bridge near Jayang Station on Seoul Metro Line 7. Despite the rainy weather, the festival featured refugee performances representing cultures from around the world, where refugees took center stage to share their lives, stories and unique talents. Attendees enjoyed traditional Burundian drumming, Ethiopian and Jumma cultural dance performances, Sudanese, Pakistani and Afghan music, Korean songs, African traditional singing and K-pop, highlighting the cultural diversity that refugees offer to Korean society and showcasing refugee communities living in Korea. Organized by Refugee pNan, a local nongovernmental organization, the festival was designed to foster natural encounters that overcome prejudice. Rather than relying on lectures or formal discussions, the open-space event encourages understanding through shared experiences, aiming to reduce the distance and misconceptions often associated with the term “refuge

3h agoBy Bereket Alemayehu

World Refugee Day festival brings communities together in Seoul

Global Community

'Onggi Jonggi' art exhibition features Korea-based global artists who explore beyond social media and algorithms

Six global artists from diverse backgrounds are displaying their work during Insa Art Week at TOPOHAUS Gallery in central Seoul’s Insa-dong neighborhood, in group exhibition titled "Onggi Jonggi." Co-curated by Ella Kaill, founder and editor of Half Local magazine, the exhibition's vision is to step outside the frame of social media. "Onggi Jonggi," a term evoking a charming, irregular gathering of people or things, presents photography, paintings, sketches, textile work and pixel art, providing an exploration of Seoul through fresh and often unconventional perspectives. "We wanted to look at Korea in a slightly different way. If you look at social media, everything about Korea is Seongsu, pop-up stores and Olive Young. Those things are fine, but they're not the only things about Korea," she told The Korea Times at an opening event on June 12. Kaill, who first moved to Korea from England in 2019, was drawn by a long-standing fascination with the country. Having studied Korean language, cinema, culture and history at SOAS University of London, she arrived with a deeper understanding of

2d agoBy Bereket Alemayehu

'Onggi Jonggi' art exhibition features Korea-based global artists who explore beyond social media and algorithms

Global Community

10th Korean Refugee Film Festival returns with focus on refugee-led storytelling

After a year's absence, the anticipated 10th edition of the Korea Refugee Film Festival (KOREFF) is back with four major films made in Korea and Europe. The festival, founded in 2015 to bring refugee stories to the Korean public through cinema, is also part of the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention this year. This year's festival will feature two film premieres: “Allies in Exile” by Syrian refugee filmmaker Hasan Kattan, and “A Lighter Between Invisible Bars” by Liam Han, a refugee from Myanmar living in Korea. The program is rounded out by two European productions, “Green Border” (2023) by Agnieszka Holland, and “Souleymane's Story” (2024) by Boris Lojkine. Over the past decade, the festival has provided a platform for filmmakers, activists, refugees and members of the public to explore the realities of forced displacement through culture and storytelling. Stefan Maier, deputy representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Korea, said the festival’s central theme this year is “Festival of Refugees,” or the idea that refuge

Jun 16, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

10th Korean Refugee Film Festival returns with focus on refugee-led storytelling

Global Community

German, Russian visual artists explore Korea through art and everyday experience

A group of international artists studying and living in Korea recently came together to present "Sweet Bread," a group art exhibit currently on display at KOTE in central Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood, inspired by their experiences as foreigners navigating life in Korea. The exhibition is a collaboration between four art students from Germany and a photographer from Russia, who display a visual reflection of everyday life encounters in Korea, resulting in shifts in perception, habits and attention. Their collective perspective as outsiders allows them to reread everyday visual and digital stimuli as simultaneously seductive, soothing and excessive. Laila Kamil from the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig, who came to Korea on an exchange program with Chung-Ang University, said their group was formed from friendships through university studies. Several of the artists met in sculpture classes at Chung-Ang University, while others had known each other previously in Germany. “Our group initially applied to several open calls for exhibitions but received little response. Eventually, through con

Jun 7, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

German, Russian visual artists explore Korea through art and everyday experience

Global Community

South African sculptor Ndivhuho Rasengani opens solo exhibition in Seoul

South African artist and designer Ndivhuho Rasengani recently presented his first major installation exhibition in Seoul, titled "RITUALS OF DWELLING," at 37A gallery in the central Yongsan District, marking an important milestone in his evolving creative journey. Rasengani's work occupies the intersection of sculpture, kinetic installation and spatial research. With a fine arts master's degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and a background in foundry and digital fabrication, his practice moves fluidly between rigorous technical systems and intuitive handcraft. Although he officially worked for only a few years, his practice draws from a deeper foundation in architecture. His fascination with space, atmosphere and the materials that shape our environments continues to influence his artistic vision. The artist, having worked and evolved across continents, has shown his pieces at both public projects and private showcases in South Africa, China and the United States. In 2025, he established Rasengani Atelier, a formal evolution of his daily practice into a collaborative research

Jun 1, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

South African sculptor Ndivhuho Rasengani opens solo exhibition in Seoul

Global Community

Solas sunrise walk shines light on mental health awareness

In four cities across Korea, more than 200 people participated in the annual Solas sunrise walk on Saturday, bringing local and international communities together for the third time in a nationwide show of solidarity for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Organized by the Irish Association of Korea (IAK), the early morning walk events were held simultaneously in Seoul and Busan, on Jeju Island and, for the first time, in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, aimed at spreading awareness of mental health and well-being, while also raising funds to support mental health counseling services in Korea. In Seoul, about 100 people gathered near Yeouinaru Station on Seoul Metro Line 5 at 4 a.m. wearing green T-shirts for the annual 5-kilometer community walk known as Solas, from the Irish word for "light.” The organizers stressed that the event was about connection, reminding each other that even in difficult times, there is comfort in community and strength in togetherness. “There’s an Irish saying: 'Ní neart go cur le chéile,' there is no strength without unity," Warren Neiland,

Jun 1, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

Solas sunrise walk shines light on mental health awareness

Global Community

Incheon's Crocat House hosts group exhibition featuring 6 Korean, global artists

A group of Korean and foreign artists opened an exhibition at Crocat House, a new cultural and arts complex in Incheon that is transforming an old industrial waterfront zone into a platform for exhibitions, performances, pop-ups, seminars, busking and community events. The exhibition, titled "Felt Seams — What the Tide Erases, the Body Holds," tells a narrative in which seams emerge between body and world, memory and image, past and present, private feeling and shared space. Hence, six artists moving through different materials, places and sensibilities trace seams between what is felt and what remains. For Korean artist and curator Sung A Jang, art is less about fixed definitions and more about exchanges between ideas, people and spaces. Having grown up moving between Korea and the United States, she developed a fluid understanding of identity, belonging and place, which strongly informs both her art and curatorial approach. “I’m a third culture kid. I grew up hopping back and forth between Korea and the U.S. I see things as essentially fluid — identity, place, belonging, mediu

May 25, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

Incheon's Crocat House hosts group exhibition featuring 6 Korean, global artists

Global Community

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi returns to stage for 'The Third War' in Gwangju

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, best known for his featured role in Season 1 of Netflix's "Squid Game," is returning to the stage for “The Third War,” an experimental opera and theatrical production. The production is written and directed by Bonn Park, a German Korean playwright and director known for creating immersive and highly imaginative theatrical worlds. The music is composed by Ben Roessler, who has previously collaborated with the director on several acclaimed productions. In an interview with The Korea Times, Tripathi emphasized themes of joy, coexistence and representation, as immigrants are an essential part of the story. “In the play, I’m from the foreigners’ world, and I play a father character," he said. "Our world talks about happiness and joy. We try to present even the smallest things in a joyful way through music, costumes and operatic performance.” "The Third War" is set in a fictional world where magic exists. It explores conflicts between three different nations through perspectives that examine how truth, fiction, fear and propaganda become distorted duri

May 19, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi returns to stage for 'The Third War' in Gwangju

Global Community

Irish community-led sunrise walk for mental health expands across 4 cities in Korea

The Irish Association of Korea (IAK) will host the annual Solas sunrise walk on Saturday, May 30, bringing local and international communities together for the third time in a nationwide show of solidarity for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. This year, the early morning event takes place simultaneously in Seoul, Busan, Jeju and, for the first time, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Now in its third year, Solas has evolved from a relatively small community gathering into a nationwide awareness campaign focused on compassion, resilience and mental health support. Organizers believe the event’s continued expansion demonstrates a growing recognition that mental well-being is a shared social responsibility. Alan Leavy, chairman of the IAK, said the event's growing scale reflects the strong support for mental health awareness initiatives within Korea’s Irish and international communities. “It is encouraging to see more people willing to come together in support of one another and engage in conversations that can often be difficult but are deeply important,” he said. He men

May 15, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

Bereket Alemayehu

Read more

Red Cross warns of rising global conflicts with 'Wars Have Limits' exhibition in Seoul

World Refugee Day festival brings communities together in Seoul

'Onggi Jonggi' art exhibition features Korea-based global artists who explore beyond social media and algorithms

10th Korean Refugee Film Festival returns with focus on refugee-led storytelling

German, Russian visual artists explore Korea through art and everyday experience

South African sculptor Ndivhuho Rasengani opens solo exhibition in Seoul

Solas sunrise walk shines light on mental health awareness

Incheon's Crocat House hosts group exhibition featuring 6 Korean, global artists

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi returns to stage for 'The Third War' in Gwangju

Irish community-led sunrise walk for mental health expands across 4 cities in Korea

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