China protests Gwangju Biennale's use of 'Taiwan Pavilion', withdraws from exhibition

Chinese participants in the Gwangju Biennale 2026 withdrew from the art exhibition Thursday, two days before the scheduled opening, in protest of the organizer's decision to allow Taiwanese participants to use the name "Taiwan Pavilion."

Chinese Pavilion curator Ruan Yuelai said the Chinese participants "cannot accept this" and have unanimously decided to withdraw from the exhibition as a strong expression of protest.

"We have placed great importance on the biennale and had worked hard preparing for it," Ruan said at a press conference at the Ha Jungwoong Museum of Art in Gwangju.

"However, the Gwangju Biennale organizers used an incorrect name in connection with Taiwan's participation, allowing political elements to intrude into the realm of art."

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul backed the withdrawal and issued a formal statement, arguing that allowing the name "Taiwan Pavilion" violates the "One China" principle that Korea has committed to respecting.

The embassy said it and the Chinese Consulate General in Gwangju had communicated multiple times with both the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City government and the Gwangju Biennale Foundation over the issue, but that "appropriate measures" had not been taken.

"There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory," the embassy said. "Taiwan's only designation at the United Nations is 'Taiwan, Province of China,' and Taiwan's participation in multilateral events must be handled in accordance with the One China principle."

According to a source familiar with the issue, Chinese Ambassador to Korea Dai Bing met with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Jeonnam-Gwangju Mayor Min Hyung-bae to express protest and regret. The officials and Min also expressed regret over the row but declined to intervene, noting that the biennale is a private-sector event led by the Gwangju Biennale Foundation.

How it unraveled

The dispute traces back to the organizer's handling of the name for the Taiwanese participants.

The foundation initially approved the name "Taiwan Pavilion" for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA), one of 16 countries and 11 institutions invited to this year's edition. Though Taiwan participates as an institutional entity rather than a national delegation, it had been permitted to use the country's name. The foundation later switched the designation to "NTMoFA Pavilion" without explanation, prompting the Taiwanese side to protest and repeatedly request a reversion.

The organizer initially refused, but relented on Aug. 25, restoring the "Taiwan Pavilion" name after the change drew condemnation from local and international artists and civic groups, who called it a form of political censorship. The Chinese side, upon learning of the reversal, immediately halted its preparations for the China Pavilion and began pressing for another change.

The source warned the dispute could escalate into a serious diplomatic row between Korea and China, drawing comparisons to the fallout over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system, which chilled bilateral relations for nearly a decade.

The biennale's pavilion project, first introduced in 2018, has seen both Taiwan and China participate in recent editions — Taiwan as an institution in the 13th edition in 2021 and China in the national pavilion format from the 14th edition in 2023 onward. This year is the first time both have participated simultaneously.

In response to the controversy, the organizers of the Gwangju Biennale issued an apology on Wednesday.

“The Gwangju Biennale Foundation sincerely apologizes for the concern, confusion and disappointment caused to artists, participating institutions, audiences and stakeholders in Korea and abroad in connection with the operation of the Pavilion Project for the 16th Gwangju Biennale … The foundation consistently upheld the principle that it does not intervene in or censor the planning, content or expression of exhibitions presented by participating institutions and artists,” the statement reads.

“However, the foundation deeply regrets that differing positions among the parties concerned were not sufficiently reconciled at key stages of the process, allowing the matter to escalate into a public controversy.”

Preventable crisis

The question of what to call Taiwan has been a recurring source of tension in politics, sports and the arts for decades. China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has consistently intervened to prevent Taiwan from participating in international cultural and sporting events under a national designation.

At the Venice Biennale, Taiwan — represented by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum — began participating as a national pavilion in 1995 but lost that status in 2003 due to Chinese pressure, reverting to a collateral event format and participating under an institutional name for the following 30 years. Taiwan's participation in the Olympics under the name "Chinese Taipei" stems from the same dynamic.

While some in the art world have framed the controversy as a case of political censorship, others argue it was a foreseeable and preventable organizational failure.

"The political tension between China and Taiwan is a long-standing feature of the international landscape and this biennale chose to have both a China Pavilion and a Taiwan Pavilion for the same event," Kim So-jin, an independent curator, wrote on social media. "The problems that would arise from placing the two pavilions side by side should have been considered from the very beginning of the invitation and negotiation process."

Kim was careful to distinguish between foresight and censorship. "This is not about erasing the name Taiwan in advance or accommodating China's demands. It means clearly agreeing on naming conventions from the outset and establishing in advance how to respond if the issue escalates into a diplomatic problem — so that the position does not change each time someone objects," she said.