By Ines Min
Staff reporter
This year's 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War has been initiative for myriad performances, exhibitions and even big-production war films. From private ads in New York's Times Square thanking American veterans to big-production war films and memorials to those who fought in the war can be found everywhere.
The Daelim Contemporary Art Museum's memorial to the war is ``On the Line,'' a special group exhibition organized in conjunction with the Ministry of National Defense. Ten of the country's renowned photographers created 170 new works for the show, exposing fresh insight to the pivotal war.
``Existing photographs about the war have either documentary or journalism values, so for this exhibition we attempted an artistic interpretation of the war,'' said Shin Sue-jin, the exhibition's director.
The participating photographers are well-known names, including Oh Hein-kuhn, Nanda, Kang Woon-gu and Koo Bohn-chang. The unique perspectives from both the young and old _ the photographers range in age from 37- to 70-years-old _ look to reopen a dialogue between the generations.
``Rather than explain the war to young people with words,'' said ministry representative Won Tae-jae, in reference to the emotional distance today's generations have toward the war. ``I think it's a better method to approach them with art photography.''
The group had an opportunity to shoot within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) earlier in the year, under close guard and following the area's regulations. Each artist managed to capture their own style and view within the sensitive border, focusing on varied aspects of the war.