In viaggio da 140 anni

The exhibition hosted at the Hendrik Christian Andersen House Museum is realized in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Institute and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. It celebrates 140 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and the Republic of Korea, which began with the signing of the trade treaty in 1884 and continued in 1901 with the establishment of an Italian consulate, when Korea was almost completely unknown to most Europeans.

It was also the more than 200 photographs taken by the young lieutenant-at-arms and Italian Geographic Society member Carlo Rossetti, who was appointed consul of Korea in 1902, that showed the beautiful landscapes, art and daily life of the people of such a faraway place. Today, 140 years later, the Korean artists themselves tell the story of “Korean-ness” through works that combine innovation, creativity and tradition in a harmonious dialogue.

The same goes for the artists of the ARCOI collective on display at the Hendrik Christian Andersen House Museum, a community of Korean sculptors, graphic designers and painters, young and old, born in Korea but living in Italy. Each of the fifteen artists in the exhibition (Son Hyun Sook, Shim Nan Young, Joh Gyung Hee, Chun Mi Jin, Lee Na Kyung, Lee Guem Muk, Lee Ji Yeon, Moon Sang Mi, Kim Sung Il, Kim Jae Kyeong, Kim Ha Jin, Kim Hwal Kyung, Kim Giuno, Nam So Hyeon, and Park Hyun) has made his or her own journey and they offer the public the experience of a harmonious blending of East and West.