The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) on Aug. 24 said they are hosting the 2022-23 Korea-Kazakhstan Mutual Cultural Exchange Year.
In 2019, both countries celebrated their 30th anniversary of ties, designating last year and this year as their "mutual exchange year" and holding various cultural exchange events.
This year's cooperation began last month with the joint creation and production of a youth documentary. Other events include a festival featuring the traditional cultures of both countries, animation exhibition, co-creation and production of youth theater, and solo exhibition of Korean photographer Kim Ok-sun.
Students from the School of Film, TV and Multimedia at Korea National University of Arts and the Temirbek Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts will create and produce documentaries. Since last month, students from both countries have been planning and making four documentaries under the theme "Korea and Kazakhstan, Time of Diaspora and Space of Intersection."
The documentaries will take six months to complete and premiere in December at screenings in both countries.
A festival on the traditional cultures of Korea and Kazakhstan is also slated. A joint performance on Sept. 23 is planned at Almaty Theater featuring the National Theater of Korea, a leading pansori (traditional vocal opera) singer and a dombra (traditional Kazakh string instrument).
Both countries will celebrate their friendship by holding concerts of reinterpreted music ranging from folk songs to modern tunes using the traditional instruments of the two countries.
From September to October, the Bucheon International Animation Festival of Korea and Baiqonyr International Short Film Festival of Kazakhstan will jointly screen the animated works of both countries. On Sept. 8 in Kazakhstan, a Korean animation exhibition will screen 12 works including director Lee Sung-gang's "Princess Aya" and director Lim Chae-lin's "I'm a Horse."
In Korea, screenings of Kazakh animation will open on Oct. 21. The nine works to be shown include "Kenje Kyz" by director Ivan Ardashov, who has won awards from international film festivals, and "On Thin Ice" by director Anita Chernykh.
Both countries have also set the basis for creative theater exchange among their future generations, with KOFICE and Kazakhstan's Korean State Academy Theatre to jointly develop theatrical works. Youth from the two sides will create and produce a play based on Dangun, the mythical founder of Korea's first kingdom Gojoseon (2333 B.C.-108 B.C.), to be staged from Nov. 11-12 at the Central Asian nation's national or public theater.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan issued commemorative coins with Dangun's image.
A.Kastayev State Museum of Arts, Kazakhstan's largest art gallery, from Nov. 14 to Dec. 18 will hold a solo exhibition of the works of photographer Kim. The some 50 photos set for display show the stories of people who migrated due to a myriad of reasons and the history of their era.
Visitors can see the history of exchange between Korea and Kazakhstan in modern history, from the forced relocation policy of the Soviet Union and voluntary migration due to cultural and industrial needs.
Jung Hyang-mi, director-general of the ministry's Regional Culture Policy Bureau, said, "With both countries conducting exchanges in areas like documentaries, animation, theater and visual arts on the occasion of the Korea-Kazakhstan Mutual Cultural Exchange Year, we hope to build deeper friendship and trust."
