A photo exhibition of ancient Korean palaces and modern Korean arts is being held in a most unlikely place: subway stations across Mexico City.

"The Beauty and Their Palaces", or "La Belleza y Sus Palacios" in Spanish, began on June 10 at the Ermita and Zapata stations, transfer points used by 370,000 commuters every day.

The 81 large photographs contain images of traditional Korean buildings and street scenes, including palaces, houses, food and clothes, as well as modern-day K-pop singers. There are also pictures of Korea's geography and its global corporations. The two stations, which opened only in October 2012, are relatively new. They are 100 meters long and 10 meters wide, with enough space suitable for an exhibition.



"Korea not only achieved democracy and economic development in such a short period of time as 50 years, but it also has 5,000 years of long history and traditions. I wanted to share all of this with the citizens of Mexico," said Ambassador Hong Seong-hoa. "With this exhibition, I am glad that I am able to share a small portion of traditional Korea with you here in the middle of Mexico City. I hope that this will be a good opportunity for Mexicans to experience traditional Korean culture and arts."

Jose Alfonso Suárez del Real, Deputy General Director of Mexico City subway, said the exhibit surpassed his expectations and that he was very surprised that there were 81 large, high-resolution photographs of palaces and Korean pop stars on display. "I am very impressed that subway stations in Mexico City are now filled with Korea's beautiful culture and arts," he said.





The show's opening on June 10 was crowded with transit passengers and K-pop fans, eager to see the exhibition. A curator was there to explain the event. K-pop fans were happy to see photos of ten K-pop stars selected by them, and they waved the Taegeukgi during the ceremony, the Korean national flag. They also held up a placard they had prepared, written in Korean, showing off their passion for K-pop. Passersby watched a samulnori performance, percussion music played by a drum quartet, and made stone rubbings as part of the opening events.

Media outlets in Mexico showed a great interest in the event. TV stations including Canal Once and NotimexNTX (www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ylu1eXIto), and newspapers including El Sol de Mexico and Excelcior, reported on the event. The Korean Cultural Center in Mexico will host the photo exhibition in other major cities across the country and has other exhibits planned on Korea's beauty and nature.



By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr