By Kim Hyelin
Photos =Jeon Han
Video = Lee Jun Young

Seoul is hosting a photo exhibition highlighting the 140-year history of official ties with Italy.

To mark this diplomatic milestone, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and National Museum of Korean Contemporary History on Feb. 26 held the opening ceremony for "All Roads Lead to History: Italy and Korea" at the museum in Seoul's Jongno-gu District.

Those attending included Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In Chon; Italian Ambassador to Korea Emilia Gatto; Rep. Hong Young-pyo of the Democratic Party of Korea who also heads a bilateral parliamentary group; university professor and singer Lim Hyung-joo of the Civic School of the Arts in Rome (Civica Scuola delle Arti di Roma); and Marcello Abbondanza, the Italian head coach of the Korean pro women's volleyball team Heungguk Life Insurance Pink Spiders.

"Korea and Italy declared 2024-25 as the year of mutual cultural exchange on the occasion of their summit last year," Minister Yu said in his welcoming speech. "This photo exhibition is a powerful beginning of that journey."

"We hope that visitors to the photo exhibition envision a future of both countries going forward together."

Ambassador Gatto said she hoped that the exhibition is an opportunity to shed light on the similarities between both countries, which share common values and goals despite their long geographical distance.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu Inchon on Feb. 26 gives a welcoming speech at the opening ceremony for the photo exhibition "All Roads Lead to History: Italy and Korea" at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul's Jongno-gu District to commemorate the 140th anniversary of bilateral ties.

To run from Feb. 27 to March 31, the exhibition displays about 70 photographic materials on the development of bilateral relations since the two sides signed a diplomacy treaty in 1884.

Shown for the first time are photos of the activities of the 68th Red Cross Hospital, an Italian medical unit sent during the Korean War.

Some 60 Italian medical staff and nurses treated approximately 230,000 patients from the time they set foot on Korean soil until 1955.

The first section of the four-part exhibition shows a photo of Carlo Rossetti, an Italian consul who assumed his post in 1902 and held it for eight months, riding a palanquin. Also displayed are photos of Korea he took and the Italian-language version of the bilateral treaty.

The second section spotlights Italians who lent a helping hand during the war. Photos and a video show Italians working at the Red Cross Hospital; Father Hajong Kim (Vincenzo Bordo), an Italian-born Catholic priest who ran Anna House, a soup kitchen for the homeless in Korea; and Sister Carla Kang (Lidia Tallone), an Italian-born nun who lived in a leprosy colony to care for those with the disease.

The third section features bilateral relations and exchanges in a range of sectors such as classic and pop music, sports and fashion. And the final one shows a panoramic video of the natural landscapes and cultural relics of the two peninsular countries. 

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In Chon (right) on Feb. 26 looks around at the photo exhibition "All Roads Lead to History: Italy and Korea" at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul's Jongno-gu District to commemorate the 140th anniversary of bilateral ties.