This year's Cultural Diversity Week will be held from May 21-27 across the nation. Shown are foreign celebrities Patricia Yiombi (center) of Congo and Alberto Mondi (right) of Italy on May 21, 2024, at Gwanghwamun Square during last year's festival. (Event's official Facebook page)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

A weeklong festival starting next week will promote the value of cultural diversity through content ranging from literature and music to traditional arts.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on May 14 announced its hosting of this year's Cultural Diversity Week from May 21-27 in cooperation with the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service and provincial cultural foundations.

Since 2015, the annual event has marked World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (May 21) as designated by the United Nations.

From May 23-25, the National Museum of Korea will host an "archiving exhibition" to mark the 20th anniversary of the country's adoption of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. An exhibition of content related to cultural diversity will show things like films, books and music recommended by "special curators" by sector.

The event "D: Stage" will facilitate communication with the curators. To promote cultural diversity of inclusion and coexistence, the museum on May 23 will host a series of "talk concerts" with Shin Yujin Band and singer Lee Sang Soon, followed by those with Sinasi Alpago, a naturalized Korean reporter of Turkish descent, and movie director Kim Minju on May 24 and poet Na Tae-joo and artist Yang Jung-uk on May 25.

This year, exhibitions and interactive events using provincial cultural assets will show the cultural diversity of regions in collaboration with cultural foundations in Busan and the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Jeollanam-do.

To mark the 20th anniversary of Korea's adoption of the UNESCO convention, the museum on May 23 will host a forum on the diversity of cultural expressions in the era of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.

Cultural Diversity Week is open to all on a first-come, first-served basis through online reservations (linktr.ee/diversityweek2025) or on-site application. More information is available on the event's official website (www.diversityweek.kr).

This is the official promotional poster of this year's Cultural Diversity Week. (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)