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🇰🇷 South Korea /Culture & Society

Jeonnam-Gwangju Says It Respects ‘One China’ as Gwangju Biennale Taiwan Pavilion Dispute Escalates

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • Jeonnam-Gwangju said it respects the One China principle and clarified that the Gwangju Biennale’s use of “Taiwan Pavilion” does not recognize Taiwan as a state.
  • The city apologized for communication failures and said it would investigate operational problems during preparations for the event.
  • The dispute followed objections from China, Taiwan and artists over successive changes to the pavilion’s name, while China suspended work on its own special pavilion.

The Gwangju Biennale’s “Taiwan Pavilion” has become a diplomatic problem, prompting Jeonnam-Gwangju to declare that it respects the One China principle and does not recognize Taiwan as a country.

The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City apologized on Aug. 31, saying insufficient communication between the biennale and participating institutions had caused the controversy. It promised a thorough investigation into shortcomings in the consultation process and other operational problems, with appropriate action based on the findings.

We deeply apologize for the controversy caused by insufficient communication between the Gwangju Biennale and participating institutions.

— Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special CityThe city apologized while announcing an investigation into preparation and consultation problems.

The city said the name “Taiwan Pavilion” represented an expression left to participating artists within the artistic sphere. It stressed that neither the city nor the Gwangju Biennale intended to recognize Taiwan as a state. The position was reportedly agreed with the Chinese Embassy as a way to bring the dispute to an end for now.

The name Taiwan Pavilion is an expression left to participating artists within the artistic sphere, and does not mean that Jeonnam-Gwangju or the Gwangju Biennale recognizes Taiwan as a country.

— Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special CityThe clarification sought to address China’s objection to the pavilion’s name.

The controversy began when the Gwangju Biennale Foundation changed “Taiwan Pavilion” to “Special Pavilion of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts” in June. Taiwan’s culture ministry and artists objected, followed by protests from South Korean artists. On Aug. 25, the biennale approved “Taiwan Pavilion” for the exhibition organized by the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. Min Hyung-bae, mayor of the special city, supported the decision, saying he opposed political or administrative authorities intervening in art.

The next day, Dai Bing, China’s ambassador to South Korea, expressed regret over the approval during a visit with Min. China continued its protest the following day by stopping work on its special pavilion at the biennale.

Basically, I oppose political or administrative power intervening in the realm of art.

— Min Hyung-baeThe mayor supported approving the Taiwan Pavilion name.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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