- On July 17, the 1^st Cultural Exchange Education and Forum between South and North Korea was held at the National Folk Museum of Korea

- Experts on North Korea and North Korean defector artists discussed on changes in North Korean culture and arts culture and arts education

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST), the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, and the Korea Arts and Culture Education held the 1st South-North Cultural Exchange Education and Forum at the National Folk Museum on July 17 (Wed). The Forum, which will be held a total of four times until December this year, was planned to examine the differences between the two Korean culture and arts in order to lay the foundation for inter-Korean cultural exchange cooperation and seek ways to restore the cultural community in the future.

At the Talk concert, professor JEON Young Sun from Konkuk University, former president of the Korean Association of North Korean Studies, gave a lecture on changes in North Korean culture and arts under the topic of Talking about North Korean Culture and Arts. Following the lecture, BAEK Seon Ja from Yeum Art Center presented a case example of cultural arts education provided to North Korean defectors. Then, professor JEON Young Seon hosted a talk concert with famous North Korean defector artists JEONG Yu Na (broadcaster) and film director PARK Yoo Sung, sharing interesting and hidden stories about North Korean culture and arts education and answering questions from the audience about the lives of North Korean artists.

LEE Hae Don, Director-General of cultural policy from the Ministry said, “Due to the fact that the  Korean Peninsula is divided, cultural exchanges between the two Koreas have been limited. However, as the two countries have shared a long history and tradition beyond differences in ideology and system, culture is a key element in forming mutual solidarity and reaching consensus.” He also added that “Despite the recent strain in inter-Korean relations, we hope that this project will provide an opportunity to understand the differences in culture and art between the two Koreas to restore national homogeneity.”