Busan, officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants as of 2017. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being South Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region" is South Korea's largest industrial area. The large volumes of port traffic and urban population in excess of 1 million make Busan a Large-Port metropolis using the Southampton System of Port-City classification.
Seoul National University is a public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities.
Im Kwon-taek is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards, as well as considerable box-office success, and helped bring international attention to the Korean film industry. As of spring 2015, he has directed 102 films.
Kim Ki-duk was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.
Insa-dong (Korean: 인사동) is a dong, or neighborhood, in Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea. Its main street is Insadong-gil, which is connected to a number of alleys that lead deeper into the district, with modern galleries and tea shops. Historically, it was the largest market for antiques and artwork in Korea.
The tourism industry in South Korea caters to both foreign and domestic tourists. In 2012, 11.1 million foreign tourists visited South Korea, making it the 20th most visited country in the world, and the 5th most visited in Asia. Most non-Korean tourists come from other parts of East Asia such as Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. The recent popularity of Korean popular culture, often known as the "Korean Wave", in these countries has increased tourist arrivals. Seoul is the principal tourist destination for visitors; popular tourist destinations outside of Seoul include the major coastal city of Busan, the Seorak-san national park, the historic city of Gyeongju and subtropical Jeju Island.
Nikolai Shin was an Uzbekistani painter of Korean descent, sometimes referred to by Korean newspapers as the "Picasso of Asia".
Yoshiko Shimada is a Japanese printmaker and performance artist who has been referred to as "Japan’s premier feminist and antiwar artist."
Erwin Olaf Springveld, professionally known as Erwin Olaf, was a Dutch photographer from Hilversum. Time magazine described his work as straddling "the worlds of commercial, art and fashion photography at once".
Atta Kim is a South Korean photographer who has been active since the mid-1980s. He has exhibited his work internationally and was the first photographer chosen to represent South Korea in the São Paulo Biennial.
Won-il Rhee was a South Korean digital art curator. He was born and died in Seoul.
PHUNK is a Singapore-based contemporary art and design collective founded by Alvin Tan, Melvin Chee, Jackson Tan, and William Chan in 1994. They have exhibited and collaborated with artists, designers and fashion brands around the world, producing work across a diverse range of mediums.
Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. Their work explores the relationship between art, architecture and design.
Bahman Motamedian is an Iranian filmmaker, photographer, writer and script writer. He was born in Tehran, Iran. Motamedian belongs to the so-called "new wave" of Iranian cinema. Bahman Motamedian is also has been involved in over twenty works, including shorts film, documentaries film, video art and theater.
Motamedian made his first feature film, titled "Khastegi" in 2008. "Khastegi" was shown in the official selection of 65th Venice International Film Festival as the "surprise film" in 2008.
Asia Song Festival, a.k.a.A-Song-Fe or ASF, is an annual Asian pop music festival held in South Korea, since 2004. It is hosted by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) and features artists from Asian countries. Participating artists are awarded a plaque of appreciation by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Best Asian Artist by the chairman of Korea Foundation for International Culture and Exchange (KOFICE). South Korean boy band TVXQ is the only act to have participated for five consecutive years, since the 1st festival in 2004.
Nicolai Howalt is a Danish visual artist and contemporary photographer.
Gina Kim is a filmmaker and academic. Kim's five feature-length films and short films have garnered acclaim through screenings at most major film festivals and at venues such as the MOMA, Centre Pompidou and the Smithsonian. According to Film Comment, Kim has "a terrific eye, a gift for near-wordless storytelling, a knack for generating a tense gliding rhythm between images and sounds, shots and scenes, and for yielding a quality of radiance in her actors". Between 2004–2007 and 2013–2014, Kim taught film production and theory classes at Harvard University, being the first Asian woman teaching in her department. Kim was also a member of the Jury for the 66th Venice Film Festival and the Asian Pacific Screen Awards in 2009. Currently, Kim is a professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.
Jane Jin Kaisen is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lee Hun Chung (이헌정) is a South Korean artist. He is famous for working with ceramics and concrete in a wide range from small objects to large installations. Lee creates modern day pieces using techniques and colors dating back to the Joseon Dynasty. Lee attended Hong-ik University in Seoul from 1986–1991 with a BFA in ceramic sculpture. He continued his education throughout San Francisco and Korea, and getting a PH.D in architecture from Kyung-Won University in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Chan-Hyo Bae is a visual artist based in London. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from The Slade School of Fine Art in University College of London in Fine Art Media and a Bachelor of Arts in Photography from Kyungsung University in South Korea. He is currently living and working in London.
