Busan Biennale
The Busan Biennale is a biannual international contemporary art show that integrated three different art events held in the city in 1998: the Busan Youth Biennale, the first biennale of Korea that was voluntarily organized by local artists in 1981; the Sea Art Festival, an environmental art festival launched in 1987 with the sea serving as a backdrop; and the Busan International Outdoor Sculpture Symposium that was first held in 1991. The biennale was previously called the Pusan International Contemporary Art Festival (PICAF) before it launched.
The biennale has its own unique attribute in that it was formed not out of any political logic or need but rather the pure force of local Busan artists’ will and their voluntary participation. Even to this day their interest in Busan's culture and its experimental nature has been the key foundation for shaping the biennale’s identity.
This biennale is the only one like it in the world that was established through an integration of three types of art events such as a Contemporary Art Exhibition, Sculpture Symposium, and Sea Art Festival. The Sculpture Symposium in particular was deemed to be a successful public art event, the results of which were installed throughout the city and dedicated to revitalizing cultural communication with citizens. The networks formed through the event have assumed a crucial role in introducing and expanding domestic art overseas and leading the development of local culture for globalized cultural communication. Founded 38 years ago, the biennale aims to popularize contemporary art and achieve art in everyday life by providing a platform for interchanging experimental contemporary art.
Yongdusan Park (Eunchae Cho)
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관리자 2022-12-19 10:58
Busan Biennale 2022 Exhibition Team
Image courtesy of Jung-gu, Busan Metropolitan City.
Yongdusan is the name of a roughly 49-meter-high hill located on Gwangbok Road at the heart of the old Busan city center. Previously known as “Songhyeonsan” (“pine ridge mountain”) due to its lush pine forest, it was renamed Yongdusan because its shape was seen to resemble the head (du) of a dragon (yong). Before Korea’s liberation on August 15, 1945, it was home to the Japanese-built Yongdusan Shrine. After the Korean War broke out, refugees arrived in droves, and shantytowns expanded all the way to the hilltop. Shortly after the war, two major fires occurred in 1954; due to the way the temporary structures had been built close together high up, the blaze raged out of control. Around 3,500 pieces of National Treasure-level cultural heritage were lost to the inferno, and the once verdant mountain was left bare. Through a reforestation project by President Rhee Syngman, it was restored to its former shape. The park became known as Unam Park, after Rhee’s pen name, but the old name of Yongdusan Park was restored after the April Revolution of 1960. Yongdusan Park is also the location of Busan Tower, a landmark of the original downtown area. This is a favorite stop for tourists, looking down as it does over Yeongdo Island and Busan Port. The Bell of the Citizens, built in the park in 1997 through a fundraising effort by the public, has rung in the New Year in Busan for more than two decades.