[HanCinema's Digest] Photography and Art

The Korea International Photo Festival wraps up its third year, see how North Korean interior design needs a reality check, the Academy of Korean Studies showcases nine images from their research catalogue, and see how Korean beauty trends came and went in one time-lapse video.

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"The 3rd Korea International Photo Festival"

The third Korea International Photo Festival recently took place in Seoch-gu, Seoul and featured 100 pieces from artists from Korea, Spain, England, France, Singapore, Germany, China, Australia. You can visit the festival's official website for further information (http://kipf.kr/ - Korean Only), and on Visit Seoul you can get a taste of some of the images that were in the exhibition.

…SEE ON VISIT SEOUL

"Did Wes Anderson Design North Korea?? You Decide"

When Oliver Wainwright, a London-based architecture critic, visited North Korea he noticed something a little unnerving about some of the country's interior designs: "He noted that the meticulously arranged interiors resembled sets from a delightfully quirky Wes Anderson film", and that "In every refurbished building we visit, there is a peculiarly consistent style of preschool colour schemes and shiny synthetic surfaces, the pastel palettes and axial symmetry giving an eerie feeling of walking into a Wes Anderson film set, or a life-size Polly Pocket toy… kindergarten kitsch is the logical next step for a regime intent on projecting an image of carefree prosperity. It is architecture as anaesthetic, a powerful tool for the state to infantilise its people".

...SEE ON VISUAL NEWS

"Korea in pictures"

The Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) showcases 9 images from the Pictori Korean Media Library that resulted from a government funded initiative aimed at collecting and cataloging images of Korean history and culture: "Not only can it be hard to find a particular image, but to use it in an academic publication is not always authorised or unnecessarily costly. With much crucial support from the Director of the Korea Institute, Prof. Hyaeweol Choi, and the incredible talent of web designer Katie Hayne, I developed a "Pictori" Korean media library that allows users to share, browse and discuss unique images, both old and recent, while allowing those who upload images to indicate to what degree they wish to protect them from being used by others. The site's home address is pictori.net".

...SEE ON ANU

"See 100 Years of Korean Beauty Trends In Just 90 Seconds"

Korea's current cosmetic craze is in full swing, but ideas of beauty in all countries ebbs and flows with time, and in this time-lapse video you'll see what styles came in and out of popularity;  "You'll see the model's hair, makeup and accessories change rapidly, with some of the styles appearing to mirror American trends. You'll also notice a very clear distinction between North Korean and South Korean trends".

…SEE ON TIME