Venice Biennale Korean Pavilion, Expansion 'Starts' After 28 Years Since Establishment

2023 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition Korea Pavilion Opening
Questioning and Exploring Under the Theme '2086: How Are We?'
Chairman Jeong Byeong-guk: "As the Smallest Korea Pavilion, We Will Actively Promote Expansion in Cooperation with Venice City"

"The year 2025, two years from now, marks the 30th anniversary of the Korea Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. To commemorate this, we plan to significantly expand the Korea Pavilion space to welcome more visitors."

On the 18th (local time), the opening ceremony of the Korean Pavilion exhibition titled "2086: How Are We?" was held in Venice, Italy. The photo shows the exterior of the Korean Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition. [Photo by Korea Arts & Culture Education Service] [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 18th (local time) at 4:15 PM in Venice, Italy, the 2023 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition Korea Pavilion opened. At the opening ceremony, Jeong Byeong-guk, Chairman of the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service, also revealed plans for the long-awaited expansion of the Korea Pavilion space at the Venice Biennale.

The opening ceremony was attended by government officials including Lee Seong-ho, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Italy; Kang Hyeong-sik, Consul of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Milan; and Kim Tae-woo, Vice Consul, as well as Sebastiano Costalonga, Deputy Mayor of Venice. About 200 prominent figures from the architecture and arts sectors both domestic and international also participated, including Jo Min-seok, CEO of Mass Studies and commissioner of the Korea Pavilion in 2014; Jo Byeong-su, General Director of the 2023 Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism; Cheon Ui-young, President of the Korean Institute of Architects; and Park Yang-woo, Director of the Gwangju Biennale.

Chairman Jeong stated, "Korea has now truly become a cultural powerhouse," adding, "We will continue to support excellent exhibitions so that the Korea Pavilion can serve as a medium to introduce our culture and arts to the world."

The Korea Pavilion exhibition that opened that day is themed "2086: How Will We Live?" It presents how we should live in the year 2086, when the global population is expected to peak, through two components.

First, it focuses on a site-specific project comparing the urbanization and modernization processes of the mega-city Incheon, the small-to-medium city Gunsan, and low-density villages scattered across Gyeonggi Province.

On the 18th (local time) at 4:15 PM, the 2023 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition Korea Pavilion opened in Venice, Italy. At the opening ceremony, Jeong Byeong-guk, Chairman of the Korea Arts and Culture Commission, also announced plans for the long-awaited expansion of the Korea Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
[Photo by Kim Hee-yoon]

Based on the outcomes of the three regional projects, the 3-channel video work "A Certain Future," which presents a future community through a fictional scenario in 2086 between crisis and hope, invites reflection on life and concerns in a virtual city.

The following TV quiz show, "Together How Game," actively involves the audience as participants contributing to the exhibition's results. When visitors sit at a table with three buzzers, they select answers to 14 questions posed by the host on a multi-screen display.

This process emphasizes that each individual's daily choices are crucial factors determining the future. These choices accumulate one by one and are reflected in future Earth indicators, with the results displayed in real time on a nearby monitor, visually illustrating the butterfly effect caused by personal decisions.

This year's Korea Pavilion at the Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition is operated for the first time since its opening in 1995 under a dual artistic director system. The artistic directors are urban architect Jeong So-ik and Professor Park Kyung of UC San Diego.

Artistic Director Jeong So-ik explained, "The theme of this year's Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition, 'Laboratory of the Future,' is an unpredictable domain, so we focused on looking at the past and preparing for uncertainty. Through the theme and the game that runs through the three regions, especially the game that gives the illusion that we can control uncontrollable situations as if they were current, we aimed to show the real situations humans face."

The Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition, which began in 1980, is the most influential architecture event in the world and alternates biennially with the International Art Exhibition.

This year, Korean-American architect and the first female dean of the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University, Yoon Mi-jin, is participating in the curator special project of the Venice Biennale Architecture Exhibition.

After a preview period from the 18th to the 19th, the exhibition will be open to the public from the 20th. The exhibition runs until November 26.

Sebastiano Costalonga, Deputy Mayor of Venice, attending the opening ceremony of the Korean Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition.
Photo by Heeyoon Kim

Meanwhile, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Korea Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2025, Chairman Jeong announced on this day that they plan to actively resolve the long-standing issue of expansion of the Korea Pavilion.

The Korea Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is the last national pavilion established in the Giardini of Castello Park in 1995. It was originally built on the site of a restroom located on a hillside between the German Pavilion and the Japanese Pavilion. Thanks to the efforts of artist Nam June Paik, it entered the Giardini after overcoming a 23:1 competition ratio. However, to obtain the strict architectural permits from the Venice Biennale organizers and the city of Venice at that time, the building had to be constructed as a glass structure to protect the Adriatic Sea view and had to overcome site limitations such as curved terrain.

The Arts Council submitted an expansion plan to the city of Venice in 2019, but there has been no progress for four years. Since the entire city of Venice is a cultural heritage site, even minor repairs to buildings require approval from the Cultural Heritage Committee. The Giardini, where the Venice Biennale is held, is a protected green zone park requiring city council approval, which further delays permission.

However, to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Korea-Italy diplomatic relations next year and the 30th anniversary of the Korea Pavilion in 2025, the Arts Council plans to actively push for approval of the expansion plan.

At the opening ceremony, Sebastiano Costalonga, Deputy Mayor of Venice, expressed strong support for the Korea Pavilion expansion, stating in his congratulatory speech, "Three years ago, Korea submitted the Korea Pavilion expansion plan to the city of Venice, but it remains in the pre-approval stage. I believe I am the right person to do the most important work for the mayor’s approval of the Korea Pavilion expansion permit, and I will do my best with a heavy sense of responsibility to obtain final approval."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.