Mokpo City Hosts Island Belt Triennale Forum

Establishing a Foundation for Cooperation Among Five Cities and Counties on the Southwest Coast

On the 13th, Mokpo City held a forum bringing together Haenam, Wando, Jindo, Sinan, and the Korea Islands Promotion Institute. Photo by Mokpo City

Mokpo City in South Jeolla Province has begun laying the groundwork for cooperation to promote the Southwest Coast Island Belt Triennale.

The city announced that on the 13th, it co-hosted the "2026 W.I.N. (World Island Net) Forum" together with Haenam County, Wando County, Jindo County, Sinan County, and the Korea Islands Promotion Institute.

This forum, held under the theme "Connecting Islands Through Art: The Future of the Southwest Coast Island Belt and the Triennale," was organized to expand the ecological, cultural, and historical value of the islands on the southwest coast through art, and to establish a foundation for regional-level cultural and artistic cooperation.

In particular, the forum was significant in that it discussed a shared vision and development direction from a broad perspective of the "island belt," not just from the standpoint of individual local governments.

On this day, Tetsuyuki Imatani, who has led the Setouchi Triennale in Japan since its first edition in 2010, delivered the keynote address, sharing operational case studies and success strategies for international art festivals.

Subsequently, the Korea Islands Promotion Institute presented the direction for promoting the Southwest Coast Island Belt Triennale and proposed strategies for discovering and applying content utilizing the attractive resources of the five cities and counties, outlining future implementation strategies.

During the general discussion, Seungmi Lee, Director of Haengchon Art Museum, acted as moderator, while government officials, academic experts, local specialists, and art professionals participated to exchange views on the future vision, development strategies, and key tasks for the Southwest Coast Island Belt.

The five cities and counties of the Southwest Coast Island Belt plan to use this forum as an opportunity to strengthen their cooperative system and discover content that artistically reinterprets the unique resources of each island, with the goal of holding the "Southwest Coast Island Belt Triennale" in 2030.

A city official stated, "We will continue to strengthen cooperation among local governments so that the value of islands, each with their own unique history and culture, can be re-examined and spread, enabling islands to become a new driving force for regional development."

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