Southeast Asia includes an enormous expanse of cultures, people and traditions across 2 million square miles and some 600 million people from Singapore to the Philippines and Vietnam to Indonesia.

Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have brought Seoulites a chance to glean a photographic glimpse into this huge and diverse array of peoples and their religious practices and cuisines from a perspective that is anything but ordinary.

It is all possible in an exhibition of 66 photographs and eight videos culled from a three-month-long photo contest organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre under the theme “Show Yourself: ASEAN Self-Portrait, Korean Self Portrait” at Seoul Museum of History through Nov. 11.

Hassnal Adam Raasalhague Sulaiman from Brunei Darussalam, Borin Chhun from Cambodia, Kittisak Sommanivong from Lao PDR, Jane Ching Ai Nee from Malaysia, Susan Zawwin from Myanmar and Nakrob Moolmanas from Thailand prevailed in the photography category.

In the digital media arts category, Patricia Adele from Indonesia, Seung Min Jeong from Korea, Victor Villanueva from Philippines, Allysa Sing Zhi Bing from Singapore and Ngoc Vo Thi Nhu from Vietnam made the grade.

The ASEAN-Korea Centre is an intergovernmental organization aiming to increase trade volume, accelerate investment flow, invigorate tourism and enrich cultural exchanges between the ASEAN Member States and Korea.

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)