The Korea Foundation, the Embassy of Denmark in Seoul and Denmark’s Animation Workshop have opened an exhibition that incorporates virtual reality and animation in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Denmark, organizers said.

“Just in this room you can visit the island of Hawaii in 1983, and virtually experience its ecosystem. … We are looking forward to more synergies between Korean and Danish animation industries,” Danish Ambassador to Seoul Einar H. Jensen said at the opening ceremony.

The opening of the exhibition took place at the KF Gallery in central Seoul on Nov. 13 and was attended by Korea Foundation Executive Vice President Kim Seong-in, Austrian Ambassador to South Korea Michael Schwarzinger and Korean illustrator Wooh Na-young, among others.

According to the Korea Foundation, the experience is intended to provide visitors with a glimpse of the future and to cause them to reflect on the role of new technologies in contemporary arts and animation.

In tandem with digitalization, animators worked closely with technicians to utilize state-of-the-art technologies.

Wooh, who is well known for her creative illustrations that interpret Western fairytales with a traditional Korean touch, unveiled 2D animation “Alice-The Fall,” for which she spent months in Denmark collaborating with the Animation Workshop to bring out traditional Korean-style painting and lines.

The attention-grabbing piece is a recreation of “Alice in Wonderland” in a traditional Korean setting and Alice is portrayed with a popular animation look. Alice, the White Rabbit and the Cheshire Cat are seen wearing traditional Korean clothing, called hanbok.

The exhibition displays artwork created by six artists and a team of artists to explore new territories of imagination from Nov. 13 to Jan. 17, 2020, at the KF Gallery in central Seoul. There is no charge. 

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)