South Korea, a protagonist of the global cultural scene, lights up the Colosseum in Rome

Today, South Korea is a global cultural leader in every way, capable of combining innovation and identity.

South Korea has conquered the world with cutting-edge technology, and a new culture of entertainment that is contemporary and rich in tradition at the same time. From the global phenomenon of K-pop – with groups like BTS and BLACKPINK at the top of the international charts – to K-beauty, to Oscar-winning auteur cinema (Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” is just one example), through design, the “K-wave” has revolutionized the global collective imagination.

It is in this context that the initiative promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Institute in Italy, the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), the Municipality of Rome and the Colosseum Archaeological Park fits in: the first multimedia projection of South Korea on the Colosseum, on the occasion of the “Year of Cultural Exchange Italy-Korea 2024-2025”. A unique evening, in which the iconic Roman monument was transformed into a spectacular luminous canvas. Multicolored projections, animated by artistic images and symbols of the two cultures, enchanted citizens and visitors, celebrating the anniversary of cultural relations between Italy and Korea. The visual production was entrusted to a group of Italian-Korean artists: the renowned Korean artist Lee Lee-Nam, the Italian collective Squatters Lab (Andrea Bucci), Vincenzo Marsiglia, and the Korea Round team, a network of young creatives. The project was curated by Alisia Viola and Tommaso Venco, specialized in creating innovative dialogues between art, technology, sustainability, and new expressive languages.

The event was framed by a meeting at Caffè Roma – a stone’s throw from the Colosseum – which brought together around seventy leading figures from Italian and Korean institutions, with the aim of strengthening intercultural dialogue and collaboration.

The choice of the Colosseum – a monument that is a symbol of world heritage – as the “screen” of this cultural synergy represents a tribute to the strength of dialogue between past and future, between East and West.