Several Hungarian programs in South Korea
In addition to the highly successful Victor Vasarely exhibition attracting tens of thousands of visitors, the Liszt Institute Seoul organised a number of valuable Hungarian cultural programmes in April. They celebrated the Hungarian Poetry Day with the launch of a poetry collection by Attila F. Balázs, and marked the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and South Korea with a special concert. For the first time, a Hungarian artist, Tibor Simon-Mazula, exhibited his original artworks at the institute's gallery, and they also held the premiere of Nóra Lakos' film "Hab" in "Seoul's Brooklyn". Aside from the numerous cultural events, the institute also participated in an international education fair, where they promoted Hungary among the local students.
On 11 April 2024, on the occasion of the Day of Hungarian Poetry, the Liszt Institute Seoul hosted a literary evening for more than 40 members of the Korean Poetry Society and the Lyric Poetry Society. The Poetry Day Reading Evening featured the presentation of a collection of poems in Korean by Attila F. Balázs, a contemporary Hungarian poet, published in Korean, which was made possible through the cooperation of the Liszt Institute and Korean literary organizations.
On 13 April, the Korean Liszt Society held its annual spring concert at the Yeongsan Art Hall in Seoul, once again in collaboration with the Liszt Institute. The concert this year celebrated both the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and South Korea and the 25th anniversary of the Korean Liszt Society. With the society, the Institute is also organising a major autumn concert with Korean and Hungarian musicians.
From 29 April, the Liszt Institute is hosting an exhibition of 12 large-scale paintings by contemporary artist Tibor Simon-Mazula, created specifically for his Korean debut. Simon-Mazula has achieved outstanding success at the Taiwan Art Fair for three consecutive years and attracted considerable attention when his works were shown at the Korean market last year. Following the success of the Korean launch, Seoul Art Now, an art agency, approached the Institute with the idea of organising a solo exhibition to sell the artist's work at exclusive shows for collectors. Tibor Simon-Mazula's paintings and a documentary film about him will be on display at the Liszt Institute until 30 June 2024, the first exhibition of original artworks in the Institute's gallery since its opening in December 2019.
On 24 April, the Liszt Institute Seoul celebrated the Hungarian Film Day together with the Seongdong Cultural Foundation with the screening of director Nóra Lakos' film "Hab". In 2023, the Liszt Institute signed a cooperation agreement with the Seongdong Cultural Foundation to provide regular Hungarian cultural programs in Seongsu, a district with a strong cultural character known as "Seoul's Brooklyn". Over the past year, an exhibition on Budapest by Marcus Goldson, two film screenings and a large-scale event featuring music, literature and digital art by Hungarian artists have been held in four cultural venues in the district to mark the Petőfi anniversary. The screenings were preceded by speeches by István Medvigy, director of the Institute and president of the Seongdong Cultural Foundation, and a lecture on the history of Hungarian film by Levente Borsos, professor at the Hungarian Department of Hankuk Foreign Language University.
On 27 April, the Seoul Foreign School, an international school that educates foreign children in Seoul from kindergarten to high school, held an international fair where children of different nationalities and their families showcased their home countries. The Liszt Institute contributed to the event by supporting the participation of the Hungarian student. A range of brochures were available at the education fair for students interested in further studies in Hungary, including information leaflets on the Stipendium Hungaricum programme. The event was a great success with the students.
