Australia, South Korea deepen cultural and youth ties, with Seoul forum set for July

Cultural, tourism, arts, youth and social-issue exchanges between South Korea and Australia are growing more vibrant despite the vast distance between the two countries — with Australian visitors now reaching as far as the small fishing village of Jumunjin in Gangwon Province, and Korean travelers venturing to Wollongong in southeastern Australia, a name that echoes the Korean pronunciation of Ulleungdo.

Creative Australia and the Arts Council Korea conducted a picture book exchange program in May, the first step in revitalizing bilateral cultural and arts exchange, ahead of the Vivid Sydney festival (May 22–June 13), sponsored by Samsung and Kia.

The Korea-Australia Youth Forum, held in Australia last August, will convene in Seoul on July 14–15. The provisional agenda covers international issues through a youth lens, spanning strategy and security, economics, trade and technology, and social and cultural linkages.

The Korea Foundation has partnered with the Australian Political Exchange Council (AusPol) since 2011 to run a regular program bringing the next generation of Australian political leaders to South Korea.

In 2019 and 2022, aspiring journalists majoring in media at institutions including the University of Sydney visited South Korea to tour Korean news organizations and the Demilitarized Zone.

The Korea Foundation has engaged in a wide range of exchange activities with the Australian National University since 1995, broadening Australian understanding of Korea through Korean studies promotion, the hiring of Korean instructors and cultural sharing.

The Busan Cultural Foundation, working with Australian partners, brought young Busan artists to the stage at the Parramatta Lanes Festival in Parramatta last October.

The picture book exchange program that preceded Vivid Sydney traced its origins to a visit last September by Wenona Byrne, director of Writing Australia — the literature-focused body within Creative Australia — who came to South Korea through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's overseas VIP invitation program (K-Fellowship) and confirmed the potential for bilateral cooperation in the picture book field.

The program ran for three days during the Sydney Writers' Festival, a globally recognized literary event that hosts more than 200 events and draws around 100,000 visitors. Participating from the Korean side were picture book authors Kyung Hye-won, Park Hyun-min and Lee Su-yeon, along with publisher Changbi.

A highlight was a panel discussion titled "Stories of Living Together: Korea and Australia in Conversation," held May 19 at the Korean Cultural Centre in Sydney. The two countries' arts councils, the Korean Cultural Centre and the Sydney Writers' Festival organized the event jointly.

Five picture book authors and illustrators from both countries took part in the discussion, exploring themes of nature, society and coexistence. The Korean participants were Kyung Hye-won, whose "I Am a Lion" captures the ecology of a lioness through painterly drawings on hanji; Park Hyun-min, whose "How to Be a True Friend" draws readers in through structural experimentation with the picture book form; and Lee Su-yeon, whose "Two Friends on My Shoulders" traces a narrative of wounds, empathy and recovery. Representing Australia were Susanne Gervay OAM, author of "Elephants Have Wings," which speaks to coexistence and peace through diverse perspectives on difference, and illustrator Antonia Pesenti, whose "Hello Cocky" captures Australia's natural landscape and the ecology of the cockatoo in bold, graphic imagery.

A book talk and creative workshop for elementary school students enrolled in Korean-language bilingual programs, as well as staff from the State Library of NSW and public libraries across New South Wales, drew strong attendance.

Zainab Syed, director of international programs at Creative Australia, said the exchange "will serve as an important milestone in deepening our partnership" following the signing of an MOU between the two councils. Wenona Byrne, director of Writing Australia, said she expected the program to expand cooperation between the two countries, noting that Korean illustration "has long been held in high regard by Australian creators."