Gwangju Biennial Foundation President Resigns Amid Censorship Dispute Over Political Artwork

Lee Yong-woo, the president of the Gwangju Biennial Foundation, has stepped down amid a controversy over censorship related to the exhibition Sweet Dew at the Gwangju Museum of Art. This exhibition, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Biennial, is scheduled from 8 August to 9 November. The controversy arose after the removal of a painting by artist Hong Seong-dam, which portrays South Korean president Park Geun-hye facing families of victims from the April ferry disaster that resulted in numerous fatalities. The Gwangju city government, which contributed $2.4 million to this year's Biennial, pressured for the artwork's removal. In response, a collective of Okinawa-based Japanese artists withdrew their pieces, and head curator Yoon Beom-mo also resigned. Lee Yong-woo's resignation will take effect following the opening of the main exhibition, Burning Down the House, on 5 September. This situation underscores the ongoing conflict between artistic freedom and governmental control in South Korea's cultural landscape.