Series of performances and exhibitions focusing on individuals from the North take place in South Korea

With the upcoming summit putting a spotlight on inter-Korean relations, artists are using plays and exhibitions to help the public better understand the lives of people from the North. SEO Eun-kyung with the report. There's a lot to focus on North Korea's politics in the run up to the upcoming summit. But what about the regular people in and from the North? South Korea's cultural scene has put the lives of ordinary North Koreans in the spotlight. Local artists are using plays and exhibitions to shed light on how people from North Korea live. A dance drama performance called "Island" looks at North Korean defectors living in the South. This solo dance performance starts by calling North Korean defectors onto the stage to hear them out. There are a lot of North Korean defectors in our neighborhood. I planned this performance with the hope that we can get along with them. The gestures made on stage represent emotions and situations that North Korean defectors go through when adjusting to their new community. Theater actors have also launched the Inter-Korean Theater Exchange Committee in July with the aim of exchanging play actors between the two Koreas. Meanwhile, a series of exhibitions depicting the lives of individual North Koreans have taken place in Korea, including one in the southwest city of Gwangju. Photographer Wang Guofeng brought these unknown photos and videos taken in the North to the South Korean public. From 2011, he made visits to North Korea five times and took photos and videos of ordinary people there. The artist hopes to shift people's attention away from the North Korean regime, and towards the individuals who live there. To do so, the artist zoomed in on facial expressions of people in political rallies and took pictures of ordinary citizens such as factory workers, teachers and students. Through the art community's continued efforts, South Koreans can better understand the lives of ordinary people from North Korea.Seo Eun-kyung, Arirang News