Accra, Oct. 4, GNA - A one-week contemporary painting exhibition to commemorate 30 years of Korea/Ghana Diplomatic Relations opened in Accra on Thursday with a call on both countries to use the occasion to enrich the bilateral relations between them. The relationship should also generate additional momentum for the expansion of exchanges.

Mr. Wi Keyei-Chul, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Ghana, said since the establishment of diplomatic relationship in 1977, both countries had continued to expand and consolidate bonds of friendship, cooperation and partnership in all fields.

He said art was a source of much insight and involved a lot of creativity that depicted a variety of ideas about nature and human beings with its own inherent implications. The exhibition jointly organised by the Korean International Art Exchange Association and the Ghana Association of Visual Artists (GAVA) was under the theme: "The New Vision of Modern Korean Paintings". Mr Keyei-Chul said the exhibition would offer the public the opportunity to see and feel the artistic inspiration and interpretation on nature and life in both Korea and Ghana, thereby promoting a better understanding between the two countries and further deepening the friendship between the people.

"I believe this exhibition by the common language of art, will lay a solid basis for enriching our bilateral relations, and thus will generate further momentum for the expansion of exchanges as well," he said.

Professor Cha Young-Kyu, President of Korea International Art Exchange Association said apart from being part of the anniversary, the exhibition would provide a good opportunity to 'taste' each other's culture in spite of the geographical distance between the two countries. He said they knew Ghana for its preservation of beautiful natural environment and rich traditional culture just as Korea. "Preserving nature means the pursuit of beauty. Only when we preserve our nature well and try to live together with it, (that) we can live a happy life.

"It is exactly the same aim as what most artists eventually want to get through the diverse artistic processes," he said. Prof Young-Kyu said he hoped that the anniversary exhibition would maintain the close relationship between the two countries with the sharing of various cultural and artistic exchanges in addition to diplomatic and economic relations.

Mr. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations said as paintings depicted culture and values of people, he was of the hope that the exhibition would create further awareness of each other's culture.

He was grateful to the Korean government for its continuous support, especially in science and technology. "We are grateful for affording us the insight into your culture through paintings and I hope that at the end of the exhibition the two associations would learn a lot from each other," he said. Mr. Franklin Nii Glover, President of GAVA, said he hoped that the paintings would give pleasure to the public and thanked the Korean Embassy for the opportunity.

Activities marking the anniversary include painting exhibition, cultural performances, a film festival, street parade, a marathon race, a High School Soccer and Taekwondo Competition.