Cultural Insight

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"Mal-mo-e: The Secret Mission," a film that highlights the importance of preserving the Korean language has been screened in Russia. This and more on today's cultural news

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[Soundbite] "You don't know the Korean alphabet, do you?"

"Mal-mo-e: The Secret Mission," a film that highlights the importance of preserving the Korean language has been screened in Russia. "Mal-mo-e" was selected as the opening film for an annual event in the country known as the Year of Cinema: Korean Films in Russia. Local audiences flocked to a movie theater in downtown Moscow to see this historical movie. The day's event was attended by some 1,000 people, including the film's director Eom Yu-na, the president of the production company, and figures from the Russian art and literary world. Sponsored by the Korean Cultural Center in Russia and the Russian Cinematographers Union, the event was an opportunity to promote Korean cinema and culture to the locals. The film festival organizers said that, since this year is the centennial of the establishment of Korea's first provisional government in the Maritime Province of Russia, they selected "Mal-mo-e" as the festival's opening film. An appropriate choice as the movie follows the efforts of the Korean Language Society to preserve the Korean language during the oppressive Japanese colonial era. This is the painting that was sold for a record 93 million US dollars at a New York art auction last year. The artist of this record-setting piece is David Hockney, the world's most expensive living artist. Now his works have arrived in Korea. This exhibition, scheduled through August 4th, was co-organized by the Seoul Museum of Art and Tate from the U.K. It is also the first large-scale Hockney solo exhibit to be held in Asia. The exhibit showcases a wide range of artworks representing his artistic journey, from his debut in the U.K leading up to the present. The Museum presents some 130 pieces of artworks, including paintings, drawings, and prints. Included in the displayed items are some of his most notable works, such as "A Bigger Splash" and "Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy."