[Gyeonggi delegation visits North and South America ②] DMZ Photo Exhibition hosted in Washington, D.C.

◇ Governor Kim promoted the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Gyeonggi Province among US Congress members in Washington, D.C., the heart of American politics. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

Governor Kim promoted the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Gyeonggi Province to US Congress members in Washington, D.C., the heart of American politics.

During the visit to the US, he co-hosted a DMZ photo exhibition, entitled TWO LINES, with US Congressman Charles Rangel (New York’s 13th Congressional District) on March 25 (local time), and emphasized the necessity for Korean reunification to over 100 people including US Congress members, legislative staff and Korean residents.

The exhibition, which took place at a conference room in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C., initially attracted around 20 visitors including U.S. Congress members and advisers. The number of visitors then started to gradually increase, with over 100 visitors coming to see the vivid photographs of the suffering caused by the DMZ and the division of the Korean Peninsula as well as the wonderful natural environment of the DMZ.

Governor Kim expressed his gratitude by clasping the hand of Congressman Rangel, who is a veteran of the Korean War. He also volunteered to act as a temporary curator for related US Congress officials who came to the exhibition, providing them with explanations about each photograph.

“We really appreciate having such a good opportunity to show the history of the division of Korea as well as Germany to members of the US Congress,” said Ed Royce, Chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, to Governor Kim.

“Global attention and expectations for the TWO LINES exhibition have been greater than I’d expected,” said Governor Kim. “This is an ideal opportunity to deliver a message of hope to global society that the DMZ, a symbol of division and despair, can be transformed into a land of reconciliation, life and communication.”

The TWO LINES exhibition sheds new light on the past, present and future of the Korean DMZ and the German Grünes Band (German Green Belt and former border between the East-West Germany) through the eyes and storytelling skills of internationally renowned photographers.

Starting with the opening event in Washington, D.C., the exhibition continues in the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery in April, followed by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville from May to July, and then in Germany in September to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

◇ Governor Kim visited the Korean Bell Garden in the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Virginia. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

That day, Governor Kim received an appreciation plaque from the US-based North Korea Freedom Coalition Forum, and was entreated to take a more active role in North Korean human rights.

He also visited the Heritage Foundation, a think tank for American diplomacy and politics in Washington, D.C., and met with founder Edwin Feulner and Northeast Asia Senior Research Fellow Bruce Klingner to discuss Korean reunification issues.

Prior to that meeting, Governor Kim visited the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to share his thoughts on Korean reunification, North Korean human rights, and Sino-Korean relations with CSIS Senior Vice President Michael Green.

The CSIS, a bipartisan international research center founded in 1962, is a powerful think tank with 220 doctoral level researchers who perform strategic research on world politics, economy and safety.

“Human rights are essential for our lives, and the North Koreans and Chinese also need those rights,” said Governor Kim. “It would be a sin to humanity if we ignore that. Military factors are important for the US in displaying leadership in Northeast Asia, but the US also has core values in terms of human rights and democracy.”

ⓒGyeonggi G-News | Park Gwan-sik malbut@kg21.net 

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201403260916217055C048&s_code=C048