Youth Peony-themed Painting Event Held in South Korea

Recently, the youth-themed exhibition "Star Pact: Painting Youth Together," centered on peonies, was held at Hunan University in South Korea. As part of the "Confucius Institute Day" series of events, this exhibition leveraged the "Value Integration · Beauty Shared – NASA Charity Market" to establish a peony culture exhibition and experience zone, using peonies as a medium to foster cultural exchange between Chinese and Korean youth.

During the event, the Peony Culture Exhibition and Experience Area showcased the diverse charm of Heze peony. On the exhibition stand, works such as intangible cultural heritage paper cuttings, rope-woven peony, embroidery, and peony porcelain were displayed in a scattered manner, attracting many Korean teachers and students as well as local residents to stop and admire. Hand-painted round fans with peony paintings adorned the area, adding a strong atmosphere of traditional Chinese culture to the market. The peony flower cake tasting area was filled with fragrance, and peony-themed postcards were also popular, allowing guests to further perceive the rich connotation of peony culture through tasting and viewing.

Focusing on the theme of the event, various experience projects were set up on site, including painting peony fans, making bamboo wind chimes, crafting Song brocade refrigerator magnets, and creating lanterns. These attracted enthusiastic participation from Korean students, international students, and faculty members of the school. Participants diligently painted peony fans, made bamboo wind chimes, assembled lanterns, and showed great interest in the exquisite Song brocade refrigerator magnets. Teachers patiently guided and assisted everyone in completing their handmade crafts. Chinese and Korean teenagers also used fans as paper and pens as tools to meet friends, carefully outlining and coloring on blank round fans. One by one, peonies symbolizing prosperity, auspiciousness, and good friendship bloomed slowly at the tip of their pens.

During the activity, some students noticed the words "Stars as a promise, together painting youth" and "Mid-Autumn moon, Sino-Korean friendship" on the fan surface and actively inquired about their meanings from the teacher. The teacher explained the words in conjunction with the fan's patterns and text content, helping students understand these beautiful Chinese expressions. One student who participated in the experience said, "At first, I thought these handmade works were very beautiful and wanted to try it out. During the experience, the teacher also explained the meaning of the Chinese characters on the fan to us, which was both interesting and taught us new knowledge."

The event also simultaneously launched the "Peony in My Heart" youth painting initiative, encouraging young people from both countries to create works with peony as the theme. As an extension of the "Peony's Voice in Space" project for overseas youth, the submitted works will participate in the youth painting competition, extending the activity from on-site experience to post-event creation and building a new bridge for continuous interaction between young people from both countries.

It is reported that this event, with peony as a bond, integrates the "Confucius Institute Day" with the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, allowing overseas students to feel the warmth of the festival and the care from their motherland, while also allowing Korean youth to closely appreciate the charm of Chinese excellent traditional culture. This has further deepened mutual understanding and friendship between Chinese and Korean youth, adding a beautiful touch to the cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and Korea.

大众网记者 崔智琪 菏泽报道