This summer, students from the DSU Division of Design visited the village of Haemaru in Jindong-myeon, Paju City, Gyeonggi Province, which is in the civilian-controlled area of the DMZ, to conduct the “DMZ Haemaru Village Design Art Village Project.”

The project, conducted this year from July 22 to 30, is part of an annual volunteer effort that has been carried out for the last 10 years by the DSU Public Design and Lighting Associates Institute, which is headed by Division of Design Professor An Byeong-jin.

This year, as the DMZ is now becoming officially recognized as an ecological protection area, the emphasis of the village design work undertaken by the students was on environmental protection, under the theme of ‘Ecological Forest Museum.’

The theme was incorporated into signs, symbols, and sculptures scattered throughout Haemaru’s various restaurants, cafes, and galleries, with the intention that the whole village could experience it.

In addition, 21 works from last year’s theme of ‘A Peace Gallery in the DMZ’ were incorporated into this year’s ‘2019 DMZ Eco Poster Exhibition Zone,’ held in the same warehouse specially converted last year for the purpose of hosting exhibitions.

Preparations for this year’s exhibition also included the completion of the installation of special green floor printing for the convenience of visitors to the gallery.

In 2010, when the project first began, a village warehouse was converted into an area with art walls, onto which various forms of sculptures were installed in subsequent years; the revitalization of local parks has also been promoted. Before the creation of last year’s exhibition hall from a disused warehouse, in 2016 an unused space was used to create the ‘Sitting and Going Café’ as a resting place for residents and soldiers, who comprise the bulk of the village’s visitors, and in 2017 a further empty lot was converted into a public resting spot.

Professor An Byeong-jin said, “We are very proud of the small contributions this project has made to promoting both peace between North and South Korea and the value of our shared humanity.
Over the past ten years, the project has become an important element of positive change in the village and has played a great role in opening and furthering communication between residents, visitors, and volunteers.”