Exhibition: ‘Korea’s Last Carnival’, by Bruno Figueroa
For a long time, Itaewon held a unique place in Seoul as a space unlike any other. Situated in the heart of the city, on the north bank of the River Han, it was one of the first neighbourhoods to absorb Western cultural influences, owing to its proximity to the US military base. More importantly, it was one of the few places in Seoul where diversity, individuality and self-expression were openly embraced. It thus became the symbolic home of Halloween celebrations – a space where personal desires and imagination could be expressed and made visible.
On 29 October 2022, a tragedy occurred. In a narrow, sloping alleyway, 159 young people lost their lives, crushed by an uncontrollable crowd. A wave of grief swept across the entire country. Families, friends and countless citizens bear the weight of a profound collective trauma.
The photographs, taken the previous night by Bruno Figueroa, are more than a record of a Halloween celebration; they preserve a fleeting landscape in which the pressures of competition and the weight of social norms dissolve for a moment – a fleeting moment in which different identities and desires coexisted in freedom. They are traces of an exceptional reality once temporarily permitted in Korean society. And perhaps they remain as a memory of Korea’s last Carnival – a circumstance that can never again be recreated in the same way.
Information:
D. Luís I Foundation
Website: HERE
214815660
geral@fdl.pt
Organised by: D. Luís I Foundation, with the support of Cascais Town Council
