WEBZINE ACC

On July 18, the winners of the "2022 ACC Democracy, Human Rights, Peace Illustration & Picture Diary Contest" were announced. There were 20 awards given in total to two categories, illustration and picture diaries, with 1 Grand Prize, 1 First Prize, 3 Excellence Awards, and 5 Submitter Awards for each category.

Contest award ceremony

The "ACC Democracy, Human Rights, Peace Illustration & Picture Diary Contest" began in 2018 to commemorate the May 18 Democracy Movement and to promote the values of democracy, human rights, and peace. The theme of this year's 5th event is "News from the Future: Democracy, Human Rights, Peace", a hopeful story of how the values of democracy, human rights, and peace are connected from Korea to Asia and the world.

159 submitted works underwent stringent reviews on subject pertinence, artistic value, public-friendliness, and promotional capability. The Grand Prize was awarded to "A light that illuminates both" (Um Da-mi) and "A dream future, protected by peace" (Han So-jeong). First Prize was awarded to "We are 5.18" (Maeng Hwa-young) and "We want peace" (Song Jae-hee).

After the awards ceremony on the 25th, I met the winners of the Grand Prize, Ms. Um Da-mi and Ms. Han So-jeong, to listen to their stories about their works.

# Grand Prize [Illustration]
"A light that illuminates both" - Um Da-mi

For the general illustration category, Ms. Um Da-mi's work "A light that illuminates both" was selected over many other excellent works. Ms. Um Da-mi, who is working as a character designer in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, began working with illustrations last year. This year, she won the honor of the Grand Prize in the "2022 ACC Democracy, Human Rights, Peace Illustration & Picture Diary Contest".

Grand Prize in Illustration, "A light that illuminates both" - Um Da-mi

Ms. Um Da-mi, winner of the Grand Prize in Illustration category

• What was your intent behind the creation of your work, "A light that illuminates both?"

  The people of Myanmar today hold candlelight vigils against military dictatorship, dreaming of democracy. Their candlelight reminds one of how Korean democracy managed to triumph against a long period of military dictatorship.
  For countries that struggle for democracy, the May 18 Democracy Movement and the 2016 Candlelight Protests are like lighthouses that lead boats on the night sea to light, and provide signs for their orientation. I hoped to capture the idea that solidarity and communication for democracy, over differences between nations, religion, and values, will become a light that illuminates each other in darkness, so that in the near future, the world will be filled with the light of democracy, human rights, and peace.

• What does “light” symbolize in “A light that illuminates both?”

  People use light across the world for different reasons. I hoped to find the valuable and precious meanings of commemoration, congratulations and welcome, and hopes for future well-being and happiness in light as their medium.

• What did you consider in the visualization of this theme?

  I imagined how the generations of future will cheer the people of today on as we build freedom and peace. Rather than a symbol of resistance and struggle, the people who hold the light right now commemorate the brilliant victory of democracy, with expressions of happiness. I hoped to capture a scene like a festival, where people maintain their traditions in coming to harmony.

• Can you tell us how it feels to win the award?

  As I worked, I thought long and hard about how I could visualize the theme of the contest. I feel very rewarded and happy that my work led to good results. I hope my work can help to promote the values of democracy, human rights, and peace across the world, however small it may be.

Ms. Um Da-mi's work depicts people from many different nations holding a source of light, whether it be lamp or candlelight. Through the idea of light as an illuminator of darkness, her work expresses the drive for democracy. It is implied that these lights will influence each other, and become larger together. Through that, the work revisits the values of democracy, human rights, and peace, and the goal to proliferate these values. In terms of expression, her work uses symbols and traditional clothes to represent the different nations, while using minimal movements and simple lines to create a greater emphasis on the theme.

# GrandPrize [Picture Diary]
"A dream future, protected by peace" - Han So-jeong

In the Picture Diary category, Ms. Han So-jeong, a fifth-grader in Gyeongju, won the Grand Prize. Ms. Han is a girl full of emotional acuity and imagination: On the drive from Gyeongju to Gwangju to claim her award, Ms. Han said to her father, "I wonder if it is raining in Gwangju because there are sad clouds here."

Grand Prize winner of the Picture Diary category "A dream future, protected by peace", Han So-jeong

Ms. Han So-jeong, the winner of the Grand Prize in Picture Diary category

• How did you come to create the picture, "A dream future, protected by peace?"

  Korea has a history where the people, starting with the movement for democracy in Gwangju, fought for democracy and human rights to achieve peace. But in Myanmar right now, people suffer from uncertainties in a situation that has not yet improved. I had imagined a story where news from the future reaches the world today, where peace that began in Korea with hopes of democracy, human rights, and peace had spread to the rest of Asia to achieve peace in Asia. The story begins with a letter from the future that arrived on May 18.

• Can you tell us more about what your work wanted to express?

  Letters are used to relay news. On May 18, 2022, a clear and peaceful day, a letter arrives. The letter is from the future. We open the letter, and we find the news that all Asian countries are now full of democracy and peace. What's more, Korea is at the center of it.
  There's nothing left but to smile in happiness in Asia of the future. Everyone lives with different languages and cultures, but they have achieved democracy as one. We congratulate Myanmar, who has managed to achieve democracy. In this Earth, doves of peace circle around, democracy, human rights, and peace overflow in the hearts of the people. And people resolve to never forget how precious democracy and peace are.

• Can you tell us how it feels to win the award?

  I was born after Korea achieved its democratization. So I know that the world I live in is one that protects democracy and human rights, but that peace was achieved by the efforts and sacrifices of many others.
  I learned how important democracy and human rights are as I learned more about May 18 and Myanmar, and I took those lessons to my heart through the picture diary.
  I don't think I will be able to forget this experience, as I think about how thankful I am to live in Korea, a place that achieved democratization as the radiating center of democracy and peace in the world.

Ms. Han's picture diary "A dream future, protected by peace" compresses an imaginary letter that came from the future into a single image. From the perspective of those who did not experience the May 18 Democracy Movement, this work seeks to share the values of democracy, human rights, and peace to other people of Asia. The work is notable for its positive energy, emanating from bright colors, and the capacity to express the messages that the artist sought to deliver. It is certainly a work that makes us look forward to the artist's development in the future.

# First Prize [Illustration]
"We are 5.18" - Maeng Hwa-young

Ms. Maeng Hwa-young became the winner of the First Prize in the illustration category with her work "We are 5.18." I met Ms. Maeng to listen to her intent, her description of her work, and how she feels as the winner of the award.

First Prize in Illustration category, "We are 5.18" - Maeng Hwa-young

• What was the intent behind your work, "We are 5.18?"

  We take freedom, human rights, and democracy today for granted, but to protect those values we take for granted, someone in the past had to make sacrifices against tyranny and oppression. If our rights that we enjoy today are in actuality things we owe to someone else in the past, I think our present is connected to our past.
  So I thought that the past, the present, and the future exist together in the work, and as long as we do not forget the uprising, and continue its spirit, we will in the end become May 18. So that's the reason why I gave the title, "We are 5.18" to my work. I used limited colors and tones so that the work can be recognizable to many others.

• What does May 18 represent, and how was it expressed in the work?

  Back in my university days, there was this one time when I was reading about Korean modern history, only to close the book. I could not go on, because of how angry I was at its inhumanity, how sad I was at the people who were sacrificed. May 18 I think is a major event of such anger and sadness, but in a different way, I also think that it is an event of pride.
  How terrible it must have been to go against dictatorship and oppression? But many continued to resist the inhumanity, and placed their lives on the line to do so. So everyone in the work are expressed in a faint shade of gold.

• Can you tell us how it feels to win the award?

  I am deeply thankful to the people of the ACC for bestowing this great award, and I am especially thankful to my mother. And for my father in heaven, whose spiritual legacy as a student representative during the democratization movements live on in my illustrations. I am deeply thankful.

Ms. Maeng Hwa-young's "We are 5.18" overlaps the prior generations who have experienced the May 18 Democracy Movement and the contemporary generations who live today and are heading for tomorrow. Through that, the work shows how the things we enjoy today are created by the sacrifices made by those in the past, and how one must continue to head toward the future while staying true to the spirits of May 18.

# First Prize [Picture Diary]
"We want peace" - Song Jae-hee

The First Prize in the picture diary category was awarded to "We want peace", a work by Ms. Song Jae-hee, a first-grader.

First Prize in the Picture Diary category, "We want peace" - Song Jae-hee

• What does this painting symbolize?

  This picture shows a dove, a symbol of peace, with people who were fighting a war on top, symbolizing how they came to reconcile after the war.

• What was on your mind as you worked on this picture?

  The Ukraine-Russia War is a world war where countries other than Ukraine and Russia fight in. I was thinking of a peaceful world where there is no more war, with everyone from different backgrounds fighting in this war riding together on a dove, a symbol of peace.

• Can you tell us how it feels to win the award?

  Firstly, I am very happy to receive such a great award. I hope the President of Russia will see this picture, change his heart, and end the war. Thank you.

Ms. Song Jae-hee's work <We want peace> is a picture depicting a dove, a symbol of peace, and three hands with different skin colors stroking the bird. It captures the wish for the dove to carry the people fighting in the war on its back, so that the people will reconcile and end the war. Despite her young age, Ms. Song's imagination and creativity are on display.

Works awarded in the "2022 ACC Democracy, Human Rights, Peace Illustration & Picture Diary Contest" can be found in the ACC website, and will be used as educational and promotional materials through various ACC channels in the future.

A representative of the Asia Culture Center commented, "we hope that the future contests will continue to feature works that are as sophisticated and excellent as the present competition" and "we hope that these works can deliver the values of democracy, human rights, and peace to the future generation."