Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025, the Designer of a New World Built by Craft

The 60-day Journey That Touches Over 400,000 People Comes to an End

• Closing ceremony on the 2^nd (Sun) at 19:00... Awards presented, including the Audience Choice Award
• Value of crafts reaffirmed in an era marked by loss… These 60 days captivated audiences, shed light on issues, and touched many hearts
• Resonance to continue in India and the UK: Countdown to the 15^th Cheongju Craft Biennale has already begun

CHEONGJU, South Korea, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The new world designed by Cheongju and built by crafts was both strong and beautiful. More than 400,000 people who stepped into this world were moved and awed and applauded the experience. The 60 days—1,440 hours or 86,400 minutes—of the Cheonju Craft Biennale 2025 have now come to an end.

The Cheongju Craft Biennale Committee (Chair: Lee Beomseok, Mayor of Cheongju, hereinafter referred to as "Committee") held the closing ceremony on November 2^nd (Sun) at 19:00 on the fifth floor of the main building of the Culture Factory, brining to a close the 60-day journey of the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025, which was held under the theme of "Building the World: Re_Crafting Tomorrow."

More than 300 attendees, including the Chair of the Committee and Mayor of Cheongju Lee Beomseok, Cheongju City Council Chairperson Kim Hyunki, and next generation honorary ambassadors as well as docents, staff, and volunteers whose dedication made this longest and largest Biennale a success, came together to bid farewell to the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025.

The evening began with a percussion performance by the Cheongju City Dance Company, followed by a dynamic dance performance by Viva Dance Studio that showcased the Biennale's 27-year history and a touching performance by the next generation honorary ambassadors, making this a fitting finale for this record-breaking Biennale. Moreover, a touching video that looked back upon the past 60 days of the Biennale was screened. The video conveyed gratitude and respect to everyone, from participating artists to the audience, who helped the Biennale shine.

During the closing ceremony, the Audience Choice Award was also presented for the artwork most loved by the audience who had visited over the 60 days. More than 2,400 visitors cast their votes via an online voting booth located within the hall, which showcased 99 pieces of artwork, including the Grand Prize winner and other award-winning pieces. Ahn Eunsun (South Korea) won a 99:1 competition for her textile artwork, "Breath, Rainforest Landscape_2503." Upon receiving the award, Ahn stated, "This award is even more meaningful because my work was chosen by the visitors who have seen it. I am truly grateful, as I believe art is completed the moment the audience empathizes with it." Both picturesque, like landscape paintings, and three-dimensional, this piece was lauded for capturing the energy of nature and offering a tranquil pause. Ahn was presented with a commemorative plaque and a cash prize of two million won.

- Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025: 60 Days That Captivated Audiences, Shed Light on Issues, and Touched Many Hearts

• A World-Class Craft Festival of Unprecedented Magnitude in Terms of Duration, Global Participation, and Exhibition Scale

Having run for 60 days, the longest in its history, this craft festival was the greatest of all time, with 72 participating countries and 23 simultaneous exhibitions across multiple venues. The Biennale's main exhibition, competition, and special exhibitions featured over 2,500 artworks from more than 1,300 artists. When combined with the 12 affiliated exhibitions organized by national and private art museums and galleries, those statistics double.

Beyond its scale, the Cheongju Craft Biennale, held under the theme "Building the World: Re_Crafting Tomorrow," was truly world-class, given its curatorial depth, the caliber of the artwork, and the spirit of the age and messages conveyed. In an era of impoverished abundance, in which luxury and disposable products coexist, and of crises and losses, wherein disasters are born from development and growth, the Biennale's meditation on the "value of craft," which reflects on the environment, contemplates the pain of the times, and envisions a tomorrow with the community, resonated deeply with both experts of related fields and the general public. Many artworks were featured in the media and on social media: Hong Limhoe's "Black Mountain" heals the scars of a great wildfire through craft; Katiya Trabulsi's "The Perpetual Identities Series" and Yudi Sulistyo's "SEJARAH YANG HILANG (The Lost History)" present a beautiful yet haunting warning on war and lethal weapons; Kang Jinju's "Rice x Bowl" illustrates a community through an image of a bowl of rice; and Suzy Vickery's "Sea Series" reinterprets the issue of disposable products and waste into a fairytale-like and beautiful scape.

Experts stated that "in an era in which technology supplants the human hand and algorithms encroach upon human senses, the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 offers the most craft-centered answers and alternatives to the issue of climate change and disintegration of the community by asking the questions 'What does being humane mean?' and 'What is the essence of sustainability?'." They also agreed that "the Biennale offers more than simple artwork. It asks questions that craft poses about life and reveals wisdom that shapes tomorrow. The Biennale in itself is the present and future of global craft."

The high praise from experts for the main exhibition and all other exhibitions, including the Thailand Guest Exhibition and the Jogye Order Supreme Patriarch Seongpa Zen Art Exhibition, made the Biennale a destination to visit for all related universities across the country, from Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Busan to Gwangju and Jeju. Additionally, the word of mouth generated by social media about the Biennale's great photo spots naturally contributed to its success, driving attendance past the initial goal of 350,000 people to well over 400,000.

The Biennale also garnered the attention of prominent figures from Korea and abroad, adding to its resonance. Beginning with visits from former President Moon Jae-in and his wife early in its run, the Biennale was also attended by the Cultural Attaché of the French Embassy, Pierre Morcos; President of the Ateliers d'Art de France, Stéphane Galerneau; Mayor of Wuhan, China, Cheng Yongwen; Mayor of Wroclaw, Poland, Jacek Sutryk; and leaders from various cities that attended the World Crafts Council meeting. Major cultural and artistic institutions, such as the Ministries of Culture of Kyrgyzstan and Thailand, the Whitworth Art Gallery in the UK, the Tiraz Center in Jordan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Marunuma Art Park in Japan, as well as craft cities, including Jingdezhen, China, and Kanazawa, Japan, visited the event and initiated discussions for future collaboration. This showcased Cheongju's status and reputation as an international cultural partner.

• Citizens, Local Cultural Community, Companies, and Government Came Together to Co-Create an Open Biennale

Another unprecedented achievement of the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 is that the citizens, local cultural community, companies, and government joined hands with the cultural circle to create an open biennale.

Through collaboration with 12 national and private art museums and galleries, such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju, the Biennale tightly "wove" together the entire Cheongju region with culture. Additionally, partnership exhibitions with leading corporations, such as Hyundai Motor Company, Genesis Cheongju, and Hyundai Department Store Chungcheong Branch, expanded the horizons for crafts and culture. The stamp tour with Aero K and the nationwide promotion by Emart24 became exemplary models of corporate collaboration projects.

A total of 50 organizations, from the crafts and culture industry to diverse local institutions and civic groups, joined hands to ensure the success of the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025. Educational institutions, such as the Chungcheongbukdo Office of Education, were reliable supporters of the "Children's Biennale." Thanks to their support, the "Children's Biennale" achieved a 100% reservation rate, establishing it as a stimulating excursion venue and a new model for craft education.

The Korean government was also a steadfast partner in the success of the Biennale, as it had designated the Cheongju Craft Biennale and the Culture Factory as part of the "Local 100 Cultural Attraction" representing South Korea. Through the Korea Art Festival, the government extended support, from ticket subsidy programs and support for emerging artists to the development of art travel packages. The presales of phase 1 tickets to the 2025 Biennale completely sold out, and registration for the art travel packages closed earlier than anticipated, which was the best response to the government's trust.

• The Culture Factory Becomes the Hub of Global Craft Culture

The Culture Factory, the Biennale's main exhibition venue, also gained international praise. The Culture Factor was originally a tobacco manufacturing plant that, from 1946 to the late 1990s, employed more than 3,000 workers and produced over one billion cigarettes annually, leading the modern economy of Cheongju. This venue is a cultural space reborn through Korea's first economy-driven urban regeneration project. Cultural facilities are clustered here, including the main building of the Culture Factory, where the main exhibition was held, the Cheongju Advanced Cultural Industry Complex, the Dongbu Warehouse, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cheongju. This is Cheongju's landmark, one that has been awarded a Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award as part of the "Local 100" project.

Jacek Sutryk, Mayor of Wrocław, Poland, praised the 2025 Biennale, saying, "Cheongju's unique urban philosophy has transformed an abandoned industrial area into such a magnificent cultural space. It sends an extraordinary message not only to Poland but to other countries as well." Former President Moon also expressed his admiration, saying, "It is extremely meaningful to see how the old tobacco factory has been greatly transformed into a cultural space called the Culture Factory." Snejana Todorova Fedotova, head of the Bulgarian press delegation visiting Korea on a reporting assignment, stated with awe, "Everything is astounding and world-class, from the Culture Factory's history and scale to the artistic quality of the pieces and the messages portrayed through the exhibition."

The Cultural Factory, now established as a cultural landmark not only locally but also nationally and internationally, is located in Cheongju. Cheongju has demonstrated its potential to transform and develop a city through culture. From being at the heart of K-craft to the center of global craft culture, Cheongju has become the protagonist of this new history.

• Closing the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025: Not an End, but a New Beginning

Over its unprecedented 60-day run, with 72 participating countries, the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 sparked unprecedented attention and news, captivating more than 400,000 visitors with the power of craft.

On November 2, 2025, its 60-day journey came to an end. Nonetheless, the Biennale's spirit and resonance will continue into 2027, as one of its special exhibitions, "Hyundai Translocal Series: Entangled and Woven," will embark on a touring exhibition in India and the UK. As part of Hyundai Motor Company's new art partnership, this exhibition first premiered at the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025. Using textiles as its primary medium, the exhibition intricately intertwines tradition and modernity as well as the cultures of diverse countries and regions, much like the wefts and warps in weaving, and represents translocal artistic collaboration. This project was co-curated by the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 and the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, UK, in collaboration with the National Museum of Handicrafts and Hastkala Academy in India.

Setting sail from the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025, this project will travel through India in 2026 and through the UK in 2026–2027. The countdown to the 15^th Cheongju Craft Biennale scheduled for 2027 has already begun.

Chairman of the Committee and Mayor of Cheongju Lee Beomseok stated that "the success of the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 is evidence of Cheongju's unwavering dedication to crafts for 27 years" and that "although the Cheongju Craft Biennale 2025 ended today, Cheongju's mission as a global leader in crafts to share the value of craft and build a better future has just begun."

SOURCE The Organizing Committee of the Cheongju Craft Biennale(South Korea)