[INTERVIEW] Google Arts and Culture brings DMZ to virtual life

Google Arts and Culture's new interactive online exhibit, "Korea's Demilitarized Zone," was unveiled on Wednesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. Courtesy of Google Korea

Immersive online exhibit allows access to the world's last Cold War frontier

By Park Han-sol

The 250-km-long and 4-km-wide strip that has divided the two warring Koreas since the signing of the 1953 Armistice Agreement ― better known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) ― is a geographical paradox.

It has been designated as a buffer zone that is off-limits to both sides, yet it is one of the most heavily guarded areas in the world.

While the landscape, fortified by barbed-wire fences, armed border patrols and minefields, serves as glaring proof of the lasting political tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the lack of human activity in the area has allowed wildlife to flourish with virtually no interference, making it an ecosystem unlike any other.

The world's last Cold War frontier has also inspired a long line of contemporary artists, including heavyweights like Nam June Paik and Lee Bul, who attempted to reexamine the war-ravaged swathes of green as an open stage for cultural dialogue that could transcend the geopolitical boundaries of the 1950-53 Korean War.

A new interactive exhibit by Google Arts and Culture (GAC), "Korea's Demilitarized Zone," unveiled on Wednesday, brings this complicated strip of land into the limelight.

Simon Rein, senior program manager of Google Arts and Culture / Courtesy of Google Korea

The project was born from the platform's three-year-long collaboration with nine Korean research and cultural institutions ― including the War Memorial of Korea, United Nations Peace Memorial Hall, DMZ Museum and DMZ Botanic Garden ― according to Simon Rein, GAC's senior program manager.

It is the tech giant's first project launched to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement, following its partnership deal signed with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in January.

"The Demilitarized Zone and the Korean War are a very important part of Korea's (modern) history. So when we thought about what projects we could do in Korea with our partners, the topic felt like a natural choice," Rein said in an interview at Google Korea's office in southern Seoul the day before the website's launch.

"Exploring the DMZ is both a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire agreement and a continuation of our ongoing efforts to show the richness and diversity of Korean culture."

Launched in 2011 with an aim to make arts and culture accessible at one's fingertips, GAC has been partnering up with leading research and cultural institutions around the world to digitize their curated collections. For instance, its collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) birthed the now-iconic digital recreation of Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night," which offers an unimaginably close-up view of every brushstroke and paint crack.

The platform has previously showcased different aspects of Korea's cultural heritage on four occasions ― the National Museum of Korea's artifacts, Jeju Island's natural beauty and modern art master Lee Ungno's oeuvre, among others.

A screenshot from Google Arts and Culture's online exhibit "Korea's Demilitarized Zone"

Using GAC's Street View, 3D and other immersive digitization technologies, "Korea's Demilitarized Zone" features some 5,000 assets of historical archive and media that are stretched across 60 different mini-stories ― all curated by its partnering Korean organizations.

The project dissects Korea's ideologically charged border regions via three lenses: history, nature and art.

Viewers can trace the history of the Korean War through digitally restored state-level and personal archival records ― including the photographs of unsung heroes like the student volunteer forces and sickbed memoirs of the late veteran Lee Hak-soo ― along with the events that ultimately led to the ceasefire on July 27, 1953.

There is even a birth story behind Busan's local specialty called milmyeon, or wheat noodle soup. The dish was invented as a cheaper alternative to naengmyeon ― cold noodle soup ― by the impoverished refugees who had to flee from Seoul to the southern port city during the war.

A virtual, 360-degree hike across Yongneup, the only high moor in South Korea, nestled within the DMZ / Screenshot from Google Arts and Culture's "Korea's Demilitarized Zone"

In the section dedicated to the DMZ's untouched natural areas, GAC's technological experiments are particularly noticeable.

Here, viewers can take a virtual, 360-degree hike across hard-to-access spots tucked away in the border region, such as Yongneup, the only high moor in South Korea, and Punchbowl ― all accompanied by the sounds of wind, water, and birds recorded on location.

An interactive 3D look at five endangered animals and nearly 1,000 wildflower images from the DMZ Botanic Garden's archive, which have never been made available online, further offers a glimpse into the frontier's unique floristic and faunal diversity.

"We try to find the right technology for whatever we do, making sure that the content is being served to users in the right way," Rein noted.

The unusual inclusion of artists, who have striven to creatively imagine the present and future of the DMZ, and the "Real DMZ Project," a decade-long research-based exhibition series curated by director Kim Sun-jung, into the online show adds another intriguing layer to the dialogue surrounding the border area, he continued.

"When it comes to chapters that include trauma and very difficult parts of human history, artists are particularly important," he said. "And adding another perspective that is maybe not as common, I think that is actually a good thing. Because it's something that adds a layer on the topic that not many people have thought about yet."

A screenshot from Google Arts and Culture's online exhibit "Korea's Demilitarized Zone"

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, museums worldwide have adopted sweeping changes in their digital practices. Many were previously late adopters of technological tools for fear of losing visitors to their virtual counterparts.

But Rein does not believe in the idea of a zero-sum game between the physical and the digital.

"What has been proven is that the digital doesn't really replace the (physical) experience. If you see 100 images of the Eiffel Tower, when you are in Paris, chances are you probably want to go there and see for yourself. And it's a similar (case) for museums," he said, adding that digital assets are meant to serve as an enhancement to the experience enjoyed at brick-and-mortar institutions, not as an outright substitution.

"Now the conversation has shifted… (It's no longer about whether) we need the digital, but more about what is the right way of using digital technologies to tell a certain story."

With this in mind, GAC's senior program manager highlighted that "Korea's Demilitarized Zone" will be able to provide the DMZ with a continuous cultural narrative that can resonate with the popular mind.

While it is important to publish images of any historic archive online to reach a broader audience, how it becomes truly meaningful for people is when these digital assets are used to create stories, he noted.

"That's when you actually learn something. And this is what this website tries to do with all these curated stories. I think in this way, probably the only place online that has such a kind of curated experience about the (DMZ is here)."

Plus, unlike a physical book or an exhibition, the online show will be there for everyone to access and experience indefinitely.

"This means that if other cultural institutions see the site and decide they have a relevant story to share as well, we can work with them and add (the content here). So the site can keep growing," he said.

"Korea's Demilitarized Zone" is available on GAC's web and mobile platforms in English and Korean.