• International children’s peace art exhibition to be held at the National Assembly of South Korea and Imjingak

• Peace activists from Palestine, Sri Lanka, and beyond gather to affirm solidarity for hope

• Outcomes of the Drawing Hope exhibition in New York at the UN Headquarters to be shared and Korean Peninsula peace message to be amplified

• The values of peace and coexistence spotlighted through artwork by children from around the world

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Okedongmu Children in Korea (OKCK) will hold the international children’s peace art exhibition Drawing Hope: Children’s Art for Peace from June 23 to July 31, 2026, at the Lobby Gallery on the second floor of the National Assembly Members’ Hall and at the exhibition hall of the Korean Peninsula Ecological Peace Tourism Centre at Imjingak in Paju.

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This exhibition builds on the history of a peace art exchange that began between children from the two Koreas in 1996. Through the 'Hello, Friend!' campaign, children from the two Koreas exchanged their first greetings since division, and that spirit has since grown into Drawing Hope, an international peace project bringing together children from across the world.

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This exhibition has been particularly designed to share the outcomes of the Drawing Hope exhibition held at the UN Headquarters in New York in 2025 with citizens from South Korea, and to reflect once more on the meaning of peace on the Korean Peninsula. It is also expected to serve as an opportunity to build broader social awareness of the value and importance of peace through the voices of children in regions affected by war, conflict, and discrimination.

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Participating children come from five continents and 17 countries, including both Koreas, Japan, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, South Africa, Cambodia, Colombia, Lithuania, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Armenia, Palestine, and Sri Lanka. Approximately 200 works will be on display, including self-portraits, peace drawings, and collaborative pieces created by the children themselves.

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Since 1996, OKCK has carried out a wide range of peace exchange activities, including the “Hello, Friend!” campaign, inter-Korean children’s art exchanges, and four rounds of direct inter-Korean children’s meetings. For roughly 20 years from 2001, the organization also hosted Peace Art Exhibitions in East Asia, creating a space where children could experience the values of peace and coexistence. From 2023, Drawing Hope exhibitions have been held in Belfast in Northern Ireland, Cape Town in South Africa, Dublin in Ireland, and the UN Headquarters in New York, expanding an international peace network.

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The significance of this exhibition is heightened by its two venues. The National Assembly exhibition will serve as a public forum for sharing the values of peace and international solidarity with citizens from all walks of life, while the Imjingak exhibition will function as a cultural space for reflecting together on the reality of division and the future of peace.

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The opening ceremony at Imjingak on June 26 will be attended by peace activists from Japan, the United States, Northern Ireland, Cambodia, Colombia, Lithuania, Armenia, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and other countries. Key figures, including the Irish Ambassador to Korea, and members of the public will also gather to engage with the peace messages conveyed through the artwork of children from around the world. Following the opening ceremony, a roundtable discussion involving domestic and international peace activists and participants will take place, addressing the significance of Drawing Hope and the possibilities for international peace solidarity.

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A representative of OKCK stated: “Drawing Hope is a space of hope where children can reach across the walls of conflict and division built by adults, exchange greetings with one another, and imagine peace together.” They expressed hope that “this exhibition will serve as an occasion to reflect once more on the importance of peace on the Korean Peninsula, to empathize with the suffering of children around the world affected by war and conflict, and to share the values of peace and hope.”

The representative also spoke to the significance of Drawing Hope for peace on the Korean Peninsula: “‘Hello, Friend!’ began in a divided Korea in 1996, and thirty years on, it is spreading as a path through which children in conflict zones across the world share their hopes for peace. We carry the hope that this energy will one day come full circle, that children from the north and south of the Korean Peninsula will once again meet, exchange greetings, hold hands, sing, and dance together as they open the door to peace.”