▲ Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (L) speaks with Seong Ghi-hong, CEO and president of Yonhap News Agency, prior to the opening ceremony of a special photo exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in Seoul on Oct. 6, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ A poster for the special photo exhibition celebrating the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-U.S. alliance (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Yonhap exhibition-US alliance

(LEAD) Yonhap News holds photo exhibition to mark 70th anniv. of S. Korea-U.S. alliance

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead; UPDATES with more info throughout; ADDS photo, byline)

By Kim Seung-yeon and Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key newswire, held a special photo exhibition in Seoul on Friday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the South Korea-United States alliance this year.

The exhibition kicked off at the Sejong Museum of Art inside the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Gwanghwamun, running through Oct. 23.

Under the theme of "Together: 70 Years and Beyond," the exhibition will feature some 150 photos, visual materials and commemorative items encompassing military, economic cooperation and cultural and sports exchanges that illustrate the decadeslong history of the alliance.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Veterans Minister Park Min-shik attended the opening ceremony, as well as other government officials, including First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul.

"The photos represent our history and symbolically showcase the alliance between South Korea and the United States across various areas, including the military, economy, culture and more," Han said in his address at the ceremony.

Joy Sakurai, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, will be attending the exhibition, along with 50 other dignitaries from both countries.

Yonhap News will also publish a white paper on the development of bilateral relations to mark the alliance anniversary.

The white paper contains facts and information on the two countries' alliance over the past seven decades, and seeks to present a vision for its future.

The white paper, consisting of seven chapters, comes with 228 photos on the development of bilateral relations from Yonhap, the National Archives of Korea and the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul participated in the publication as a content production partner.

The South Korea-U.S. alliance, formally established in 1953 as a military alliance under the Mutual Defense Treaty, has developed and expanded into economic cooperation and exchanges in various areas including culture and sports.

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