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Departing Mexican ambassador had an eye for Korea

Published: 15 Jun. 2022, 15:50 Updated: 16 Jun. 2022, 11:49

Mexican Ambassador to Korea Bruno Figueroa, far left, and Lee Seung-ro, head of Seongbuk District, far right front, view the exhibition ″A Tribute to Korea″ by Figueroa at THE Yehyang Jae Cultural Center in central Seoul on Tuesday. [ESTHER CHUNG]

Open through next Tuesday at Yehyang Jae Cultural Center in Seongbuk District, central Seoul, is a special exhibition that Mexican Ambassador to Korea Bruno Figueroa dedicated to the Korean people after his five years of service.

“There is a saying in Spanish, ‘Beware of your wishes because they can come true,’” Figueroa told an audience at Yehyang Jae on Tuesday. “I say this because I had the idea quite some time ago, that [by] the day I leave Korea I would like to present something as a gratitude to this country that received us for five long years.”

″Seoul (autumn)″ by Bruno Figueroa [BRUNO FIGUEROA]

Since April 2017, Figueroa has worn the hat of the top Mexican envoy in Seoul, but there were a few moments during his daily routines when he would don a different hat.

“Many of you have seen me in the last few years going everywhere, even in meetings in Seoul, with my camera,” he said. “That’s resulted in thousands of pictures, all testimonies of what I saw and experienced in Korea.”

Thirty of those shots, selected with the help of professional photographer K.T. Kim, are exhibited at Yehyang Jae Cultural Center through June 21 for the special exhibition, “A Tribute to Korea.” The exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Members of the diplomatic corps in Seoul and other guests and friends of Mexican Ambassador Bruno Figueroa celebrate the opening of his photo exhibition, ″A Tribute to Korea,″ at Yehyang Jae Cultural Center in central Seoul on Tuesday. [ESTHER CHUNG]

The photos show candid moments Figueroa caught with his camera like a monk hitting a huge drum at the Jogyesa Temple at the approach of dawn, or a group of Korean middle-aged ladies, or ajummas, smiling with their eyes above face masks.

″Daul's belly″ by Bruno Figueroa. [BRUNO FIGUEROA]

The signature skyline of Seoul of both skyscrapers and hanok, Korean traditional houses, as well as unending rows of apartments, appear in his photos, in addition to many sites outside of Seoul, including the islands of Geoje, Sorok and Anmyeon.

“It is an honor to host the ambassador’s photos at Yehyang Jae, a local center where we also teach young students about decorum and respect for elders,” said Lee Seung-ro, mayor of Seongbuk District. “His photos offer a glimpse into the culture and society of Korea. I hope that more ambassadors and foreign residents in Korea will be able to enjoy more of what Korea has to offer.”