Uwe Schmelter

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Uwe Schmelter (* 1945 in Greifswald ) is a German cultural manager . He was the regional director of the Goethe Institute in East Asia . He lived in Seoul for a long time and is an honorary citizen of the South Korean capital. Today he is President of the German-Korean Society in Berlin .

Life

Schmelter studied German, art history and musicology in Bonn. He came to Japan in July 2005 and took over the management of the Goethe Institute in Tokyo . He previously worked in Manila, Copenhagen and Seoul.

He was responsible for the Germany Year in Japan . The official opening of Germany in Japan was on April 4, 2005, which was under the patronage of the Japanese Crown Prince and Federal President Horst Köhler . In Roppongi Hills, one of the most modern districts of Tokyo, a mixture of culture and lifestyle was presented. On this day Köhler and the Japanese Prime Minister Jun'ichirō Koizumi also opened the exhibition of the United Buddy Bears under the direction of Schmelter , which ended with the Golden Week in May 2005. A total of around 1,600 events took place across Japan. On average, there were more than four events with a German connection every day. Three quarters of them were cultural events.

In 2004, under Schmelter's direction, a reading room was opened at the Goethe Institute in Pyongyang . When only about 50 visitors were allowed into the reading room in the first three months of 2007, it was closed again in November 2009. Contract violations on the part of the North Korean side, which only allowed cadres loyal to the regime to have unhindered access to existing literature, were named as the cause.

Awards

Schmelter is an organizer, consultant and juror at international film festivals. He has received numerous awards as a cultural mediator, especially between South and North Korea. He is an honorary citizen of Seoul. Schmelter received the José Rizal Prize of the Philippines and the Federal Service Cross on ribbon .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arte Journal March 9, 2013 ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.arte.tv
  2. ↑ Information: Goethe-Institut Tokyo, Dr. Uwe Schmelter
  3. ↑ United Buddy Bears in Tokyo, 2005
  4. ^ Germans in Japan: Dr. Uwe Schmelter, September 2006
  5. ↑ FAZ.NET : North Korea: Goethe-Institut closes reading room
  6. ↑ Interfilm Festival, 13.-18. November 2012
personal data
SURNAME Schmelter, Uwe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cultural manager
DATE OF BIRTH 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Greifswald