Missile Painted with North Korean Flag... Sculpture at Nowon-gu Public Art Festival Sparks Controversy

Seven missile sculptures painted with flags of several countries, including North Korea

“Inappropriate for a public space” sparks controversy... covered with plastic

Nowon-gu: “A work different from the original plan was installed”

A missile-shaped sculpture painted with the North Korean flag was installed at a public art festival in Nowon-gu, Seoul, sparking controversy. The district office belatedly discovered that a work different from the original plan had been installed and covered the flag.

Nowon-gu opened its fall public art festival, "2026 Nowon Moonlight Walk: New Moon," on Oct. 16 in the area around Danghyeoncheon. Hosted and organized by the Nowon Cultural Foundation, the festival began in 2020. Nowon-gu and the Seoul Metropolitan Government are supporting it. This year, 22 artists are taking part, presenting around 30 works along an approximately 1.3-kilometer stretch from Danghyeon 1 Bridge to Yangji Bridge.

According to a Chosun Ilbo report on Oct. 17, the work at the center of the controversy is "Jeongbanhap" by artist Park Geonjae. More than 40 metal sculptures shaped like missiles, each about 1 meter tall, were installed on the banks of Danghyeoncheon. Seven of them were painted with the flags of various countries, including North Korea, Iran and China.

A missile-shaped sculpture painted with the North Korean flag was installed at a public art festival in Nowon-gu, Seoul, sparking controversy. Screenshot from social media.

The festival's artistic director said the work was intended to raise awareness of war and armed conflict. "The work conveys the idea that, with wars breaking out around the world and missiles and drones flying through the air, something like this could happen in our own neighborhood without warning," the director said.

However, some people said that displaying a missile painted with the North Korean flag in a public space used by residents as a walking path was inappropriate, regardless of the artist's intention. Requests to remove the work also continued.

As the controversy grew, Nowon-gu covered the flag portions of the sculptures with black plastic late on the night of Oct. 16. The district office said the work actually installed differed from the plan released in advance and that, as a result, it did not realize the sculptures had been painted with flags until just before the opening ceremony.

According to the original plan, only silver missile sculptures without the flags of any particular country were to be installed at the site. The district office said it discovered that the sculptures had been made and installed differently from the plan and requested revisions. A total budget of 620 million won was allocated to this year's festival.

Nowon Moonlight Walk is scheduled to run through Nov. 8.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.