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| Title | Korea CQ - Epilogue of Lecture on 'Antonio Corea - the First Korean in Europe' | ||||
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| Posted by | webmaster | Hit | 30923 | Date | 2016.11.24 |
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Dear Korea CQ members, I hope you are having a wonderful day. On November 22, Korea CQ had the lecture on ‘Antonio Corea – the First Korean in Europe’ by Dr. Tainam Jung, at the Cheongdam Financial Center's Hana Financial Investment . Members participated were H.E. Arslan H. Okçal, Pinar Okçal, Tainam Jung, Tae Sung Kim, Uloff Munster, Patricia Munster, Jungwha Choi, Isabelle Tricaud, Hyung Taek Hong, Min Sun Park, Ian Jeong, Jae Chul Sung, Didier Beltoise, Kwiyeon Kim, Hyun Ju Lee, Ellen Kim, Yang Sub Sim, and Crystal Park. 
CQ members arrived at the Center and enjoyed the delicious Korean dosirak food for dinner. 
After dinner, members had time to recall the enjoyable memories they had during Korea CQ 22 forums. Then followed the lecture by Dr. Tainam Jung, one of the best cultural artists of today who is distinguished in many different spheres including architecture, language, history, culture and art. As an Italian charted architect, Dr. Jung is fluent in seven languages, and has written a number of books based on his own travel experience to Italy and other European cities. 
His curiosity about Antonio Corea, who is considered to be the first Korean in Europe, started from the painting ‘A Man in Korean Costume’ by Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. This lecture covered the history of Italy and Korea from the medieval period to the present day. Dr. Jung mentioned: the history of Medici family, the ruler of Florence in the Renaissance period; Francesco Carletti, who travelled all around the world for the first time as an ordinary person without the support by the nation nor some businessmen; Antonio Corea, a Korean slave who moved from Japan to Florence with Carletti; and Albi, a small village in southern Italy where the Coreas still live together. 
Not only did Dr. Jung list the historical events, but also he explained the history of Renaissance arts and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, which made the lecture even deeper and richer. 
The wonderful pictures of Florence and Rome that Dr. Jung took himself during his travels were perfectly harmonized with the background music, composed by Italian composers, which pleased the members’ ears and eyes. 
Until now, there are a number of people whose family name is Corea living in Albi. The fact that no one knows for sure if they really are the descendants of Antonio Corea stimulated members’ curiosity, and the lecture ended with a Question & Answer session. We would like to thank Tae Sung Kim and Yang Sub Sim for kindly inviting Korea CQ to the Cheongdam financial Center's Hana Financial Investment, and Dr. Tainam Jung for his interesting and informative lecture. We also wish to thank all CQ members who attended the forum and enjoyed the evening with us, and Crystal Park for her outstanding interpretation help. Notes on the lecture are attached below. On December 6, Korea CQ will have the Winter Welcoming Alumni Gathering at the residence of Italian ambassador, and we are looking forward to your participation. Thank you for your continuous support. Best wishes, Korea CQ Seulah Kim 
For more pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/8swRgrEKitcNvgyC7 <November 22, Lecture Note> ‘Antonio Corea – First Korean in Europe?’ Lecture: Dr. Tainam Jung Firenze and Renaissance The Italian Renaissance began in the early fourteenth century and lasted until the late sixteenth century. The Medici Family ruled Florence during this period, who fully supported talented artists, leading to the rebirth of arts. For example, it was Cosimo il Vecchio who sponsored Brunelleschi to build a dome on the Cupola cathedral through an innovative method of construction in 1418. In 1471, Verrocchio came up with the idea of putting Lanterna on the dome for the first time in the history of architecture. Leonardo da Vinci was one of his assistants, and Michelangelo was another influential artist in the same period. The Statue of David was sculptured by Michelangelo to celebrate the establishment of the civil government when the Medici were expelled temporarily in the sixteenth century. The Medici returned to Florence, and in the 1600s, Maria de’ Medici, daughter of Ferdinando I, married to Henry IV of France. The opera ‘Euridice’ was created in celebration of this marriage, which is the first musical drama to survive to the present day. Francesco Carletti Francesco Carletti and his family accumulated enormous wealth by trading slaves, and he was the first ordinary person who travelled around the world without anysponsorship. Departing from Florence, he arrived in Japan in 1597 via Seville and Cartagena. During the Imjinwaeran Period (1592-1598) when Japan invaded Joseon, Carletti bought five cheap Korean slaves, who were prisoners of war, in Nagasaki and moved back to Florence. He released four of them on the way to Italy, and finally brought only one to Italy after robberies by pirates. He named this man ‘Antonio Corea’ and had him christened. According to historical documents so far, Antonio Corea is the first Korean to step foot on Europe. In his autobiography, Carletti clearly mentions that he bought Korean slaves in Japan, and only one of them, Antonio Corea,was living in Roma. Antonio Corea and Rubens The period when Rubens, one of the best Baroque artist from Flandre, was living in Roma almost coincides with the time when Antonio Corea was in Roma. This raised the possibility that the drawing 'Man in Korean Costume' might be Antonio Corea. But nothing has been evidently revealed and there still is a controversy on the reliability of the documents. The Coreas living in Albi There is a small village in the southern Italy called Albi where many people with their surname ‘Corea’ live. As it was proposed that they might be the descendants of Antonio Corea, some where invited to Korea and their DNA was examined. But in turned out that they do not have any Korean DNA in their body which disappointed some of the curiosity. It seems that foreign surnames such as Curia, Chorea, Correa became ‘Corea’ as the it was changed in Italian way. But it is true that Antonio Corea was the first Korean in Europe. It took three hundred years until the second Korean arrived in Europe; Lee Jun and other two special envoys, arrived at Hague in 1907. |
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