The Secretariat of the Association of North East Asia Regional Governments (NEAR), led by Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin, exhibited award-winning works from its Youth Art Contest at the 2025 China (Anyang) International Chinese Characters Conference held in Anyang, Henan Province, China, from April 20 to 22.
The exhibition featured artworks by students from Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia—selected from the 12th, 13th, and 14th contests.
The China (Anyang) International Chinese Characters Conference is an international event hosted by Henan Province. It has been held biennially in Anyang since 2015, the site where the oracle bone script was first discovered. This year’s conference, held under the theme “Characters, Civilization, Technology, and the Future,” attracted over 400 delegates from more than 50 countries, including France, Germany, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and China. The event also commemorated the 11th anniversary of the “List of 800 Commonly Used Chinese Characters for China, Japan, and Korea” and the 16th United Nations Chinese Language Day.
Meanwhile, the NEAR Youth Art Contest has been held annually from March to April since 2016, targeting young people from five NEAR member countries—China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. To date, approximately 3,000 students have participated in the contest.