The “Freedom village” is the sole South Korean settlement located in the southern part of the Demilitarized Zone that cuts across the Korean peninsula. Originally named Daeseong-dong, the village has been isolated since the Korean War armistice agreement in 1953. When the residents in the village turn 32, they have to decide whether to remain or leave. The exhibition “MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2021: An installation view of “MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2021: Moon Kyun

Arts & Design Sept. 5, 2021

Sculptor Hyun Nahm is the youngest artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Atelier Hermes in Seoul, the exhibition space run by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermes. The 31-year-old artist believes sculptural objects can express sceneries as do the stones that maintain their own characters influenced by the surrounding environment. The sculptures Hyun is showcasing at the exhibition “Burrowing at the Bottom of a Rainbow” are produced with a negative casting technique using mater

Arts & Design Sept. 1, 2021

The government has earmarked 5.8 billion won ($5 million) in next year’s budget for managing and exhibiting artworks donated by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. A total of 3.3 billion won has been allocated toward research personnel, equipment and facilities as well as establishing a database to manage the artworks, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. Another 2.5 billion won will be used to organize a special exhibition slated to take place at the National

Culture Aug. 31, 2021

The Demilitarized Zone established after the Korean War (1950-1953) runs across the Korean Peninsula. Although the 2-kilometer-wide strip has existed for decades, the area has been an imaginary place for many, especially those who have not experienced the war. Left untouched for decades, the DMZ has 13 observatories where civilians can get a glimpse of the border line under strict vigilance. Over the past five years, artist Jung Yeon-doo and theater director Surya visited the observatories mo

Arts & Design Aug. 31, 2021

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has launched a project with art institutes in Asia to promote art globally, such as online virtual reality programs and a Korean art website in English, so audiences can enjoy them from the comfort of their own homes during the pandemic lockdown. A subscription-based online streaming service, “Watch and Chill,” was jointly launched with the M+ West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Tha

Culture Aug. 29, 2021

AuxeticBreath, an interactive new media installation that visualizes the change in perception about humans’ breathing during the pandemic, was announced as the winner of the “Red Dot” at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2021.　 Interactive designer Youn Hye-jun observed the interaction with collective breaths and visually rendered the rhythmic patterns of human breath using soft robotics and auxetic structures. Emitting different lights, the oval-shaped silicon objects move a

Arts & Design Aug. 27, 2021

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is showcasing the first major exhibition of Korean portraits from past to present, exploring the identity and legacy of Korean history and culture. Titled “Likeness and Legacy in Korean Portraiture,” the exhibition kicks off on Friday and runs through Nov. 29, featuring a variety of Korean portraitists from the Joseon era (1392-1910) to works reflecting today’s selfie culture. “What makes Likeness and Legacy unique is that we mov

Arts & Design Aug. 27, 2021

When the news spread that Banksy’s works would be shown in Seoul at the exhibition “The Art of Banksy - Without Limits,” it became one of the most anticipated shows. The exhibition kicked off Friday at Seouliteum in eastern Seoul after touring 11 countries since 2016. A total of 25,000 tickets were sold in preorders before the opening, reflecting the popularity of the works and curiosity about the mysterious artist. Soon after the show’s opening, visitors began postin

Arts & Design Aug. 26, 2021

Three museums in Korea have come together to find a way to persevere amid the pandemic through a new online platform aimed at audiences from home and abroad. ARKO Art Center, Art Sonje Center and Nam June Paik Art Center have launched the website “Kind Neighbors,” which will operate as an online common place for three months. Artists, curators and experts from both inside and outside the art world will join the new platform.  “Amid the urgent priorities of the social

Arts & Design Aug. 24, 2021

Installation artist Yang Hae-gue will unveil her paper collage series titled “Mesmerizing Mesh” on Tuesday at Kukje Gallery in central Seoul, a year after she showed a glimpse of her paper artwork at her solo exhibition held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The “Mesmerizing Mesh” collage series is created with hanji, Korean mulberry paper, and inspired by “kkasugi,” or sacred paper cutting, which refers to shaman paper objects o

Arts & Design Aug. 23, 2021

As soon as the Seoul Museum of Craft Art opened in late July near Insa-dong, a popular tourist destination in central Seoul, visitor slots filled up quickly. That was an indication of how long people had waited for a museum dedicated to Korean crafts. The country’s first craft museum occupies the former site of Poongmoon Girls’ High School in Jongno-gu, which relocated to Gangnam-gu in 2017 and became a coed school.  Some of the school buildings have been renovated and turned

Arts & Design Aug. 21, 2021

The British Council Korea and Korea Foundation announced on Friday the winning project on climate change after reviewing projects proposed by cross-border teams from South Korea and the UK. The winning project, “The Greenverse,” was jointly suggested by the Art Center Nabi in Seoul, Watershed, a digital media center in the UK, and Bang and Lee, a Seoul-based artistic duo that explores various aspects of contemporary life such as effects of technology and networked societies. Twen

Arts & Design Aug. 21, 2021

Former Culture Minister Park Yang-woo was appointed as the new president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation which will become his second time to lead the organization, according to the foundation. “Park will start his new position as early as this month. The presidency term is three years and allows consecutive terms,” an official from the foundation told The Korea Herald on Friday. The announcement of the new president was made after the committee meeting held Tuesday. Park pre

Arts & Design Aug. 20, 2021

Arts Council Korea on Tuesday announced that Lee Young-chul would serve as the artistic director of the Korean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. Lee is currently an art professor at Kaywon University of Art and Design. Born in 1957, Lee became the inaugural director of the Nam June Paik Art Center in 2008 and the chief curator of the second Gwangju Biennale in 1996. Arko also announced that media artist Kim Yun-chul had been chosen to work on the Korean Pavilion’s theme for the up

Arts & Design Aug. 18, 2021

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will present exhibitions in collaboration with regional museums in Suwon, Jeongeup and Jeju Island to allow more people to appreciate the art to strengthen research with regional institutes. The exhibition “Before the Wind” will kick off Thursday at the Suwon Museum of Art in Gyeonggi Province. It will present social participatory art through 189 works by 41 artists who touch on themes dealing with conflict between the two

Arts & Design Aug. 18, 2021