All posts filed under: Art + Design

Everything stunning made by humans.

Ihwa | mural village

Published by

Ihwa Village is a controversial excursion to write a blog post about. There is currently a cold war playing out between selfie hungry visitors and those who call the area home. Obviously, as a human being, you want to side with the inhabitants. But, as someone who loves to look at street art and loves to put money into Korean crafts and stores, you can also see well meaning visitors’ sides. The issue arises again and again in Korea and makes me wonder: Can’t we tourists just stop being assh*les all the time?  So What’s the Controversy? Imagine living in a sleepy little village for most of your life. It’s underdeveloped and poor, but it’s home. One day a group of well meaning individuals decide to paint some colorful street art on the walls surrounding your neighborhood. It’s cute, sure, you might even like the whimsy at first. It’s supposed to bring tourism and money to your neck of the woods. Everything sounds great. And then, bam! Your village in overrun with loud mouth camera hogs desperate to get …

MMCA | what’s new in modern art

Published by

Love the art scene in Seoul? I’m with you. I like to prepare, research, gear up and eat well right before heading to a new exhibit at a museum or gallery hopping in this crazy cool city. So when I headed out to see what was new at the MMCA in January, and I expected to be wowed. Just like the time I went before.  the day began Being excitable, and more than a little hungry, I decided the first stop needed to be food. Luckily as I walked down Yulgok-ro, a wonderfully pushy ajumma summoned me into her mandu restaurant where I promptly ordered this beauty : Honestly, I didn’t have much choice. She was very persuasive. Next, I cut through the alleys to get to the MMCA from the back, where I met this beautiful view. I admit, sometimes at modern art museums, you can be thoroughly underwhelmed or even walk away uncomfortable and confused. The first exhibit was a hipster spectacular about food called Activating the City: Urban Gastronomy. They had some information …

Seochon-dong | Hanoks & Whimsy

Published by

  Situated to the West of Gyeongbokgung, Seochon, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Seoul, is an obvious treasure. It’s name is simply, “west village,” but that doesn’t embody the liveliness and warmth that you can experience here. Seochon hanoks were under threat of massive redevelopment and destruction up until 2008. The concerned took measures to ensure the preservation of the hanoks in this area, like that of Bukchon, the hanok village on the other side of Gyeongbokgung. And we should thank our lucky stars that this beautiful area has been saved and updated so that generations to come can walk through the streets and buy up all the things. Or just look around, that’s okay too. 🙂 In Robert J. Fouser’s book, Hanok, The Korean House, he explains how this area is an example of the neo-traditional style, or the “mixed hanok.” This new genre allows for experimentation and, perhaps more importantly, the expression of the owner’s personality. Like the city of Seoul itself, they appear similar from afar but sparkle with the color of individuality up close. Not to …

9 Lights in 9 Rooms | Spatial Illumination

Published by

D Museum is a hike up a sleepy hill in Hannam but the contents of Spatial Illumination made it worth the huff and puff to get there. Like stepping into another world, the exhibit puts you inside the whimsy and fun, color and light. Here lies our own personal wonderland that you can share with a chunk of the Seoul population if you go after noon on a holiday (like me 😀 ). The displays are bold, big, gorgeous and inspiring. Each room flows from the last but each distinct and surprising. I loved each part separately and as a whole. The exhibit runs through May 8th, so get there soon. They do allow all the pictures you want to take so the place is very popular with the young crowd.  The last weekend will no doubt be packed like a sardine can. NEON FORMS (AFTER NOH II AND III) by Cerith Wyn Evans PRIMARY by Flynn Talbot LINE FADE by Erwin Redl CHROMOSATURATION by Carlos Cruz-Diez MIRROR BRANCH by Studio Roso MY WHALE by Tundra BOURRASQUE by Paul Cocksedge DON’T LOOK INTO THE …

Ikseon Dong | A Hanok Island

Published by

Prepare yourself, folks, there’s a history lesson in here today! 🙂 I think most would agree that the skyline of Seoul in many areas is quite impressive, however, the inside of most apartment buildings, the majority of the skyscrapers in Seoul, look like something this side of a psych ward. The apartments weren’t made to necessarily be creative, interesting or impressive. Barren boxes, designed to house as many families as possible, is what comes to mind when I think about how most of us live in Seoul. So when we are tired of looking at our boring little boxes, it is time to visit areas with traditional architecture and a time when homes were made with a bit more love and care. One such area is a tiny hanok island surrounded by those tall, boring buildings, called Ikseon-dong. It’s just a neighborhood over from Insa-dong.  The entire area is experiencing a glowing revival, much the same as the hanok renovations in Samcheong, Bukchon and Seochon. Renovations to these wonderful little places have been met with controversy through the years, however. In the …

Candles for a Cause

Published by

I spent the best two hours last Sunday in a candle making class for one in the most adorable of shops in Jongno near Samcheongdong. If you know me well you know that this was basically as good as living a dream for me.  This is one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, parts of Seoul. Just being in the area is a good day for me but I got to actually spend time creating things in a handmade candle and jewelry shop. The best part? It was for charity! For 30,000 won you will be donating proceeds to CATS, Whisker’s Ministop. This is a beautiful organization that homes cats waiting for adoption. It is run by one woman who I quite literally don’t know how she does it all on her own.  She works a full time job, takes care of all her cats in the shelter and is always ready to help with her fosters as well. I took in my little Bacchus from CATS as a foster and fell madly in …

Arario Museum | Jongno

Published by

I visit a lot of museums which allows me to visit some really fascinating worlds. Sometimes, they are amazingly weird and curious things. Sometimes, those things are peculiar and have an oh so unsubtle hint of dread and horror.  All in good fun, though, I’m sure. Arario Museum is a weird and wonderful world.  At times, the weird outweighs the wonderful, like the plastic mold of an artist’s head, hollowed out and filled to the brim with the artist’s real blood. Or the sparkling deer made of glass bubbles, which looks straight from Narnia, until you peek closer and realize that underneath the translucent glass bubbles is a real taxidermy deer attached to the back of another taxidermy deer. But, then there are other things that are fun and spectacular. There is an entire room dedicated to Keith Haring. There are the absurd self portraits of Cindy Sherman, which are every woman’s hilarious nightmare reflected back at us. There is also the building itself, which is dreamlike with its small circular stairwells, exposed brick, beautiful, ivy covered windows …

Panda Invasion!

Published by

Seoul gets some pretty damn adorable art installations. (See Rubber Duck!)  Just another reason to love this city. The latest installation that has captured the hearts of girls all over Korea is 1600 Pandas+. The name says it all, really, the exhibit is 1600+ paper mache pandas that have been on a world tour for seven years.  The pandas actual number 1800 and there’s a good reason for that. The installation’s main objective when it was created in 2008 was to bring awareness to the fact that there were only 1600 pandas living in the wild and in danger of becoming extinct. But the number has grown because of more eco-awareness. So yeah, it’s the most adorable invasion ever, but the message is working. That’s a pretty amazing thing in and of itself.

Gallery Hopping | Jongno

Published by

If you want a feel of authentic Seoul, I’d argue you need to head to the north side of the Han.  As I do much of my day tripping in the southern half, I relish the times I get to go to one of my favorite areas, Jongno.  My actual intention was the visit one gallery I had my eye on and ended up in an independent bookstore, three galleries and a museum. That’s the ridiculously cool thing about settling down in a living, breathing city like Seoul. You can always pick a location and find plenty to do in that area which can include, but is not limited to: entertainment, food, coffee and a cocktail. And depending where you go, each of those things can be an experience.