Where and why we move

In 1957, a dog was put on Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2, becoming the first live animal to orbit Earth. Some five decades later, it was revealed that Laika, the dog, died a few hours after the launch, due to overheating in the payload caused by a mechanical failure. Kim Se-jin’s video work “Messenger(s)” (2019), on show at SongEun ArtSpace, pays tribute to Laika, as well as those who had to move as part of mankind’s relentless efforts to conquer alien worlds.The work i

Nov. 6, 2019

Horim Museum’s 10th anniversary show taps highlights from exhibitions held in past decade

A lotus-shape museum stands majestically holding ancient Korean artifacts among luxury brand flagship stores and hip restaurants in Gangnam’s Sinsa-dong -- one of the quickly changing areas in Seoul. Horim Museum -- one of three private museums in Korea best known for holding national treasures, along with Leeum (Samsung Museum of Art) and Gansong Art Museum -- opened the new branch in Sinsa-dong in 2009. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the new branch, “A Decade’s Record an

Nov. 5, 2019

Local public art project rethinks urban redevelopment and sustainability

Sitting at the center of Pyeongchon Central Park in the city of Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, is Daan Roosegaarde’s giant outdoor purifier “Smog Free Tower.” Roosegaarde’s seven-meter tall outdoor air purifier is designed to filter about 30,000 cubic meters of air per hour using little electricity. The tower at the park will capture particulate matter and release clean air for the next two years.The Dutch artist’s large-scale air purifier has been installed as part of

Nov. 4, 2019

Machine Visions: Trevor Paglen’s exhibition querying how machine sees the world

The recent rise of machine and computer vision systems not just allow machines to actually see things, but also automatically and seamlessly collects and interprets images for various purposes. An upcoming Seoul exhibition will delve into such technologies and the potential they may hold in understanding today’s world.“Throughout history, images have needed somebody to look at and interpret them. But, that’s changing now. With things like computer visions, we can now build mach

Nov. 3, 2019

Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton flagship store opens in Seoul

Louis Vuitton on Thursday opened its new Frank Gehry-designed flagship store in Seoul, featuring interior design by Peter Marino.The new Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul, located in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul, is Gehry’s first work in Korea, according to the company.The new building features Korean heritage and culture, while maintaining its architectural ties with the Louis Vuitton Foundation’s iconic building in Paris, specifically, Gehry’s large glass-and-steel sails that en

Nov. 1, 2019

[Weekender] What to wear for winter fashion

Ultra-long down parkas were the king of winter coats here in the past few years, but a warmer winter looks set to bring new styles. According to industry insiders and fashion experts, we will be seeing a lot of fleece jackets and short puffers instead. Fleece is all the rage Fleece, shearling, sherpa or pile, whatever they are called, those warm, snuggly jackets that were once ridiculed as “dad fashion” are the hottest item in the local fashion scene right now.  At Discov

Nov. 1, 2019

[Weekender] The lure of leggings

Fashionable women in Korea, like their peers elsewhere, are in love with leggings -- and they don’t just wear them to the gym. Leggings’ ascent to casual wear, as described by the dictionary-defined term athleisure, has been a global phenomenon. Seoul, never too far behind a global fad, is fast catching up. Yet, in this country, where revealing, skin-tight and outlandish clothes were once almost certain to invite stares of disapproval, the propriety of leggings as streetwear is a con

Nov. 1, 2019

Park Chan-kyong’s ‘Gathering’ explores what museum can become

Park Chan-kyong’s solo exhibition “Gathering” is an exhibition that explores what art museums can become in the contemporary world with constant man-made disasters.On Saturday, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art kicked off a solo exhibition of Park, who has been selected as sixth artist of the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series, a 10-year series of solo exhibitions featuring prominent Korean artists, sponsored by Hyundai Motor. “What art language can be possible af

Oct. 30, 2019

[Herald Interview] YCH to start over as newbie in global fashion scene

Despite the fact that it has been only three years since he launched his own label, designer Yoon Choon-ho is an established name in the fashion scene here.Yoon, a graduate of Istituto Marangoni in Milan, is widely known for having starred in fashion-related TV shows “Project Runway Korea” and “New Sold Out.” The 37-year-old also headed fashion label Arche prior to YCH.  This September, his presence became more internationally established, following his debut at Lon

Oct. 29, 2019

Continuing the ancient royal Kim heritage in Paris, fashion-wise

Though South Korean designers have been making a splash in the global fashion scene for some time now, an extra splash of “playful elegance” was added this season.During the recent Paris Fashion Week, fashion label Kimhekim presented the “Me” collection. From the brand name, readers might guess that a Korean designer is behind the label. The designer calls himself Kiminte Kimhekim. His legal name, Kim In-te, is the first name he uses and his last name reflects his fa

Oct. 23, 2019

Seoul Fashion Week suggests fresh looks for 2020

The spring-summer 2020 Seoul Fashion Week shows were filled with fun and fresh offerings.The event took place at the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul from Monday to Saturday.This edition was the first to be run by the new director Jeon Mi-kyeong, a former editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Korea. For the past four years, veteran fashion designer Jung Ku-ho had led the biannual fashion event.As in the previous editions, this season saw 34 Seoul Collection shows a

Oct. 20, 2019

MMCA’s ‘The Square’: exhibition unthreads Korea’s modern history

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea is holding the exhibition “The Square: Art and Society in Korea 1900-2019” in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year. 　The exhibition takes place in the three MMCA venues, including the main branch and the Deoksugung branch in central Seoul, Gwacheon branch in Gyeonggi Province. It’s the first time for the museum to hold an exhibition at three different venues.The binding motif for the exhibitions at three separ

Oct. 17, 2019

Game changers gather for Sustainable Fashion Summit Seoul

With the 2020 Spring-Summer Seoul Fashion Week currently underway, the organizers hosted a forum to discuss sustainable fashion on Wednesday and Thursday The Seoul Design Foundation hosted Sustainable Fashion Summit Seoul at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul invited fashion designers who are currently participating in sustainable fashion projects from here and abroad.The event was divided into four sessions: fashion and community development; harmony of human and technology; sustainab

Oct. 17, 2019

Kim Nyung-man looks back on his early days in the ’70s

Kim Nyung-man, a 70-year-old professional photographer, is holding a solo exhibition that looks back on the early days of his 50-year career. Born in 1949 in Gochang, North Jeolla Province, Kim started his career as a photojournalist in 1978 at the Dong-a Ilbo, a local newspaper. Working as a photojournalist for 33 years, he covered the Blue House, the truce village of Panmunjom and the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. The exhibition, which opened Monday, includes 36 of his early works fro

Oct. 16, 2019

‘To the Moon With Snoopy’: Uplifting ‘Peanuts’ characters arrive in Seoul

Lotte Museum of Art’s exhibition featuring the “Peanuts” gang will satisfy not just family visitors but also fans of fine art and pop art. “To the Moon With Snoopy” shows a wide range of works, from the original cartoon and animation works by Charles M. Schulz and Snoopy-themed decorations to contemporary Korean artists’ works featuring the “Peanuts” characters.  The first section of the show celebrates the 50th anniversary of Snoopy’s

Oct. 16, 2019

‘Traces of Black Sand,’ choreography looks at life, memories

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company will perform a new production that fuses contemporary dance with traditional Korean music at Seoul Arts Center CJ Towol Theater from Nov 1-3. “Traces of Black Sand” is a collaboration between composer Ra Ye-song and KNCDC Artistic Director Ahn Sung-soo. The two have worked together on contemporary dance and traditional sounds since the 2017 KNCDC production of “Music for Rites - The Afterimages of the Rose.”“‘Trace

Oct. 13, 2019

[Herald Design Forum] Breathing new life into used plastics

Plastic can be a valuable material if effectively upcycled, argued Dutch designer Dave Hakkens in his speech, “The Power of an Open Source” at the Herald Design Forum 2019 held at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul on Thursday. “Less than 10 percent of the plastics (used around the world) get recycled. For companies, it’s just easier to buy new plastic. The plastic waste is burned, sent to landfills or to the ocean,” he said. Hakkens said, he started to

Oct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum] Changing old neighborhoods with new thinking

While the construction of a building or a house may be a familiar concept, establishment of a neighborhood or a community is a relatively new notion. Assemble is a London-based multidisciplinary collective that builds neighborhoods, responding to the actual needs of the community. More than just renovating a building, it rejuvenates the whole area, working across the realms of architecture, design and art.Maria Lisogorskaya, one of the founding members of Assemble, took the podium at the 2019 He

Oct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Astronomer Ribas stresses importance of preserving our ‘Pale Blue Dot’

Finding another planet with a hospitable environment for humans has been a long-cherished wish for mankind. Astronomer Ignasi Ribas, a leading expert in that field, however, stresses the importance of preserving the Earth’s environment, pointing out that migrating to another planet is science fiction, at least for now. “Can another planet be a possible second home (for humans to live in)? The answer is no, and if it is possible, it would take forever to get there,” said Ribas,

Oct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Daimler art director puts spotlight on empathy in future mobility

Alexander Mankowsky, art director at leading German carmaker Daimler, said Thursday that empathy should be the priority in future mobility so that companies can roll out innovative automated vehicles capable of interacting with pedestrians.“If we have to talk about ethics, we need to talk about what is human. What are we humans? How would you like to be? That process is always for people. We need to see what we are and what do we want to be,” Mankowsky said at Herald Design Forum 201

Oct. 10, 2019