What image comes to mind when you think of Seoul? Many will recall the sight of busy commuters and the indifferent and urgent steps of residents with stark faces. As such, despite the sheer number of people that move around the city every day, Seoul is not considered particularly humane. However, even with its rapid urbanization and industrialization, Seoul still has a priceless history of reminiscence, nostalgia, and empathy. Only a slight shift in perspective is needed to revive these forgotten elements. A new exhibition creates a journey that invites the public into a novel, unfamiliar, and exotic version of Seoul.

The sensory media art exhibition 2021 Delight Seoul mainly focuses on the dynamic changes that Seoul, which is emerging as a global cultural center, has experienced. Including instances where tradition meets trendy and vibrant street views, the exhibition presents Seoul's unique traits that embody the Korean spirit. It also offers a sensory reconstruction that simultaneously stimulates vision, hearing, and taste by utilizing various forms of media, expressing Seoul's culture and daily life. In short, it allows visitors to enjoy Seoul beyond the limits of time and to realize their innermost imagination.

Audience as a Part of the Exhibition

The exhibition was created in collaboration with artists and designers who have lived in and based their work in Seoul all their life. The main purpose of the exhibition is to shine a light on the special facets of Seoul that seem faded or unnoticed. Discovering novelty in the reconstruction of familiar surroundings, the audience may find it interesting to view exotic images of Seoul, via minor shifts in perspective. In addition, the audience can consider their intrinsic values by observing their own past, present, and future.

By downloading the 2021 Delight Seoul augmented reality (AR) application before entering the exhibition, visitors can scan 16 codes hidden throughout the exhibition with their phone. Looking around for codes encourages participation, and those who collect all of the codes receive a little gift at the end of the journey. Also, there are several photo booths throughout the exhibition where people can take pictures and decorate them. The pictures can be uploaded onto large screens and become a part of the exhibition or printed as souvenirs.

Capturing Seoul in Four Themes

The exhibition consists of 11 themed areas that depict various aspects of Seoul. A short distance after passing the entrance, an area called “The Myth” presents 12 large screens on which images and videos about the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs pop up. Before entering the exhibition, a visitor can upload their birthday information onto a barcode on a bracelet that is handed out at the ticket booth, which is read by a scanner. After reading the barcode, the corresponding Zodiac sign is displayed on the screen, and a piece of paper with the fortune for the day is printed. This area is designed to provide an experience where people are encouraged to move forward in their own way. Because this area provides a positive message for members of modern society, who are prone to compare themselves with others, it is overwhelmingly popular with visitors.

The next area, “Welcome to Delight”, is a media show consisting of cheongsachorong, traditional Korean lanterns that are hung during a marriage ceremony to symbolize a harmonious start for the couple. They were used to light the path when the groom left for the bride’s house on a horse, and when the bride left for the groom’s house in a palanquin. The cheongsachorong in the exhibition, however, dare used to celebrate the future of the visitors, along with hopeful music and a colorful background. The mass of colors, which change from moment to moment, symbolizes the search for happiness in daily life, and visitors are able to wade through the colors and the light as if they are walking on an illuminated flower path.

When entering “Echo of Seoul,” photos and comments of people who have just passed through the room are displayed on a large screen. Again, by scanning the bracelet’s barcode on the bracelet, visitors can cherish seeing their profile created with friends or loved ones in this space. The comments slowly move from left to right along the wall and eventually disappear, leaving a lingering impression. In this interactive world, the visitors directly communicate with the media and are fully engaged in designing the unique display, which represents the soul of Korea.

“Authentic Street” touches upon both the trendy and traditional aspects of Seoul. It shows how Seoul's appearance reaches a peak with the combination of buildings, energetic atmosphere, merging lights, and a fluid population. “Authentic Street” is indeed a realistic reinterpretation of the emotional aspects of a cross-section of Seoul. It portrays a street with posters that visitors have decorated and adds to the atmosphere with house music. With vivid neon signs, the audience can understand the nightscape of Seoul and its ambiance. All in all, “Authentic Street” demonstrates that Seoul offer a coexistence of the old and the new; picture Gyeongbokgung and skyscrapers facing off against each other.

Sights such as employees working hard during the day and lights embroidering the dark night are familiar to those from Seoul. However, before forgetting the precious details that may be lost in midst of familiarity, it is important to look back on the value of Seoul. After all, it is a city that protects many of us when we are hurt by an overcompetitive society and or fosters our desires and hopes for the future. 2021 Delight Soul provides people with an opportunity to treasure each moment of their lives by allowing them to step back from their regular view of Seoul for a while and look at it from diverse angles.

Exhibition Information

Title: 2021 Delight Seoul

Venue: AnyoungInsadong B1 Insa Central Museum

Date: from December 18, 2020 to June 20, 2021

Opening Hours: 10:00A.M. to 8:30P.M.

Ticket Price: 18,000 won / discounted to 10,000 won on weekday mornings (10:00A.M. to 2:00P.M.)