Last year in Seoul, Minjae Kim presented ten chairs that a carpenter friend had spent a year building and lacquering. The technique was traditional, the kind formally preserved in South Korea and largely absent from contemporary furniture and, for Kim – born in Seoul, based in New York – the first time he had used it in earnest. He had been making furniture for five years, and much of that time had gone into figuring out, on his own terms, what to make of his birthplace.

Kim discovered the US on an exchange in high school. After studying painting and architecture, and completing a stint of military service back home, in 2008 he travelled to Seattle to continue his studies, later moving to New York for an architecture master’s at Columbia University. He spent three years at Studio Giancarlo Valle, then started his own practice from the basement of his old apartment during the pandemic.

His debut in 2021 at LA design gallery Marta catalogued Western typologies, such as a chair adapted from Freud's personal study. These were objects that differed from his understanding of the world, and he made them his by remaking them – for example, by treating fibreglass like cloth, quilting it before coating it with resin. The following year, with his mother, the painter Myoungae Lee, he co-presented an exhibition at Matter Projects in New York: four pieces drew on her work, including a chair inspired by one of her Coexistence paintings.

Press attention after the two shows fixed on his heritage in ways Kim did not recognise in the work itself. ‘If it wasn't me making it,' he says, ‘nobody would say this has a Korean tradition.' His response was the next show, with Nina Johnson Gallery in Miami, titled ‘IYKYK' (If You're Korean You Know). Here Kim made moon jars from fibreglass rope and lights based on ceremonial robes. The Korean references were unmistakable; he has described his spirit at the time as almost punk, ‘I'll show you how to do it.'

Three years ago, an invitation arrived from non-profit cultural foundation Arumjigi to bring the IYKYK approach to a South Korean audience. It softened and matured what had been a somewhat defiant gesture, and led, in time, to the lacquered ‘Seoul' chairs. In the Marta show ‘Phantom-22', in 2025, Kim switched focus again, to LA, a city where a mountain lion, who had crossed the freeways into Griffith Park, settled and died, had become a local icon. Kim's sculpture took the cougar's name, P-22; the phantom of the exhibition’s title referenced ‘the spectres of the city… creatures, ideas, and topographies that define Los Angeles’. The production furniture was made in California, and carried Kim's touch in its cast-resin handles.

Kim has spoken of fighting a lonely fight in New York with references people around him are not likely to recognise. However, he notes that as South Korea itself has become globally visible in recent years, he has had to explain himself less and the gap has narrowed. Going home is still double-edged, he says: he stands out, he tries to blend in. ‘The identity crisis,' he says, ‘has been kind of melting away.' In September 2026, he will show with Marta at Frieze Seoul.

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This article appears in the August 2026 Issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Centre Pompidou Hanwha, the French cultural institution's first outpost in Korea, is scheduled to open on 4 June 2026 in Seoul’s 63 Building, a landmark on the Han River owned by the Hanwha Group. Developed through a partnership between the Centre Pompidou (whose Paris home is currently closed for restoration) and the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, the Centre Pompidou Hanwha is set to become a new cultural attraction in western Seoul's Yeouido.

Explore the new Centre Pompidou Hanwha

The museum is located in the former annex of what was once the tallest building in the South Korean capital. The renovated structure takes the form of a low, horizontally extended volume clad in opaque panels. It was designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, who oversaw a full renovation of the existing annex building to adapt it for its new cultural use.

'Located along the Han River within the iconic 63 Building, the design takes the form of a luminous box that complements the character of the tower itself,' said Sungsoo Lee, chairman of the Hanwha Foundation of Culture. 'Conceived as a semi-transparent white box, the design was selected for its ability to harmonise with the surrounding landscape and the existing structure through a natural renovation of the former convention centre space.'

The opening of the Centre Pompidou Hanwha coincides with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France and the 20th birthday of the Hanwha Foundation of Culture. The new institution is expected to serve as a major cultural hub in Seoul, presenting works from the Centre Pompidou’s collection, including many that have not previously been shown in Korea and several that will be exhibited in Asia for the first time.

The four-storey museum includes two large-scale exhibition halls of approximately 1,650 sq m each. Alongside exhibitions drawn from the Centre Pompidou collection, the venue will also host shows and programmes developed with Korean and international artists, supporting major currents in contemporary art in the region.

For its inaugural exhibition, the museum will present ‘The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision’ from 4 June to 4 October 2026. The displays offer an overview of Cubism in Paris between 1907 and 1927, drawing primarily from the Centre Pompidou collection.

While the original Centre Pompidou in France is undergoing renovation works, its programmes will continue through partner venues and international collaborations under the 'Constellation' initiative, according to Laurent Le Bon, president at Centre Pompidou in Paris.

'Cubism was chosen for the inaugural exhibition in Seoul because the Centre Pompidou holds a significant collection of Cubist masterpieces, and because of its historical importance as one of the defining artistic movements of the 20th century,' added Christian Briend, head curator of the modern collections department at Centre Pompidou. 'It profoundly influenced many artists throughout the century and connects directly to future exhibitions planned in Seoul.'

The Seoul Pompidou outpost is expected to reinterpret its Paris counterpart's collections within the Korean cultural context and serve as a cultural bridge between Korea, France, and the wider international art world.

The Hanwha Foundation of Culture organises exhibitions, residency programmes and cultural exchange initiatives for emerging artists. Its Youngmin International Artist Residency Grant supports artists through international opportunities, and its Space ZeroOne in New York serves as an exhibition platform introducing contemporary Korean artists to global audiences.

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It is fitting that South Korea’s first household name in high fashion, Woo Youngmi, chose Itaewon for her new flagship store. The Seoul district is a vibrant blend of buzzy bars, clubs and international restaurants, as well as cultural highlights including Pace Gallery and art museum Leeum. ‘I mix East with West, feminine with masculine, classic with modern. I stand on the border. As the most multicultural place in Seoul, Itaewon felt like a perfect choice for our flagship,’ says Woo.

The designer has been at the centre of an extraordinary trajectory within Korean fashion. She started Solid Homme, one of the country’s first design-led menswear labels, in 1988 when South Korea, rising from dictatorship, debuted on the world stage by hosting its first Olympics. In 2002, she launched high-fashion label Wooyoungmi in Paris, and, in 2011, was the first South Korean designer to become a full member of the influential French trade association La Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. In 2023, Wooyoungmi’s Paris store opened on the prestigious Rue Saint-Honoré.

Step inside Wooyoungmi’s new Seoul flagship store

Opening a flagship in Seoul feels long overdue. ‘I was determined to put down deep roots in Paris, the centre of the fashion world. But Seoul – where I grew up – is my base with my design team here, and the Seoul flagship is my place to express my universe.’ Having her brand’s home in Seoul seems strategic, considering the South Korean capital is now a destination for the global cultural elite, whose members fly in regularly to catch up on the country’s fast-moving trends.

The new store reflects how much Wooyoungmi has evolved since its launch more than two decades ago. ‘[Back then] I used to be on edge with insecurity,’ says Woo. ‘Doing Paris Fashion Week was like taking important exams at school, but I evolved each season through self-reflection. I began to accept who I was.’ This included realising that she was something of a hybrid, growing up in Seoul with Confucianist values but absorbing Western influences in Paris. She also learned from Korean consumers. Fashion changes extremely fast in South Korea. In the past, she viewed this negatively, but she has come to see this is driven by open-mindedness: ‘Young Koreans readily embrace new trends without any hesitation or reservation. I learned to become more open-minded, too.’

Inclusivity and openness became important. She didn’t intentionally set out to have these values as the theme of her new space, ‘but when the design was completed, it felt like it was reflecting my identity,’ she says. ‘To draw an analogy to a form, I used to have sharp edges but began to be more curvy, just as this building feels.’

Designed by Swiss architecture studio Stocker Lee Architetti, headed up by Melanie Stocker and Dong Joon Lee, the building translates Woo’s creative philosophy into physical form – a synthesis of meticulous structure and human emotion, made to be experienced in person. Originally, it was planned to be just a clothing store. However, as Woo and Stocker Lee developed the idea further, the use evolved, too.

Now, the building is multifunctional, comprising not only a menswear and womenswear store – including a space to view pieces from the Paris runway show – but also a café and restaurant. The rooftop garden, developed with landscape studio Design Allee (founded by Woo’s sisters Woo Hyunmi and Woo Kyungmi), offers a quiet urban retreat defined by sculptural mounds and textured plantings. It visually echoes Namsan, one of Seoul’s mountains, which can be seen from the city.

Legally, the plot could only accommodate a two-storey building. ‘We thought about how to design a structure that’s far more engaging than a standard two-storey one, whether viewed from the inside or outside,’ says Lee. Ultimately, he devised an interior with seven distinct levels, each with its own unique ceiling height. Keeping the horizontal plane simple and functional, the architects aimed to evoke emotion through the vertical, an approach that Woo readily embraced as this combination of function and emotion reflected her attitude to design.

The resulting four floors (two above and two below ground) are divided into a series of staggered levels that vary in height, with internal volumes evoking different moods as visitors move through the space. Light and sound help shape the atmosphere.

The architects tackled the interiors alongside the overall architecture in a holistic way. Woo led new furniture creation in collaboration with designer Dongwook Choi, while she and Stocker Lee agreed on deep red curtains, introducing a dramatic interplay of light and colour on the second floor.

The building is located on a large corner plot on Itaewon Hill. The façade, composed of concrete and glass blocks, rises in organic curves that echo the surrounding topography. When projections are made from within, the glass blocks create a natural pixelation, casting abstract images onto passers-by. Wooyoungmi’s Paris runway footage is currently on show, appearing so subtly that it is sometimes unclear whether the visual is a video projection or coloured light. ‘It is precisely the direction I had imagined,’ says Lee. ‘Architecture is a vital medium shaping the city, and since the city belongs to everyone, how a building is perceived by people who pass by every day is an important consideration for architects.’

The palette was deliberate. ‘We selected materials that bear the marks of the labourer’s touch, craftsmanship and the passage of time,’ the architect adds. The small glass bricks were individually laid by hand and convey a physicality that you don’t find in machine-made elements. The exposed concrete features an unconventional paint finish, with colouring achieved through mineral coating to ensure the base material’s character comes through with refined clarity rather than presenting as a flawless surface. Applied manually, it lends the surface a subtle, shifting quality as it catches the light throughout the day. The wooden flooring was equally tailored to the space. The custom-made boards feature narrow 5cm grain patterns layered together, highlighting the craftsmen’s handiwork.

In the three decades since Solid Homme’s founding, South Korean elements began to emerge in Woo’s own designs, and she realised her heritage could become a point of distinction. As Korean culture continues to gain influence, she feels that the West is now ready to appreciate it more. For the opening of the flagship, she arranged a traditional Korean ritual to ask for the spirits not to interfere with their new tenant and to co-exist. She even designed a screen for the ritual, reflecting the five traditional Korean colours (blue, red, yellow, white and black), and also collaborated with artist Huh Myoungwook on dark olive plates to contrast with the colour of persimmons laid out on the table for the ceremony.

Importantly, Woo does not rest on her laurels. ‘Korean consumers are wielding the whip, setting a very high standard for brands. As a designer, I need to constantly evolve to survive.’ Having solid foundations in Europe, she plans to grow her business more in Asia. The brand recently opened two China stores, in Beijing and Chengdu, and is expanding in Japan, a historically challenging market for South Korean brands. She feels that the time has come for Korean fashion, and she hopes it will last. ‘Korean fashion is known for good value, but for Korean fashion to have a lasting impact, I hope to see more successful Korean high-fashion brands.’

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All change! It could serve as a mantra for the world right now, but, for the March 2026 Style Issue, we use it to describe the season’s unprecedented reordering of fashion’s high command. The S/S 2026 collections saw debuts by no fewer than 15 creative directors, giving our fashion team cause to focus on the idea of the ‘clean slate’. To this end, we profile two designers on their bold new starts: Glenn Martens, who takes over at Maison Margiela, one of fashion’s most influential houses; and Duran Lantink, whose boundary-pushing debut show for Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris had everybody talking.

Fresh chapters abound in other corners. We take a trip to Seoul to check out Wooyoungmi’s monolithic new flagship store as the Korean label enters a new phase; head to the Swiss Alps, where Hauser & Wirth’s hospitality arm Artfarm is breathing new life into a 16th-century guest house; and meet Ilaria Icardi, Prada’s womenswear design director, who recently launched an eponymous jewellery line.

For our regular digest of the season’s trends, The Glossary, we question what, in our current culture of short attention spans, does ‘newness’ look like? And ahead of a new show launching at MoMu Antwerp, we explore the legacy of the Antwerp Six, a group of radical Belgian designers who changed the global fashion landscape in the 1980s and 1990s.

Elsewhere, we explore the ‘unnatural natural’ new face arising from our Botox and filler fatigue, and highlight the fresh slant on men’s tailoring and womenswear that designers have been taking this season.

Finally, our resident design critic Hugo Macdonald administers a timely blast of fresh thinking to the tired old task of spring cleaning: a balm, he suggests, for both body and soul.

Bill Prince
Editor-in-Chief

The March 2026 Style Issue of Wallpaper* is available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + from 5 February 2025. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

At Wallpaper*, movement is second nature, and savouring it is an art. Whether on assignment or off-duty, our editorial team is perpetually combing the globe, visiting places that are mind-expanding and spirit-lifting. This year, we paused to gather the places that truly stayed with us. Consider this selection of travel highlights, handpicked by our staff, as a starting point for the year ahead, compiled to spark curiosity and fuel your future travel plans.

As such, follow the sun to Mexico, Greece, Spain and Italy, or embrace the stark beauty of Finland and Iceland. Looking for adventure? Uzbekistan, Egypt and Kenya deliver. For a spiritual reset, Japan and South Korea offer ritual and depth. From European mainstays such as Vienna and Lisbon to American icons including Miami and Joshua Tree, let’s get globetrotting.

Amanohashidate, Japan

‘Last April, adding a few days to a long-haul work trip felt like the responsible thing to do, particularly when long-haul now extends to a 16-hour dog-leg to Osaka via Doha, which is how I came to visit one of Japan’s most revered destinations, Amanohashidate, site of a 3.6km sidebar known as ‘the staircase to heaven’ that cuts across Miayazu Bay in Kyoto prefecture. Amanohashidate itself is a quiet village with a national landmark at its heart and a well-run ryokan (Monjusou) to relax in, but the surrounding area is blessed with no less significant points of interest. Ine is a ‘floating village’ of 230 fishing cottages, protected as a heritage site, that offers good walking with splendid sea views and great coffee in one of its repurposed properties. Sometimes all you need is sea air, the odd stroll and the chance to indulge in something as silly as matanozoki, or peering between your legs atop Kasamatsu Park, at which point the now-inverted sandbar appears as a bridge across the sky.’

– Bill Prince, editor-in-chief

Athens, Greece

‘This past autumn, I celebrated a milestone birthday in Athens. The city feels as though it was shaped by accumulation rather than careful urban planning, its layers of typeface, texture and attitude stacked across eras, politics and glitzy inconsistencies. Visually, Athens is unrelenting: everything speaks loudly and constantly, and nothing is treated as too precious. Even the Acropolis feels unresolved, its original fragments scattered between the exquisitely built Acropolis Museum and far beyond Greece’s borders. I enjoyed long lunches with generous pours of Assyrtiko from aluminium jugs, and late nights drifting into hot spots like SMUT, where Athens’ spontaneity really kicks in. I chose Athens as my favourite of the year because it thrives in chaos, offering moments of beauty and excitement, and rewarding those who stay longer, pay attention and arrive hungry.’

– Gabriel Annouka, senior designer

Brittany, France

‘On something of a nostalgia trip to the south coast of Brittany, France – the destination of my first-ever trip abroad – now with my own teenagers in tow, I was relieved to find it a still-lovely, laidback and low-key escape with none of the hussle or hassle a beach break during the summer holidays can entail. The sea was utterly clear – too freezing for me, even in July, for more than one cold plunge, but perfect for kayaking or admiring endlessly from coastal walking paths. Bike hire in this cycling-obsessed nation was ubiquitous and the paths plentiful and well sign-posted; they even continued across estuaries, courtesy of short ferry hops on which bikes were not just bienvenue but (bafflingly for a Brit used to transport-network shortfalls) positively encouraged. And a day’s hire extended through to the evening, allowing ample time for a thoroughly civilised French lunch break en route with (savoury) galettes and (sweet) crêpes galore. Pancakes for all courses is a concept close to my heart.’

– Bridget Downing, executive editor

Cairo, Egypt

‘In November, I visited Cairo and spent a few warm, autumnal days watching the light shift over the Art D’Égypte installations, set in the sand beneath the pyramids of Giza. I was particularly drawn to SolidNature and Studio PROBA’s organically shaped, naturally coloured stone sculptures. Seeing them positioned against the pyramids was both wondrous and surreal: two forms of stone, prehistoric in material yet composed millennia apart, held in quiet dialogue with one another. The experience was utterly mesmerising, leaving me feeling incredibly small in the face of such magnificence and scale. Other highlights across the city included losing track of time in the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) and wandering through the calming gardens of Adam Henein’s gallery house.’

– Olly Mason, head of interiors

Évora, Portugal

‘When my sister moved to Lisbon in 2024, I dreamily imagined endless weekends of wandering, but life got in the way and it never quite happened; until this summer, when we managed to bring both our families together for ten scorching days in Alentejo, a more off-the-beaten-path part of Portugal, around 90 minutes east of Lisbon. We stayed in gloriously serene countryside, awash with olive groves and vineyards, occasionally popping into the medieval, walled UNESCO city of Évora for ice cream (Pezagno, delicious!). On one visit, we explored the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones), a 16th-century chapel within the Church of St Francis, built by Franciscan monks as a memento mori to inspire reflection on the transience of life. Its walls and columns are clad with thousands of strikingly arranged human skulls and bones, previously buried in Évora’s medieval cemeteries. Above the door, an inscription reads: “We bones are here, waiting for yours.” At the entrance to this macabre chapel is a simple modern mural by Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira – a counterpoint to its meditation on mortality.’

– Anne Soward, production editor

Helsinki, Finland

‘While others escaped to hotter climes, last February, I decided to embrace the cold and wintry feel of Europe and headed further north, to Helsinki. It was one of the best travel decisions I ever made. The day was short, but the city was fun, and the cultural offerings were plentiful and welcoming. Helsinki was frozen – not that you would be bothered with the right clothes and shoes, especially in the city centre, where pavements are heated so that the snow doesn’t build up. A short ferry ride, breaking through the icy waters, took me to the magical Suomenlinna sea fortress - thank you, Laura Iloniemi, for the tip! I also explored the numerous art offerings the city has to offer, from the Amos Rex museum to the Temppeliaukio church of the rock. I stayed at a timber-framed hotel by the water, Solo Sokos Pier 4, paid a visit to the renovated Finlandia Hall, and enjoyed sticky Korvapuusti (Finnish cinnamon rolls) and warm and creamy salmon soup. As travel reviews often conclude, “would definitely recommend.”’

– Ellie Stathaki, architecture and environment director

Hydra, Greece

‘This year I’ve been lucky to visit great European capitals including Vienna, Paris and Athens, but somehow it’s my day on the small Greek island of Hydra that was most memorable. Big cities are filled with great things to do and see, but Hydra offers an escape from it all, with no cars, no museums, and practically no phone reception. And yet it still has everything you might possibly need on a nice autumn day: a lunch at a taverna followed by a dip in the sea, and a walk along the coastal path, suspended between the blue sky and the Mediterranean.’

– Léa Teuscher, sub-editor

Joshua Tree, USA

‘In May, I made the three-hour journey from Los Angeles into the Mojave Desert to Joshua Tree. It had long been on my list to visit, likely prompted by endless interviews with musicians who enthused about the desert’s mystical energy. There are no shortage of incredible architectural stays to book in the area, but after much deliberation, I settled on this geodesic dome, far enough away from civilisation to get the full experience (the drive back from dinner in the pitch black was a little hairy) but just twenty minutes from Joshua Tree National Park and the must-sees of the Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms. I loved every single thing about this trip. From the weird roadside stops along the route – a desert crochet museum? A shrine to fifties hairdressing? A park filled with many, many statues of Christ? – to dinner at The Copper Room, drinks at Mas o Menos and obligatory live music at Pioneertown institution, Pappy & Harriet’s (the nearby Red Dog Saloon was a little quieter when Pappy’s is packed). I can’t wait to return.’

– Charlotte Gunn, director of digital content

Kyoto, Japan

‘I loved visiting Kyoto this year, and discovering its rich history, gorgeous food and beautiful surroundings. The highlight, though, was being able to get to know some of the locals, who were as generous with their time as they are cultured, intelligent, and extremely kind.’

– Hannah Silver, art, culture, watches and jewellery editor

Lake Como, Italy

‘Until last year, I had never been to Italy; now, I can say I’ve been three times. A run of good fortune took me to Milan for Salone de Mobile, and Venice for an immersive exhibition hosted by Golden Goose. In addition, to mark the beginning of the summer season, I was invited to Lake Como to stay at Il Sereno’s new listening suite, designed by Patricia Urquiola. The lake in the foothills of the Alps took my breath away. It was scenery I had not seen before, and I was captivated by its beauty. There was an effortless air of Old Hollywood glamour and relaxed sophistication coupled with the calming nature of the lake, which makes the location entirely unique. I cannot wait to go back.’

– Tianna Williams, staff writer

Menorca, Spain

‘The Menorca Experimental hotel had been on my bucket list for years, and I finally made it there for a short break in September. Designed by Dorothée Meilichzon, the interiors strike a balance between playful colour and subtle Art Deco references, incorporating local designers and materials. It felt considered yet relaxed. The weather was still warm enough for sea swims in some of the clearest water I’ve seen in Europe, and it was easy to find quieter spots that felt untouched. There’s a quiet, understated rhythm to the island that encourages you to slow down, making it a perfect mid-season reset.’

– Cindy Parthonnaud, acting photography editor

Mérida, Mexico

‘I spent 10 days in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula this summer and enjoyed soaking up Mérida’s rich history, intense summer heat and xtabentún, the local firewater. The city is about 30 miles inland, meaning those craving a swim-up bar or large beach resort won’t find it here. Instead, they’ll discover a mix of unhurried streets, bustling markets, pretty boutiques and innovative cuisine that spotlights traditional Yucatec cooking. My husband and I checked in at Hotel Cigno, an elegant boutique property located in Mérida’s historic heart, before hiring a local guide to take us to Uxmal, one of the Mayan world’s most important sites, and an azure blue cenote, a naturally occurring limestone sinkhole that peppers the area. There was still an opportunity to hit the beach, though: an hour-ride taxi will take you straight to the coast, where you can take in tranquil waters, white sand beaches, bright-pink salt lakes and – my favourite – droves of flamingos.’

– Anna Fixsen, U.S. editor

Miami, USA

‘I came to Miami for the Grand Prix – where Lego had built ten fully drivable cars – but stayed for the art deco architecture, palm-lined boulevards and viscerally cinematic sunsets. Miami’s expansion in the 1920s and 30s left it with a remarkable concentration of art deco buildings, which I completely fell in love with. A stroll down Ocean Drive – one of the finest showcases of the style – took me hours, slowed by pastel façades and kitsch vintage cars that demanded to be photographed. Little Havana, shaped by Cuban émigrés after the 1959 revolution, is home to cigar shops, graffiti tributes to Celia Cruz and Old’s Havana Cuban Bar & Cocina, which, with its yellow walls and mojito production line, is an institution. So, too, is Delilah – swathed in pink velvet and favoured by A-listers – though in an entirely different vein. Miami is a place I’d return to in a heartbeat.’

– Anna Solomon, digital writer

Nesjavellir, Iceland

‘My yearly travel mainly comprises the movement between Milan, Paris and New York for fashion week (and the freneticism and overstimulation these trips bring), so when I’m not working I seem to be attracted towards the vast and the desolate – Lanzarote has become my go-to escape, and this spring I loved losing myself in its strange, moonlike landscapes once again. Though it was another otherworldly (and volcanic) island that was my favourite trip of 2025: Iceland, which I visited with 66 North last month (the outerwear brand was founded on the island a century ago). I have been a couple of times before, though each time it is surprising in its vastness and scale: speeding across the snow-covered mountain ridge Thórsmörk – named after the Norse god Thor – on off-roading buggies was a truly cinematic experience (and the perfect release). We spent the second night at the Ion Adventure Hotel, a Brutalist box on stilts that looks out over the geothermal fields of Nesjavellir – in the silence, it was my best night’s sleep of the year.’

– Jack Moss, fashion and beauty features director

Seoul, South Korea

‘About two hours from Seoul, in the mountains of Wonju, Museum SAN (Space Art Nature) heralds an architectural feat by Tadao Ando: a 25-metre-wide subterranean dome beneath the museum’s flower garden, topped with an oculus rising more than seven metres high. Titled Ground, it was commissioned to accompany Antony Gormley’s exhibition Drawing on Space.’

– Jason Hughes, creative director

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

‘I spend much of my year bouncing around beautiful design-led hotels. But at least once a year, I make it my mission to step out of this bubble as a reminder of why I love to travel in the first place. And this year, my trip to Uzbekistan was a welcome reset. It’s not a destination known for luxury, but with tourism on the rise, you can feel the energy in Tashkent’s creative pockets and across Samarkand and Bukhara, which just hosted its inaugural biennale. From the staggering detail of the Islamic architecture to the small, genuinely local boutique hotels, there’s an incredible history and a rawness that was not just compelling, but a reminder that stepping away from the familiar is not just refreshing, but important to keep your curiosity alive.’

– Lauren Ho, travel director

Tokyo, Japan

‘Tokyo had been calling for some time, and this October I was finally able to answer. Japan’s capital is an urban sprawl of ritual, contrast, beauty and tradition, where even the smallest details feel deliberate and meaningful. It was my first visit, and I tried to stay fully present, absorbing as much of the city’s energy as possible; yet I still feel I barely scratched the surface. There are countless moments I hold onto, but one stands out: waking to a bright, clear morning and, from my hotel room on the 34th floor of Fairmont Tokyo, spotting Mount Fuji in the distance. It appeared as a majestic presence on the horizon, wishing the city a good day.’

– Sofia de la Cruz, travel editor

Vienna, Austria

‘Vienna is a really great city for a short getaway, especially for those interested in design. The city is filled with hidden gems, such as the interiors and ambience of Café Prückel, located just across the street from the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). Be sure to check out the numerous storefronts designed by Hans Hollein throughout the city, including the iconic façade of the Retti candle shop. One of the highlights for me was the Roman Catholic church depicted above, built in the late 1970s by architect Viktor Hufnagl.’

– Sebastian Jordahn, head of video

Watamu, Kenya

‘Earlier this year, I travelled to Kenya and spent time in Watamu, a coastal town known for stunning white-sand beaches, coral reefs, mangroves and a large marine life. I was there for a private yoga retreat with a yoga company called Pana and stayed in a one-of-a-kind treehouse, Watamu Tree House, near Watamu Beach. Our treehouse retreat, built by the family who runs it, rises through the landscape, from the ground to the top floor, with shimmering coloured glass mosaics. Each day in Watamu began with yoga in the studio at the top of the building, which offered quiet and perspective. Practising yoga above the ground, with the sea nearby and trees in the distance, felt grounding. Fresh vegetarian meals formed the core of each day, as each meal came with coconut water and juices made fresh each morning.’

– Jamilah Rose-Roberts, social media editor

At the launch of the 2025 Seoul architecture biennale, a giant twisted wall made of 1,428 steel tiles captures the attention of passersby walking through Songhyeon Green Plaza. This 90 metre-long, 16 metre-high wall twists in the middle, forming an opening that draws people into the plaza. Dubbed the ‘Humanise Wall,’ the structure features images of 400 buildings from 38 countries and by 110 architects, as well as nine community projects that convey ideas of how buildings in this city can change.

Welcome to the 2025 Seoul architecture biennale

The ‘Humanise Wall’ is the gateway to the 5th edition of the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, which aims to spark a public conversation about how to ‘humanise’ buildings for the well-being of citizens. This year’s event, titled ‘Radically More Human,’ is helmed by British designer Thomas Heatherwick as general director and builds on his ‘Humanise’ campaign, a global initiative launched with his 2023 book ‘Humanise.’ The campaign argues against the creation of 'boring' structures, claiming how dull, soulless buildings are bad for our brains, our economy, and the planet, and calls for more joyful, engaging and human buildings and cities.

'We've had an epidemic of boringness. Blandemic (bland + epidemic), I called it. The argument is we've had things where everything's just too flat, too plain, too straight, too shiny, too monotonous, too anonymous, too serious. When you get all of them again and again, it's harmful boring,' said Heatherwick in Seoul ahead of the biennale's opening. 'Just like we need nutritional complexity for our gut biome, we need visual complexity. There’s a necessity for fascination.' It’s not his own argument, he flags, but one 'made by researchers who are looking at how our brains respond to buildings.'

According to studies by the Humanise Campaign, being surrounded by boring buildings which lack visual complexity can have a profound impact on public health as well as culture and society. Buildings without texture, warmth, or variety can leave people feeling low and disconnected, architecture that is too uniform or repetitive can lead to mental fatigue, disorientation, and stress, and curved façades and organic shapes may reduce cognitive stress and help make everyday surroundings more comfortable and intuitive.

'We’ve done polling across thousands of citizens of Seoul for the biennale by the Humanise campaign and 97% of them, which is an incredibly high number, say they don't like the residential buildings that are built here. And 90% of people in Korea say that buildings affect how they feel,' said Heatherwick, citing research data conducted by his studio for the biennale, which will be announced during the ‘Emotional City Conference’ on September 27 and 28.

But because there is 'no public conversation about the global epidemic of characterless places,' this biennale has a huge role to play, he says. 'The whole biennale is about health and the need for places to be more engaging. It's actually a nutritional public health conversation.'

In order to engage people in this public conversation, he had to attract people’s attention and draw their curiosity – hence the giant wall. The ‘Humanise Wall’ was inspired by jogakbo, a Korean patchwork textile made by sewing together small, leftover pieces of fabric (usually from silk or ramie) to create a wrapping cloth, called a bojagi.

'At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, there is a collection of jogakbos. I've been to Korea many times, and I love the fabrics and the textiles. The ‘Humanise Wall’ is like a big, gigantic magazine. The patchwork of the jogakbos could be a mechanism to have many different stories being told and the work of the local communities all coexisting in a miscellaneous way,' Heatherwick said. 'It’s like a giant bibimbap [a Korean mixed rice dish with vegetables].'

When entering the gateway, visitors encounter 24 smaller partitions facing the ‘Humanise Wall.’ These ‘Walls of Public Life’ are giant fragments of buildings, 2.4m wide by 4.8m high, inspired by Stonehenge in England, and highlighting how the façade of a building plays a big role in shaping people’s emotional responses. The walls are created by 24 design teams from across the globe, coming from a variety of creative and cultural backgrounds, some with no experience of designing a building. Korean American chef Edward Lee, British fashion designer Stella McCartney, a jeweller, a car manufacturing team at Hyundai, and two traditional building makers from Burkina Faso, among others, have participated.

'It is emotion that makes you cherish something. So it's really a mindset shift for our industry to be more interested in looking closely at how people experience,' says Heatherwick. 'Just as Korea is a world leader at skincare, I thought we would focus on skin, skins of buildings, for the biennale. It's like a cutout of a future building. Every single one of them has visual complexity and fascination, and is an example where you could take any one of those and say, ‘turn it into a building, please.’ The campaign is about changing the buildings that get built.'

Until now, there has been huge importance given to the interior, but for the public, the exterior is more important, he continues to explain. 'There is a smaller group of people who are inside most buildings and a much bigger group who are going past the outside. I'm not saying the inside doesn't matter. It does matter. But we're actually quite good at the insides. The balance of love has been on insides.' When asked whether people might feel stressed if a city becomes too visually complex and stimulating, Heatherwick says he’s not arguing for buildings to look 'crazy.'

'You go to a forest, it's full of visual complexity. But there are no big show-offs in a forest. So we mustn’t mix up my work with the argument,' he said. 'In effect, I've overreacted with my own work to this drought of storytelling in buildings. I'm not proposing every building to be a crazy shape, and it's not going to happen because it's not affordable. But just be generous, be kind.'

The biennale’s main site is the Songhyeon Green Plaza, but the event extends to the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture which offers a further three exhibitions – the 'Cities Exhibition,' featuring 25 building exteriors from 21 cities, the 'Seoul Exhibition,' revealing 18 projects on the future of Seoul, and 'Global Studios,' an interactive media exhibition exploring the emotions and memories evoked by the outsides of buildings.

'The goal is the city-wide conversation. I think Seoul could potentially be one of the first humanised cities and show other cities around the world how to engage the citizens because it has receptiveness and open-mindedness,' he said.

'Korea is a global powerhouse in beauty and understanding of skin. Korea is a powerhouse in pop music, in drama and in food, but it isn't in architecture. The economic miracle of Korea, which has facilitated and superpowered the growth, is amazing, but now the pali-pali ['quick quick,' in Korean] mindset needs to be used and adjusted to bring in the human dimension properly. And underneath it all, emotion is the thing that drives us.'

The 5th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism is on show until 18 November 2025

Almost 7,000 miles apart yet increasingly in dialogue, Seoul and New York have just tightened their cultural axis with the arrival of the MoMA Bookstore at Hyundai Card. The new outpost marks the Museum of Modern Art’s first bookstore of its kind (beyond book sections as part of its Design Stores) and extends its two-decade collaboration with the Hyundai Motor Company-owned credit card issuer, which began in 2006 when MoMA’s online store was made available in South Korea.

Introducing MoMA Bookstore at Hyundai Card, Seoul

The partnership has since evolved into a robust cultural exchange. In 2010, MoMA introduced membership benefits for Hyundai Card holders, which later supported headline exhibitions such as ‘Haegue Yang: Handles’ (2019) and ‘Sung Hwan Kim: Temper Clay’ (2021). Most recently, the Hyundai Card Curatorial Exchange Programme (2024) was inaugurated to foster cross-continental dialogue between Korean and American art communities, while the Hyundai Card MoMA Digital Wall (2025) commissions site-specific works by contemporary artists, displayed in real time both at MoMA New York and at Hyundai Card’s Yeouido HQ.

Set in the leafy enclave of Dosan Park, the bookstore aligns itself with Hyundai Card’s constellation of cultural spaces, such as the Cooking Library, Iron & Wood and Red11. The elongated interior unfurls in two acts: a pared-back library of over 1,100 titles – including MoMA’s own catalogues and more than 200 books spanning contemporary art, photography, architecture, and design – and a boldly hued retail chamber in shades of orange and yellow. Here, shelves brim with the museum’s cult merchandise: the ubiquitous tote, New Era caps, varsity-style sweaters, and limited-edition design objects.

Anchoring the book selection are heavyweight tomes. Wallpaper* recommends Judd, offering an incisive study of American artist Donald Judd’s practice, or a retrospective on photographer and photojournalist, Walker Evans.

The MoMA Bookstore at Hyundai Card is located at 18-10 Dosan-daero 45-gil, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea.

Five giant fibreglass meatballs sat at the centre of a press conference in Seoul’s Hannam-dong today, where journalists gathered for the launch of Ikea’s latest designer collaboration. They rest on a huge elliptical plate – an outsized version of a new design by young Swedish designer Gustaf Westman, part of a 12-piece collection teased over the summer. The regular-sized porcelain tray, Westman notes, neatly fits 11 meatballs – his (and Ikea’s) favourite Swedish dish.

Alongside the tray, the debut includes a chunky teacup with a saucer designed to hold a generous portion of biscuits; a donut-like portable lantern with a rotating mechanism that allows it to be angled; a glass vase in a springy spiral frame that bounces at the lightest touch; and an LED candelabra, among other tactile tabletop pieces, such as curvy porcelain plates and candlesticks.

Shiny, cartoonish and brightly coloured in shades of red, green, bubblegum-pink and baby blue, the collection channels Westman’s playful design language – a style that has earned him a devoted following since he launched his Stockholm studio five years ago (fans can try for a stay at his apartment, recently listed on home-swapping app Kindred, or dip into his guide to Stockholm). This collaboration with Ikea now makes his work accessible to a much bigger global audience for the first time.

‘There's obviously a lot of pre requirements when you work with Ikea, and there's a lot of things you can't do but a lot of things you can do as well, and you just have to learn about that at the beginning of the process,’ Westman says. ‘For example, there’s one person whose job it is to tell you, like, “If we take away 3mm from this plate, you can fit 100 more in a pallet.”’

The collaboration began three years ago as a conversation between Westman and Ikea creative leader Maria O’Brian, and was initially imagined as a Christmas collection. But, as the designer recalls, this didn’t sit quite right: ‘It felt a bit scary for me because I didn't feel like Christmas was the best fit for my aesthetic,’ he says.

Instead, he proposed a more inclusive collection designed for celebrations across countries and cultures. It's also the reason why the launch is taking place in Seoul (it’s Ikea’s first product launch in Asia), a location rich with traditions and celebrations, and a bright, experimental design landscape where Westman’s work feels perfectly at home.

Since he exploded onto the scene five years ago, Westman’s sense of whimsy and irreverence has drawn comparisons to Ettore Sottsass and Jean Royère, designers who embraced colour, play and a touch of the surreal. But Westman insists his own influences come just as much from growing up in 1990s and 2000s Sweden.

‘One of the things that we really fell for and why we wanted to work with Gustaf was that he really creates humorous objects,’ says O’Brian, noting the creative synergy that Ikea believes will resonate across generations and geographies. ‘We don't expect everyone to bring everything home, although there will be some die-hard fans who buy everything – we tried to make a collection where you can find your own favourites.’

So why are people so drawn to Westman’s playful designs? ‘I don't know, honestly,’ he shrugs. ‘But I feel like this whole sphere – the design world and the architecture world – has been taking itself very seriously for a long time. Of course, there’s space for that, but my way of designing is to have fun. I don't take myself too seriously, because I am not doing anything serious. There are people who do serious stuff, and that's for them, but I don't think that's what I'm gonna bring to the world.’

In an industry that often leans towards rigour and restraint, Westman seems intent on serving up joy – one oversized teacup, wobbly vase and fibreglass meatball at a time.

Up a hill and tucked behind the intersection of two major thoroughfares in Seoul’s Hannam-dong stands a residence that housed the Romanian ambassador to South Korea. Like so many special places, from the exterior, the ecru concrete and metal garage gate remains indistinct and blends into this residential quarter. However, this week during Seoul Art Week, long-time friends gyopo design darling Jillian Choi and Seoul-based interior designer Hye-Jin Ris Kim teamed up to do something quite novel for the South Korean capital: turn this Romanian residence into a home gallery showcase of the many faces of Korean creativity right now.

Choi had been having thoughtful conversations with Hye-Jin Kim and their friends, and PARKIM founders, Sandy Park and John Kim, about the perception and reception of current Korean art and design, and 'we thought, there’s a big desire to bring artists over there [to the US]. And how can we actually have something like Koreans showing Korean work, or [showing] how Koreans live in a Korean home. We were saying that we never see Korean designers in Korean homes,' explains Choi.

So the group decided to look for an exhibition space, or a pop-up on a commercial avenue. They secured one, and then a month ago, it fell through. Hye-Jin had an idea. Why not offer up her 1985 Hannam house, in a diplomatic gesture echoing the activities of space’s former occupants? Staging an interdisciplinary art and design showcase in a home isn’t a new concept, particularly in places like New York and Paris, where both Choi and Hye-Jin made their names. Choi was the Director of Global Exhibitions for Design Miami and Director of Collective Design, while Hye-Jin cut her chops with India Mahdavi.

However, in Seoul, it’s not customary to open one’s home to strangers, which in effect is what an apartment gallery is. As Choi offers, 'The Koreans who’ve come through have been saying that they've never seen anything like this. When we thought about this concept, we asked, what happens behind closed doors when people aren't looking and also outside of the expectations of society, and, a global society?'

And so, the exhibition 'Behind Closed Doors' was born from this group of friends pulling together a list of 24 Korean artists and designers – many of them close friends (sensing a theme here?) – who either live in Korea or are part of the diaspora and returned to Korea, or who’ve lived/worked both inside and out of the country (a very common experience for both the 1.5 and MZ Generations).

The grouping includes known names in the West like Kwangho Lee (a Salon 94 Design artist), Se Oh (rep’d by Tang Cont), Jesse Chun (on Commonwealth and Council’s roster) and Casper Kang (formerly of Studio Concrete), as well as homegrown stalwarts like conceptual artist Seung Neung Kyung (represented by Hyundai Gallery) and Internet-famous cat-obsessed Taewon Ahn.

Choi offers that the exhibition, 'is at the intersection of art and design, and the blurring of the lines is something that these artists are exploring as well.' Many of the works look like sculpture but are in fact functional, such as Hakmin Lee’s aluminum seating pieces or Seongil Choi’s 'Mirror Blocks Stool,' or look functional but are an art work, like Yerin Park’s carved porcelains that look like vases but are not, or Heakyoung Jang’s resin-marble 'Material Notes' series that could be seen as building blocks.

'We don't have to be confined by these labels,' says Choi, to which Hye-Jin adds, 'There’s something more to being Korean, more multi-cultural, than people expect. We often are obligated to be Korean in a certain way, but we wanted to explore outside of that.

Design Miami has unveiled its first event in Seoul, which opened on 1 September 2025. Titled 'Illuminated: A Spotlight on Korean Design', the event is held in collaboration with the Seoul Design Foundation and takes place at the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). The design fair runs through 14 September 2025, in parallel with the international art fairs Frieze Seoul and Kiaf, with the intention to create synergy in the art and design scene in Seoul (Wallpaper’s 'Best City’ in our 2024 Design Awards).

Design Miami's Seoul debut

The two-week event is the first multi-day event under the Design Miami.In Situ initiative, following an inaugural one-day event in Aspen, Colorado, in July 2025. Design Miami.In Situ is a travelling, localised exhibition series that aims to offer regionalised experiences and cultivate local design communities, and was created in celebration of Design Miami’s 20th anniversary this year.

The Seoul fair, marking the first time the design exhibition lands in Asia, showcases around 170 pieces of Korean collectible design by 71 artists and spotlights Korean design luminaries who have shaped the country’s design landscape, spanning from traditional craft to pioneering design innovations.

'The title was inspired by the Korean word ‘jo‑myeong’ which means ‘to illuminate,’' said Hyeyoung Cho, chairperson of the Korea Association of Art & Design, who curated the exhibition. 'There are so many talented Korean artists, and I am delighted to be able to shed light on their works through this exhibition. The strengths of Korean artists lie in their use of materials such as wood, metal and horsehair. Many of the exhibited artists are Loewe Foundation Craft Prize finalists. I think the timing of this exhibition is perfect as Korean culture has gained incredible popularity recently.'

'We’ve been paying attention to Seoul for a long time,' said Jen Roberts, CEO of Design Miami. 'There is a history of great collectors in this city. In the past decade, we've seen an increase of participation in the design community from Korea. It started 14 years ago with one gallery, and now there are many Korean designers with many international galleries.'

Holding the Design Miami.In Situ at DDP is particularly meaningful, as 'Zaha Hadid received the inaugural Designer of the Year Award at Design Miami’s first edition in 2005', says Roberts. 'Now, 20 years on, we are honoured to present our first-ever exhibition in Seoul within one of her iconic landmarks,' she explains.

The exhibition spans two storeys at the Igansumun exhibition hall, named after one of the historic water gates of Seoul’s old fortress wall during the Joseon Dynasty. The partially restored historical site is now an exhibition space inside DDP, which is run by the Seoul Design Foundation.

Cha Kang Heui, CEO of Seoul Design Foundation, was excited to 'showcase Seoul’s creative energy and design potential', and anticipates Seoul will become 'a central hub leading the global discourse on design'.

Alongside the exhibition, the fair also offers an all-day programme of Design Talks, discussing Korean creativity and design in the global market.

Design Miami in Seoul: 11 Korean designers to know

Kyeok Kim

Exuding an overwhelming presence in front of the main entrance is Kyeok Kim’s ‘Second Surface Chandelier 02’, which is an atmospheric porous chandelier hovering in the ceiling. This structure that looks like a living organism is meticulously bound by layers of crochet copper wire and lacquered using centuries-old Korean traditional lacquer technique ‘ottchil’.

Byung Hoon Choi

Harmoniously placed next to Kim’s chandelier is Byung Hoon Choi’s ‘afterimage of beginning’ series presented by Friedman Benda. Choi uses natural materials such as wood, clay, granite, and stone, and his sculptural yet functional works are rooted in the craft traditions of Korea but expressed in a contemporary way. Choi is a pioneering figure in Korean design, who has fostered many young artists in the field and brought Korean artistry to the global stage.

Joonyong Kim

‘Yellowish Deep Gray Night (2024)’ by Joonyong Kim is the beautiful and elegant glass vase that adorns the exhibition poster. ‘Cast-blowing’ – blowing molten glass into a cast mould – is the method Kim uses to create his glass works. The mesmerising colours are inspired by natural light from sunrise to sunset and Kim tries to capture and materialise the spectrum and ephemerality of natural light in the glass.

Dongjun Kim

Opposite the entrance lies a series of elegant jars, one of which is Dongjun Kim’s ‘Moon Jar’ – a white porcelain ceramic vessel. Kim’s ‘Moon Jars’ are fired in a wood-fire kiln lit by timber he sources himself during winter, and his slow craft method is a continuation of the historical white porcelain production method used during the Joseon dynasty. The full-moon-shaped jar traditionally symbolises wholeness and harmony as well as good luck and fortune.

Jongjin Park

Two funky-looking blue vessels sit next to Kim’s ‘Moon Jar’ – spectacular millefeuille vessels layered up with 1,000 individual sheets of paper. Based on his experience with the centuries-old Moon Jar craft, Jongin Park developed an innovative technique of painting porcelain slips onto single sheets of everyday paper towels. The sculptural vessels created as a result embody amazingly colourful and surprising textures.

Kuho Jung

An interesting addition to the exhibition collection is ‘Bandaji’, a traditional Korean storage chest, by Korea’s well-known cross-disciplinary creative director Kuho Jung. Initially a fashion designer, he moved on to direct performances and designed costumes for the National Dance Company of Korea. His artistic vision has expanded into furniture with the ‘Bandaji’ series, as he reinterprets the traditional chest by combining transparent Plexiglas with white metal fittings.

Kyounghee Kim

On the stairway leading down to the second exhibition hall stand two large ‘jogakbo’ artworks by Kyounghee Kim, delicately patchworked using silk organza. Jogakbo refers to a specific type of ‘bojagi’ – or wrapping cloth, often handmade from silk or cotton – made by patchworking leftover fabric pieces.

Jungin Lee

At the bottom of the staircase is an immediately eye-catching white sofa by Jungin Lee, presented by Charles Burnand Gallery. Conscious of the environmental impact of furniture-making, Lee turned to ‘hanji’ – a traditional Korean paper made from the bark of the mulberry tree, historically used in the construction of Korean homes. She adopted the age-old technique of pasting hanji onto lattice windows to create her distinctive, sculptural chairs.

Dahyeon Yoo

Quietly sitting among the art furniture is a pair of leather woven cases by Dahyeon Yoo. Yoo’s ‘Harmony’ series (2023-2025) utilises historical techniques originating from Korean rice straw folk crafts of the Joseon Dynasty period and applies them to leather. The balanced, symmetrical forms represent inner harmony.

Dahye Jeong

Winner of the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize 2022, Dahye Jeong presents her new work, ‘Drift as you are’ (2025), which sees her unique craft, working with horsehair, represented in the form of a wall light. Her horsehair vessel, ‘A Time of Sincerity’ (2021), from the Loewe Craft Prize, also returns this year, in black.

Wonmin Park

Centrally staged in the downstairs exhibition hall is Wonmin Park’s ‘Stone & Steel’ series presented by Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Taking diverse cues from both the natural and industrial world, Park’s new series of works includes a console and a bench – pieces that juxtapose the contrasting natures of primordial volcanic rock and modern industrial steel.

Frieze Seoul is back for its fourth edition, returning to COEX from 3-6 September 2025, running alongside Kiaf, South Korea’s leading art fair. Located in the heart of Gangnam at K-POP Square, the 2025 iteration of Frieze Seoul features presentations from over 120 galleries from more than 30 countries, plus a programme of performance art, film, talks, and artist projects. Gallerists, collectors, curators, artists, along with a K-pop star or two will travel there to immerse themselves in Seoul’s robust art scene.

‘Frieze serves as both a catalyst and an anchor for the city,’ Frieze Seoul director Patrick Lee told Wallpaper*. ‘The energy during the week, the engagement with a global audience, and the interaction between galleries, collectors, curators, and museums is deeply rewarding. Being a platform that connects people in support of artists and their work is at the heart of what we do. Ultimately, seeing this mission activate an entire city and continue to thrive each year is incredibly inspiring.’

From new galleries to around town, what to see at Frieze Seoul 2025

Inside the fair

Nearly two dozen galleries will exhibit at the fair for the first time, including Leo Gallery (Shanghai), Dirimart (Istanbul), and ThisWeekendRoom (Seoul). New York’s Carvalho will present its inaugural Frieze Seoul stand, a solo exhibition of works by London-based artist Yulia Iosilzon, whose dreamy paintings were influenced by the Greek myth of Echo and Narcissus. Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Make Room is showing Xin Liu, Sun Woo, Pia Ortuño, and Linn Meyers for its Frieze Seoul debut.

The Korean galleries have a stellar line-up; Kukje Gallery will show the breadth of Korean and Korean diaspora artists, from key Dansaekwha masters Park Seo-Bo and Ha Chong-Hyun to contemporary artists such as Haegue Yang, along with Byron Kim and Michael Joo. Gallery Hyundai will present three pivotal Korean artists: Chung Sang-Hwa, John Pai, and Kim Bohie.

Women will dominate the booth at San Francisco’s Jessica Silverman, with a presentation of four female artists: Andrea Bowers, Clare Rojas, Davina Semo, and Chelsea Ryoko Wong. Mind Set Art Center will also highlight women artists, with ‘Chora: A Feminine Space’ – featuring Juin Shieh, Ana Maria Micu, Marina Cruz, Lo Yi-Chun, Lee Jo-Mei and Yang Yu-Ning – exploring female identity and memory through a cross-generational selection.

Global galleries

The wide range of global galleries will show a mixed bag of emerging and established artists from their roster. Lehmann Maupin will show Korean artists Do Ho Suh (currently showing at Tate Modern in London) and Sung Neung Kyung alongside rising artists Anna Park and Tammy Nguyen. Sprüth Magers will feature a large-scale wall work by Robert Morris as one of the central pieces, as well as the gallery’s most important artists – George Condo, John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer, and Rosemarie Trockel, and new additions Gala Porras-Kim and Mire Lee. Esther Schipper’s booth will show Yeesookyung, Ryan Gander, Ugo Rondinone, and Simon Fujiwara. Massimo De Carlo will show a mix of works for a cross-generational group of artists, Alighiero Boetti, Paola Pivi, and Dominique Fung. Almine Rech will spotlight prominent Korean artists such as Ha Chong-Hyun, Kim Tschang-Yeul, and Kim Yong-Ik, along with historical works by John Giorno, and contemporary artists Chloe Wise and Claire Tabouret.

Hauser & Wirth is also showing a cross-generational mix, including artworks by Louise Bourgeois and Cathy Josefowitz with contemporary artists Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Rita Ackermann, Avery Singer, and Mark Bradford. Historic works by Adolph Gottlieb and Yoo Youngkuk will be the main attractions at Pace, which will also show Elmgreen & Dragset, Alicja Kwade, Kylie Manning, and Adam Pendleton. David Zwirner will show photographs by Wolfgang Tillmans (who also has an exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris) and mini Lisa Yuskavage, artists from its roster who both currently have museum shows (Tillmans at the Centre Pompidou in Paris). Takashi Murakami will be the focal point of the group show at Gagosian.

Frieze Masters

Frieze Masters returns with concise presentations that connect eras – from rare manuscripts to late-20th-century highlights. Standouts include: Regis Krampf Gallery’s post-Cubist Georges Braque canvases (such as Les Rougets, 1937 and Baigneuse II, 1930-31); Hakgojae’s nine-artist homage to the 18th-century moon jar (from KIM Whanki and Park Soo Keun to Nam June Paik and Yun Suknam); Les Enluminures’ show of illuminated treasures and jewelled rarities (a 14th-century Roman de la Rose – an allegorical poem – a Golconda diamond court necklace, an emerald ring possibly from Muzo); Tokyo Gallery + BTAP’s Mono-ha/Dansaekhwa dialogue (Koji Enokura, Park Seo-Bo, Kumi Sugai); Gana Art’s Oh Su-Fan God of Valley series; Spurs Gallery’s solo exhibition of German artist Ulay (including early actions, Auto-Polaroids, and Relation Works with Marina Abramović); Mazzoleni’s post-war Italians (Bonalumi, Castellani, Pistoletto, Salvo); and Asia Art Center’s rare post-war Taiwanese works by Chu Weibor, Ju Ming, and Yuyu Yang.

And finally – don't miss these institutional exhibitions during Frieze Seoul Week

After a stint at Hamburger Bahnhof in autumn 2024, the Mark Bradford retrospective ‘Keep Walking’ is currently on view at the Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA), through January 2026.

At the Leeum Museum of Art in the Yongsan District, multidisciplinary artist Lee Bul will open a major retrospective spanning four decades, from the 1980s to the present.

Adrián Villar Rojas will present his first solo exhibition in Korea, ‘The Language of the Enemy’ at Art Sonje Center, deconstructing the institutional structure of the museum through one monumental sculpture.

The late Kim Tschang-Yeul, one of South Korea’s most prominent contemporary artists, known for blending Western modernism with a Korean perspective, has a retrospective on view through December 2025 at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul (MMCA).

South Korea’s first major Louise Bourgeois exhibition in 25 years opens at the Ho-Am Art Museum in Yongin. Expect to see the late artist's diaries and psychoanalytic notes, along with her earlier works.

The Seoul Mediacity Biennale explores the intersection of technology and spirituality through artists like Nam June Paik, Hilma af Klint, Joseph Beuys, and Mike Kelley at the Seoul Museum of Art through November 2025.

Hugo Marchand and Hannah O’Neill will celebrate the opening of Frieze Seoul 2025 with a performance at Paradise Art Night.

Hosted by Paradise City, the art-entertainment resort next to Seoul's Incheon Airport, the show continues the hotel’s tradition of art happenings, installations, and live events – at last year’s Paradise CIty Frieze party, Pharrell Williams and South Korean rapper G-Dragon hosted a special sale with digital-first auction house Joopiter.

With public area rooms featuring over 3,000 artworks by Yayoi Kusama, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor, Jeff Koons and KAWS, displayed alongside work by prominent Korean artists Lee Bae, Park Seo-Bo, Kim Hodeuk and Kim Tschang-Yeul, the collection reflects Paradise City’s owner Phillip Chun’s passion for both contemporary and global talent. Ranked amongst ArtNews’ top 200 collectors worldwide, Chun imagines the hotel as both exhibition and gallery. ‘A hub of new Asian modern and contemporary art where Korean and global cultures are brought together.’

Now entering its fourth iteration, Frieze Seoul attracts 120 galleries from all over the world, Paradise City’s launch event this year previews work by America’s Joel Mesler at the hotel’s Art Space gallery, prior to the ballet performance.

This isn’t the first time Marchand and O’Neill have danced to contemporary art. In 2021, they presented an original choreography set among Anselm Kiefer's Field of the Cloth of Gold exhibition at Gagosian's Le Bourget, France. Prior to the event at Paradise Art Night Hugo Marchand will take to the stage at Palais des Papes, Avignon to collaborate with Jean-Michel Othoniel for "Midnight Souls" accompanying the French artist’s OTHONIEL COSMOS or the Ghosts of Love exhibition.

While bringing the French style of ballet to Korea, the dancer says he looks forward to being nurtured and inspired by what he witnesses in Korea. ‘I am very sensitive and depending on where I’m on earth, I feel a very different kind of vibration, touching the trees, ground, and soil,’ says Hugo Marchand. ‘I am looking forward to seeing how I feel in Korea.’

The atmosphere in central Seoul around Gwanghwamun Square in early April was certainly lively, as South Korean citizens awaited their Constitutional Court’s decision on whether to uphold the president’s impeachment on Friday 4th (the Court did, and unanimously so).

On the same date, those seeking distraction from the drama could alternatively visit the first public day of the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show at Kintex, the Korea International Exhibition Center, to the north-west of the city. Celebrating its 30th birthday in 2025 (and running until 13 April), this year’s biennial event hosted world-first unveils from local carmakers Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, plus regional reveals from global exhibitors BMW, BYD, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

The show was rebranded from the Seoul Motor Show in 2021, with the aim of drawing in a wider audience and product offering. When Wallpaper* snuck in a day early for the press preview, we found innovative transport of all shapes and sizes. From hydrogen-powered cars to hubless electric bikes and autonomous pods, here is our curated edit.

Highlights from 2025 Seoul Mobility Show

Hyundai Nexo

The importance of Hyundai in South Korea is huge. The various wings of the business make everything from passenger cars – including under its own brand, plus sister marques Kia and Genesis – to giant earth diggers and more. Predictably, the local corporation-turned-global powerhouse went large at the Seoul Mobility Show, and arguably its most significant design was the second-generation Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

Targeting a 435-mile range from a five-minute refuel, the production vehicle may be niche, mainly due to the current lack of global hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, but Hyundai is still seeking 11,000 annual sales worldwide. More significant is the car’s heralding of a wider new exterior design direction, which Hyundai is calling ‘Art of Steel’. Based closely on the late 2024 Initium concept, expect future designs across the whole Hyundai range to visually reflect the strength and malleability of the metal in a variety of incarnations, while still anchored to the brand’s use of pixel graphics in its front faces and rear lights.

Hyundai.com

Hyundai Ioniq 6

Another significant unveil – and one more relevant to a wider buying public – was the new Ioniq 6 full-electric saloon. Majorly updated from the first generation, only put into production in 2022, the biggest changes are to its exterior. The front lights have been greatly reduced in size and complexity to just four pixels on each side, and at the rear, one larger ‘ducktail-style’ spoiler now replaces the two previous smaller spoilers. The net result is a visual lengthening and cleaning up of the already elegant ‘streamliner’ silhouette of the 2022 model. Technically only a facelift, with some small changes to the interior too, the exterior visual transformation is nonetheless impressive up close, especially for those who appreciate ‘less is more’ vehicle design.

A sportier Ioniq N Line model was also launched in Seoul, with a red exterior, and visually differentiates itself through gloss-black lower cladding that sweeps back and dramatically upwards to nestle under the single rear spoiler to enhance the go-faster vibe. Those seeking an actually go-faster Ioniq 6 won’t have to wait long either. The N version promises boosted performance, ride and handling, plus digital sonic pops, bangs to enhance the electric driving experience to a more petrol engine-like feeling and sound – in the manner of the already well-received Ioniq 5 N. Expect the 6 N to be unveiled at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed in just a few months’ time.

Hyundai.com

Hyundai Insteroid

Wildly different again from Hyundai in Seoul was the Insteroid concept car. With a brief to make a vehicle that would engage the younger generation, the result is a slammed and widened Inster EV (known as the Casper in Korea) with a stripped-out and customisable interior. The dinky city car underpinnings are almost lost in the ‘Insteroidal’ transition, and there is no stated production intent for the concept, but the car can be driven in virtual form now as an option within the KartRider video game (think Korean Mario Kart).

As Nicola Danza, Hyundai Europe’s exterior design manager told Wallpaper*: 'We keep hearing the young generation don’t want to buy cars. That’s partly true, but I think the main problem is that there’s not a car by them, for them. So we took some of our young new designers – luckily not yet polluted by production problems – and just said, “What would you have as a dream car for yourself?” And they were like, “OK, we want a small car but also want it to be fun. They like gaming and the digital world, so combined the two things and came up with the Insteroid.'

Hyundai.com

Genesis X Gran Coupe and Convertible

Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand Genesis has been quietly developing a small foothold in the upmarket car market over the last decade through the strong direction of ex-Bentley designers Luc Donckerwolke and SangYup Lee. The latest concepts unveiled in Seoul, based on the G90 production model – respectively the X Gran Coupe and Convertible – reflect that experience and attention to proportion, quality and detail. Impressive? Absolutely, but the brand needs to put a few of these well-realised ideas into production more quickly and, longer-term, make the marque stand further apart from its inspirations.

Genesis.com

Kia PV5

Kia's latest offerings were first shown at its own ‘Kia EV Day’ in February 2025 in Tarragona, Spain, but the Seoul Mobility Show was nonetheless a good moment for the wider public to see them. The key product on the stand may have been an all-electric van – a new segment for Kia – but there were also camper van-style passenger variants.

In addition, there was a collaboration with fellow Korean electronics powerhouse LG, showing how the PV5’s rear cabin could be transformed, plus versions optimised for wheelchair users too, in keeping with the show’s recent wider and more inclusive mobility focus. The PV5 goes on sale in the second half of 2025 in Korea and Europe, with other markets to follow.

Kia.com

Top Secret Hubless e-bike

A Korean-made two-wheeled transport option that caught our eye at the show was the Top Secret e-bike, featuring a titanium and aluminium main frame and striking hubless wheels with airless tyres. The 48V 500W motor is restricted to 15mph and good for 80 miles of range but alas, the e-bike is currently only available for pre-order, with a $10,000 estimated retail price for an as yet undefined launch date. After which, logically, it should become less ‘top secret’.

TopSecretBike.com

Pix Moving Robobus

Autonomous shuttle pods have been envisioned, designed and in some cases actually delivered to various forward-thinking global cities as a safer, greener and potentially more accessible type of localised public transport for some years now. But they don’t come cheap, due in no small part to the significant sensors and tech that allow such driverless movement.

The compact sub-4m-long Pix Moving Robobus pod shown in Seoul – on the stand of its software provider Treeze – can carry up to six passengers and travel 60 miles before a recharge, but currently costs circa $500,000-600,000. However, engineers are working hard to integrate less expensive cameras that could soon replace pricey Lidar units and work as well, with a target price per pod by 2028 of $100,000. Still not a bargain compared to many private cars, but perhaps a fair enough price for more local councils and other municipal bodies to buy in and then coax citizens into this more high-tech shareable transport system.

PixMoving.com

2025 Seoul Mobility Show runs 4-13 April, MobilityShow.or.kr

French interior architect and furniture designer Pierre Yovanovitch is known for creating compelling design showcases – from the Paris showroom of his brand, Pierre Yovanovitch Mobilier, to narrative-led furniture exhibitions such as 2019's show ‘Love’ at New York’s R & Company. He has also successfully transferred his skills to costume and set design for operatic performance – his first foray being with Theater Basel’s staging of Rigoletto in 2023, for which he created a chic and slick set comprising three brightly painted curved walls – like abstract flower petals – that moved as the action unfolded and intensified.

Now, Yovanovitch has revealed the set design and costumes for a production of Le Nozze di Figaro by the Korea National Opera in Seoul.

Pierre Yovanovitch’s set and costume design for the Korea National Opera

Yovanovitch is a lifelong opera fan, and his passion for the medium resonates through his work and its attention to detail. A setting sun presides over the performance, tracking the passage of time as the ‘day of madness’ unfolds. The stage, set on a rotating platform, shifts between the Countess’s atelier and the Count’s house, offering clean-lined architectural vignettes in the round. A smooth, spiral tower and the imposing symmetry of the Count’s home draw on 1920s and 1930s modernist architecture – namely the stepped form of the ancient Mesopotamian ziggurat and the minimalist geometry of Villa Noailles - an aesthetic Yovanovitch hopes will resonate with younger, contemporary audiences.

Notably, this production marks his first creating costumes – a total of 53 – along with accessories, hairstyles, and makeup. Drawing on his eight-year tenure designing menswear for Pierre Cardin in the 1990s, he blended references to traditional Korean attire, such as traditional Korean knots and hanbok influences, with the sharp tailoring and silhouettes of 1920s–30s fashion.

'This project allowed me to expand my storytelling into new realms – beyond the set to costumes – and to reflect the witty intricacies of Le Nozze di Figaro through every visual detail,' says Yovanovitch, who meticulously tailored each look to reflect the contradictions and complexities of the characters. 'Everything seems simple in this opera, but in the end, all the characters are ambiguous. Love is everywhere, and melancholy more than meets the eye.'

The designer worked closely with director Vincent Huguet, with whom he also collaborated on Rigoletto at Theater Basel. For those curious to see where this creative partnership goes next, keep your lorgnettes at the ready: Yovanovitch and Huguet will reunite for Wagner's 'The Valkyrie', set to open later this year at the Rome Opera House. Encore!

Le Nozze di Figaro was staged by Korea National Opera at Seoul Arts Centre this March,

pierreyovanovitch.com
nationalopera.org.

Following its acquisition of two-thirds of Asiana, Korean Air has unveiled a major brand makeover, the first since 1984 and the second in its 55-year history. The refresh embraces a clean, modern aesthetic, emphasising the airline’s signature blue spectrum as its most distinctive visual element.

All about Korean air’s new identity

Korean Air enlisted global creative consultancy Lippincott to spearhead the redesign, a key part of its strategy to position both the airline and Seoul as global aviation hubs. The redesigned aircraft now feature a matte blue body, complemented by a navy fuselage logotype that reads ‘Korean’. By omitting ‘Air’, the airline aims for a sleeker, more refined look while reinforcing its national identity.

On the tail, the traditionally red-and-blue Taegeuk symbol – representing the balance of natural forces, as seen on South Korea’s flag – goes monochromic. The update, states the airline, seeks to capture the elegance and dynamism of Sangmo Nori, a Korean dance symbolising prosperity and abundance.

The new branding extends across physical and digital touchpoints, including redesigned economy and business-class cabin interiors by PriestmanGoode (also behind designs for Finnair Business Class and Lufthansa First Class Suites in recent years), updated livery, refreshed check-in areas, printed materials, and an overhauled website. Seats and boarding passes will now showcase a Jogakbo-inspired patchwork design. Additionally, the airline has partnered with chef Seakyeong Kim to revamp its in-flight menu.

‘Our cross-functional global team has worked closely with the Korean Air team to honour the brand’s rich history and heritage while also creating a bold reinterpretation for the future,’ says Lippincott CEO Michael D’Esopo.

Although the airline’s existing A380s will continue flying for at least another year, newly designed planes and liveries have already begun rolling out this month.

koreanair.com

The concrete undercroft of the Southbank Centre is the spiritual home of British skatewear brand Palace: co-founders Gareth Skewis and Lev Tanju spent much of their formative years ‘hanging out and skateboarding’ in the space, a brutalist assemblage of ramps, ledges, stairs and pillars that has been a playground for skaters for over four decades. ‘I spent so many years there,’ Tanju tells Wallpaper* of the Thameside space, which was preserved as part of the ‘Long Live Southbank’ campaign in 2013. ‘I met so many people there and Palace wouldn’t exist without Southbank.’

Opening tomorrow (8 February 2025), a new Palace store in Seoul seeks to recreate and celebrate the ‘mighty Southbank’ in a collaboration with the multidisciplinary designer Steve Oh (previously Oh worked in the research and development team at Google ATAP, before founding design agency OSTVO in 2023). The brief, says Skewis was to ‘integrate the brutalism of Southbank into a Palace store with touches of luxury’. As such, the store is an exercise in contrast: concrete pillars and ceilings counterpoint a gleaming grey marble floor, while Southbank’s block-like benches are recreated in monolithic slabs of red marble (‘like Southbank could only dream of’, reads the press release in Palace’s typically irreverent style).

Inside Palace’s Southbank-inspired Seoul store

‘[It’s] is a significant landmark in brutalist architecture, and my goal was to capture its essence within the space,’ says Oh. ‘During my on-site visit to the Southbank Skate Park and the Queen Elizabeth Hall above it, I focused on the raw energy of the environment – I wanted to celebrate the unique cultural and historical significance of this space, particularly as the birthplace of Palace Skateboards.

‘Southbank was shaped by a group of visionary young architects from the London County Council, who had the freedom to push boundaries,’ Oh continues. ‘One of the design elements I admire most is how they transformed concrete – typically cold and industrial – by casting it in Baltic pine moulds, imprinting the wood’s rough grain onto the surface. This technique gave the material unexpected warmth and texture, which I wanted to honour and recreate.’

‘The pillars are such an iconic part of growing up at Southbank, the team worked really hard to mimic the wood-like texture of the concrete,’ adds Tanju. ‘We wanted it to feel welcoming. I love sitting at Southbank so I plan to love sitting in this shop.’

More playful elements populate the space, like a totemic ‘English bulldog sculpture’ at the centre of the store, while a ‘P’-shape light – in Palace’s signature slanted font, part of Fergus Purcell’s original emblematic Tri-Ferg logo – hangs over a display of colourful skate decks. ‘What makes this partnership so rewarding is the freedom to experiment and have fun with the process,’ says Oh. ‘It’s motivating to work with a brand that is committed to creativity – it encourages me to create a unique space that challenges the norms of retail.’

The store is Palace’s second in Seoul, following the opening of its first outpost in the city in February 2024 (located in the Apgujeong district, at 486 sq m, that marked the brand’s largest store to date). ‘We have a lot of fans here,’ says Tanju. ‘It doesn’t feel like any other place – I love the food, I love the people, we have some great friends there now.’ Skewis agrees: ‘It’s got an amazing skate scene – it’s like nowhere else I’ve ever been.’

Palace Seoul, 30, Hongik-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

palaceskateboards.com

The breaking news of Margot Robbie becoming the new face of Chanel No.5 (and starring in a Luca Guadagnino-directed campaign film alongside Jacob Elordi), plus the reveal of Marina Abramović’s new range of skincare, are just two of the beauty features on Wallpaper.com that you loved reading in 2024.

Below, find a wider selection of articles that got you clicking and scrolling, including a look at Dyson’s latest science fiction-like styling tool and a 15-step illustrated guide outlining the meticulous process of a Korean scalp treatment.

The most-read Wallpaper* beauty stories from 2024

1. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi almost become lovers in Luca Guadagnino’s Chanel No.5 campaign

In October, Margot Robbie was announced as the new face of Chanel No.5. (2024 also saw Robbie front a nightclub-inspired‘Rouge Allure Velvet’ lipstick collection). See You at 5, an accompanying Chanel No.5 campaign film also starring Jacob Elordi and shot by Luca Guadagnino, saw the two actors ‘almost’ become lovers, as they attempt to meet one another against the backdrop of the setting California sun.

Read the full feature here.

2. How the 15-step Korean scalp treatment rejuvenates hair like nothing else

For the Wallpaper* February 2024 Design Awards issue, we presented a beauty award to the Eco Jardin hair salon in Seoul, for its meticulous 15-step scalp treatment. Including a microscopic scalp analysis, massage, steam LED light therapy and more, Lucy Birant illustrated each step of the process.

Read the full feature here.

3. Marina Abramović releases a skincare and wellness range ‘inspired by mindfulness’

In January, artist Marina Abramović brought the principles of her ‘mindfulness-based’ Longevity Method to a new skincare and wellness collection developed with Dr Nonna Brenner. The project certainly raised a few eyebrows – was it another performance piece, perhaps? Or was she deadly serious? – the Wallpaper.com feature on the products and ideas behind them certainly got people talking.

Read the full feature here.

4. Poor Things’ Oscar-winning make-up and hair: behind-the-scenes interview

Yorgos Lanthimos’ film Poor Things, based on the 1992 novel by Alasdair Grey, received critical acclaim. Winning a Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival, it also garnered 11 nominations at the Academy Awards, with Emma Stone winning Best Actress for her performance as Bella Baxter. The hair and make-up design team, led by Nadia Stacey, also received several accolades including an Academy Award and a BAFTA. We interviewed Stacey about her work on the film on Wallpaper.com.

Read the full feature here.

5. First look: how Diptyque used synaesthesia to create its poetic new perfume collection

Diptyque launched a new luxury perfume collection in the summer of 2024, ‘Les Essences de Diptyque’, which was (true to Diptyque’s form) inspired by the natural world. Here, five unique fragrances captured ‘the scent of coral and mother of pearl’, with five unique fragrances designed by a team of noses using synaesthesia. We interviewed them all for a first look at the project on Wallpaper.com.

Read the full feature here.

6. The new Dyson ‘Airwrap i.d.’ will style your hair using an app

Dyson made further strides in hair and beauty in 2024, with ‘Chitosan’ (its first-ever range of hair care products) and the ‘Airwrap i.d.’, an updated model of its beloved ‘Airwrap’ styling tool. Upon its launch in August, we covered the news on Wallpaper.com, revealing the ‘Airwrap i.d.’ works in tandem with the ‘MyDyson’ app to carry out a personalised curling sequence at the touch of a button.

Read the full feature here.

7. The Substance: how Pierre-Olivier Persin transformed Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley with prosthetic make-up design

The Substance was a film on everyone’s lips in 2024, drumming up plenty of ‘discourse’ for its subject matter and visual language. Directed by Coralie Fargeat and starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, the story of Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) and her ‘other self ’Sue (Qualley) came to life through the visionary prosthetic make-up design by Pierre Oliver Persin. We spoke with Persin to gain insight into transforming the actors into the grotesque and comedically tragic characters ‘Gollum’ and ‘Monstro Elisasue’.

Read the full feature here.

8. Bleach London’s permanent dyes transform hair (without using bleach)

Session stylist Alex Brownsell (who has worked with everyone from Gucci and Versace to Celine and Marc Jacobs) founded the east London hair salon Bleach in 2010, after growing tired of dying her friends’ hair in the kitchen sink. In 2024, however, Bleach made a revolutionary development for dying hair at home, with its ‘No Bleach London’ permanent box dyes, which create vibrant colour without any bleach at all. Brownsell shared her insights on the products with Wallpaper*.

Read the full feature here.

9. Jamie Dornan takes a bath in Le Corbusier’s villa for Loewe Perfumes

In September, the news broke that brand ambassadors Jamie Dornan and Sophie Wilde were the new faces of Loewe Perfumes. A portrait series and film by David Sims saw Dornan and Wilde make themselves at home inside the master bathroom in Villa Savoye, which was designed and built in the 1930s by Le Corbusierand Pierre Jeanneret. The 2024 campaign also spotlighted four scents from Loewe Perfumes’ ‘Botanical Rainbow’ and ‘Un Paseo por Madrid’ collections: ‘Esencia’, ‘Agua Drop’, ‘Un Paseo por Madrid Doré’ and ‘Prado’.

Read the full feature here.

10. What makes a ‘winter perfume’? The Wallpaper* guide to fragrances that linger on the skin and in the air

As temperatures dropped in November, we turned our focus to a selection of potent and long-lasting perfumes for the winter months. This includes fragrances from the Dior ‘Esprit de Parfum’ collection, also featured in the Wallpaper* December Entertaining Issue, ‘L’Eau d’Hiver’, by nose Jean Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle, and more.

Read the full feature here.

The Seoul neighbourhood of Hannam-dong, overlooking the Han River, is home to some of the wealthiest households in South Korea (the family of the chairman of Samsung among them). Here, on the hill above the Samsung-owned Leeum Museum, the houses are grand, but that is not the only reason they look quite different from those in the rest of the city. These homes are largely completely blocked from view from the street, with high walls and fences sheltering the high-profile properties from prying eyes.

Tour Taikaka House

Among those formidable mansions, there is one that stands out in both colour and shape – a black building wrapped in wooden fins. Up close, the patterns on its perforated ‘roof’ structure come into sharper focus, evoking a bird’s nest. ‘There wasn’t any real intention behind the shape,’ says Nicholas Burns, the architect who designed the house. ‘It was more something that came out naturally when I was drawing. But it creates interesting light and shadow patterns.’

Recycled teak found in a 300-year-old Dutch building in Java, Indonesia, was used for the fins. They were brought to Bali and milled into the cladding at Burns’ workshop – his studio has a base there, as well as offices in Australia and Portugal. Dark colours were chosen for the exterior because teak lightens over time. ‘I think the goal was to make it quiet, to make it absorb light rather than reflect light and for it to weather,’ says Burns. Enclosed in the teak fins is a dark zinc building with sturdy, heavily insulated walls.

The four-storey home was commissioned by Seoul-based, New Zealand entrepreneur and art collector Adam Ballin, who lives here with his South Korean wife and two children. ‘I didn’t want to live in an apartment,’ he says. ‘I wanted land and a home for my family – a sanctuary, a space that had everything I needed within its walls.’

His aim was to be able to close the gates and feel away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul, and to be self-sufficient. He named his sanctuary Taikaka House, which, in the native Māori language of New Zealand, means ‘heart-wood’, or the middle and strongest part of a tree. His aspiration to build a strong family is reflected in the design of its base – using wood at its heart.

Two types of wood were used for the interior – French oak on the ceiling and bog oak for the cabinet joinery. The latter is oak that has been preserved in peat bogs for hundreds or thousands of years – it comes with a carbonised finish, which gives it its black colour. Wood and limestone were the two materials used consistently throughout the house. 

Sunken below ground level is a wild garden courtyard, while just above it lies another outdoor area with an al fresco cooking section. ‘The idea was to introduce nature into the centre of the house almost as the focal point,’ says Burns.

The wide, floor-to-ceiling windows facing the mountains and cityscape bring in the natural surroundings, too. Another ‘mini’ garden spills out from the living room. It ‘frames up the buildings below and intensifies the views of the mountains so it makes the mountains come closer,’ according to Burns.

Nature is also present inside the house through a collection of artworks by New Zealand creatives. Hanging in the foyer is Bill Hammond’s Placemakers. ‘To me, this is New Zealand art at its finest,’ says Ballin. ‘It’s almost primaeval; the birds are keeping guard over a sacred land, pushing back the settlers. I love the feeling of the painting, its deep green envelops you and cools the space down.’

Next to the basement pool is Michael Smither’s Rock Pools, the largest piece the artist ever painted. ‘Every time I walk past it, it reminds me of the beautiful clear rivers of New Zealand,’ says Ballin. ‘It’s almost surrealist, but it ties the rooms together.’ In fact, the home’s swimming pool was designed to be like a rock pool; all its edges are curved as if they were carved out by the ocean.

Burns designed the space with Ballin’s expansive art collection in mind. ‘All of the walls are obviously positioned in ways to suit the art,’ he says. ‘Museum-grade lighting was used because that is very important in terms of protecting the artwork and giving a very even, true colour and light to the works.’

Connecting the floors is a one-of-a-kind walnut and brass lift piercing through the middle of the house. The work of German designer Valentin Loellmann, who also created furniture for the house, its exquisite look is more of a sculpture than a lift.

Despite Covid, construction took only 13 months to complete since it kicked off at the end of 2019. One of the many beauties of this house, Ballin told Burns after moving in, is to have a skylight over the en-suite shower in his bedroom. What could be more luxurious than enjoying the bright blue sky in the morning and the moon shining down at you at night?

nicholas-burns.com

This article appears in the December 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands from 7 of November, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

With more cafés per capita than any other city in the world, Seoul offers a dynamic coffee culture unlike anywhere else, comprising international chains, local favourites, themed cafés, and a growing number of high-quality independents. Among the thousands of options available, the following selection of design-led cafés stands apart from the ordinary – perfect for a pause amid the bustle of Frieze Seoul 2025 (3-6 September).

Ten of the best coffee shops in Seoul

Blue Bottle Myeongdong Cafe

Speciality coffee roaster Blue Bottle enlisted Teo Yang Studio for the design of its outpost in the heaving shopping district of Myeong-dong. The brief was to preserve the brand’s DNA while tailoring the site to its surroundings. The Seoul-based practice responded by elevating the brand’s trademark blue into a central design element, weaving it through a concept that also draws on hanok (traditional Korean houses) and the spatial philosophy of jakyung (architecture as part of the scenery).

Compact and pared back, the Myeong-dong café is built for its grab-and-go rhythm. A soft palette of white and blue sets a calming backdrop that sharpens the senses for the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Order the signature New Orleans-style coffee, laced with roasted chicory, and pair it with something sweet from the rotating bakery counter. SDLC

Blue Bottle Myeongdong Cafe is located at 14 Myeongdong-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea.

Cafe Aalto by Mealº

In the transformed district of Yongsan-gu, a clean-cut café inspired by Alvar Aalto anchors David Chipperfield’s first project in South Korea: the Amorepacific World Headquarters. Aptly named Cafe Aalto, the site is a study in wooden textures and stark proportions, attuned to natural rhythms. While the singular Stool 60 and Chair 66 offer the most direct references to the work of the late Finnish architect and designer, a striking ceiling installation by Teo Yang Studio is equally noteworthy. Thinly slatted birch screens frame a sculptural cut-out ceiling, recalling Aalto’s Savoy Vase.

The central reading table, featuring tomes on Finnish architecture, is best enjoyed with a drink – even the coffee receives an Aalto-inspired twist, with fresh chestnut cream. Sweet bites, led by local bakery Mealº, complement the café’s aesthetic. Expect cube custard bread and Goyang slices to disappear quickly from the shelves. SDLC

Cafe Aalto by Mealº is located at 100 Hangang-daero, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea.

Coffee Nap Roasters

Coffee Nap Roasters selected design studio MAOOM to conceptualise its award-winning space, which heralds a hill made of 7,000 bricks for people to sit and enjoy coffee. Located on a triangular corner in Yeonnam-dong, the unique space shares a strong connection with nature, with its ceiling allowing sunlight and moonlight to come through.

The café, notes founder and owner Jinho Lee, ‘brightens up the area and will continue to show its unique beauty with only the simplest tones and textures even after a long time passes’. RS

Coffee Nap Roasters is located at 70 Seongmisan-ro 27-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Foreplan

Foreplan, which lies hidden at the end of an alley in Seongsu-dong, near Ttukseom Station, perfectly reflects the ambience of an architectural office. Near the entrance, visitors can playfully flip wooden boxes to create letters. Inside, displays of sketches and models, tables lined with cutting mats and yellow tracing paper, as well as open shelving displaying books and magazines, add character to the space.

Offerings comprise a brunch menu along with a wide selection of beverages, including coffee and espresso drinks. However, those looking for something beyond the usual latte might try the signature Macadamia Cream Latte, topped with a thick layer of smooth cream and a sprinkle of crushed nuts. RS

Foreplan is located at 30-11 Wangsimni-ro 14-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Hahouse Cafe

One of the latest industrial-chic additions to the city, Hahouse Cafe operates in the multicultural Itaewon district. The coffee shop, which doubles as a gallery on its upper floor, is a clean choreography of raw materials, including concrete, stainless steel, and wood. Niceworkshop’s founder, Hyunseog Oh, aimed to conceptualise a space that would connect natural elements with man-made materials as a symbol of unity and cohesion.

Bespoke furnishings follow the same principles as Oh's Neo-Naturalism series: tables and chairs feature wood grain patterns etched onto geometric stainless-steel surfaces, while standard-sawn timber logs inspire stools. If the steel leaves you feeling a little cold, pair a warm coffee with one of the bakery’s signature sweet domes. Hahouse Cafe’s edible Jenga – made with French AOP butter, Guérande sea salt, Valrhona chocolate, and other rich flavours – makes for a very sweet pastime. SDLC

Hahouse Cafe is located at 8 2F Itaewon-ro 54ga-gil, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea.

Hrr

The name of this coffee shop-cum-glasshouse comes from the onomatopoeic Korean word 흐르르, phonetically rendered as ‘Hrr’. Located at the entrance of Jamwon Hangang Park, its crisp white interiors are as calming as the nearby Han River. The minimalist colour palette and open layout are grounded by mature wooden pillars, evoking the area’s maritime heritage. Thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, natural light continuously pours in, and with the subtle blue tint in the glass, it often feels like you're submerged underwater.

The highlight here is the joyful trio of baked goods, bagels, and coffee. Fruits and vegetables are home-grown by the café owners, and the top pick is the signature sandwich featuring ham, figs, cream cheese, garlic, and butter, perfectly balancing savoury and sweet. Pair it with a warming Americano and a coconut financier, and sink into a pocket of calm. SDLC

Hrr is located at 201-12 Jamwon-ro, Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea.

Perception

Perception sits in the Hapjeong neighbourhood: an area that has become popular for cafés due to its proximity to several major universities, including Hongik University, a prestigious art school. The spot is known for its striking ceiling – a flowing structure consisting of curved wooden slats, which architect and designer Jung Hae Jun-Feelament dubbed ‘The Shading Tree’.

A range of coffee options and espresso-based drinks, including the usual cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites, might be the order of the day, but their Atmosphere of the Place (an ice-crème latte), Temperature of the Day (a mocha-crème latte), and Memory of the Moment (an espresso with a blend of sweet cream and pink salt) are the real highlights. RS

Perception is located at 16 Eoulmadang-ro 1-gil, Hapdžong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Pont Cafe Mullae

Pont Cafe Mullae is located in Mullae-dong, one of the oldest industrial areas in the city, with many of the former factory buildings being turned into artist workshops and galleries. The coffee shop operates in an old red brick building that formerly housed five separate ironwork factories.

Studio Stof was chosen to design the space for its adaptive reuse as a café. The architects preserved the distinctive shell while incorporating modern elements. The original rough, raw ceiling was partially exposed to add height and depth to the space, allowing sunlight to filter in through various types of windows. The orange-toned interior features a mix of materials, including plywood, terracotta tiles, and plaster walls, symbolising the bright and warm service customers receive. RS

Pont Cafe Mullae is located at 1F, 6, Gyeongin-ro 77ga-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Seoul Coffee Ikseon

Seoul Coffee Ikseon is housed in an old traditional Korean house (hanok), among the small alleys in Ikseon-dong. Local architectural firm Labotory preserved the traditional features of the original building, including sections of the roof, beams and the entrance's thick wooden door, while adding modern elements, such as brass accents, glass blocks and a horizontally shaped light-box exterior sign.

The café design possesses a humble desire to preserve the unique culture of the city and reminds visitors of the comfort that familiar things provide. Visitors can expect a traditional coffee and espresso menu, but also delicacies like Angbutter Bread, Injeolmi Tiramisu, Sobok and Vienna Milk Tea. RS

Seoul Coffee Ikseon is located at 166-31 Ikseon-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea.

Upstanding Coffee

A different take on the warm, light-filled cafés of Seoul, Upstanding Coffee appeals with its run-down aesthetic. Conceptualised by The First Penguin (T-FP), the local practice sought to create a modern-day coffee shop that would attract a contemporary clientele while respecting the local environment. Much of the aesthetic of the former site was left intact, with new finishes including stainless steel and lauan plywood. Doors and windows were designed to reinterpret the shape and movement of the original ones, while a brand new, striking spiral staircase was installed.

Settle down on one of the three floors with the café’s signature Magic coffee, inspired by how baristas in Melbourne achieve the golden ratio of espresso to milk. Bakery goods are also prepared with the utmost care. The interior might be purposely undone, but the offering here is anything but. SDLC

Upstanding Coffee is located at 99-11 Sinheung-ro, Yongsan 2(i)ga-dong, Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea.

Studio Heech joins the Wallpaper Architects’ Directory 2024, our annual curated listing of emerging practices from around the world. The Korean practice was founded in 2018 by Heechan Park, a qualified architect who'd spent his time between London and Seoul. His Mews House, a transformed brick structure originally built 30 years ago in the heart of Seoul, showcases the studio's contemporary architecture approach through the simple insertion of glass bricks at its heart, creating a new bright and airy space.

Who: Studio Heech

Working across a range of creative fields that encompass architecture, industrial design, furniture, and interactive performance installation, Studio Heech welcomes multi-layered, rich experiences. Meanwhile, ‘the craftsmanship of “making things” is still important in the 21st century,’ says Park. With a keen eye for detail, the studio strives to create its contemporary architectural expression through techniques that bridge technology and traditional manufacturing – ultimately addressing the fundamentals of urban architecture.

Championing both the traditional and the contemporary, the studio often creates intriguing architectural forms. As with many forward-thinking practices, Studio Heech integrates sustainability into its work. From planning through to construction, Park makes sure to collaborate with a wide network of engineers, artists and craftsmen to broaden ideas and spark curiosity within the creative process.

What: Mews House

Originally built in 1990, Mews House was a classic brick home tucked away in the quiet mews in the residential neighbourhood of Seocho-dong, Seoul. The same client built the original structure 30 years ago and asked Park to give the building a refresh, creating a new multi-generational home to accommodate their family, while containing privacy and personal space for all.

Making the most of the existing build, Studio Heech inserted translucent glass bricks to fill in the U-shaped façade and provide a new living room. The ceiling was raised to create an atrium with a roof-light. The design was inspired by Pierre Chareau’s 1932 Maison De Verre, a celebrated example of modernist architecture that effortlessly merges indoors and outdoors. Mews House’s new glass wall flirts with the same concept while respecting its own condition, retaining the family’s history and memories of the old building on site. A touch of colour is integrated through the entrance hall tiles, adding a sense of playfulness.

Why: Wallpaper* Architects Directory

Conceived in 2000 as an international index of emerging architectural talent, the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory is our annual listing of promising practices from across the globe. While always championing the best and most promising young studios, over the years, the project has showcased inspiring work with an emphasis on the residential realm. Now including more than 500 alumni, the Architects’ Directory is back for its 24th edition. Join us as we launch this year’s survey – 20 young studios from Australia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, the UK, the USA, with plenty of promise, ideas and exciting architecture.

studioheech.com

Seungjin Yang makes chairs from balloons coated in epoxy resin. The results are startling; a visual treat, twisting our expectations of what furniture can look like and be made from, teasing the viewer to ask if they can be sat on. Born from a playful and provocative attitude towards design, Yang's work entertains and enthrals in equal measure.

Get to know Seungjin Yang

Yang came to furniture making whilst studying at Hongik University in Seoul. Majoring in craft, he was particularly influenced by senior designer Lee Kwang-ho, who inspired him to pursue furniture as a future career path. He soon developed a clear signature with his balloon furniture, and Yang has since shown his work at Seoul’s D-Museum, MUDEC Museum of Cultures in Milan, and at The Future Perfect outposts across the US.

Working from his Hanam studio, Yang creates his furniture in various stages. After inflating each balloon, he applies layer after layer of epoxy, building up a firm and resilient shell around the inflated form. Following assembly of the furniture, further coats are added, both securing the structure and achieving the pleasing lustre of the completed piece. The process is time intensive, and demands a huge amount of patience. Yang reveals he keeps a strict schedule, describing his production technique briskly like a day job.

Beauty plays a significant part in Yang’s design ethos, inspiring and driving his creative approach. He has an enduring belief in the intrinsic value of beauty, which he believes is reflected in the craft, the care and time that goes into each piece. He is actively engaged in the relationship between form and function, playfully manipulating their boundaries in the pursuit of works that surprise and delight, simultaneously. As Yang himself puts it: “My head is full of thoughts about beautiful things - intense visual impressions. I try to express them as much as possible.”

Seungjinyang.com

‘Designed between London and Seoul’ runs the tagline for a new collaborative collection from British label Stefan Cooke – led by the eponymous designer and co-creative director Jake Burt – and South Korean menswear brand, Solid Homme. Some five years in the making, having been delayed by the onset of Covid-19, it sees Stefan Cooke’s sharply defined aesthetic, mined from the subcultural silhouettes of the 2000s and its music scene, meet the innate ease of Solid Homme, a stalwart of South Korean fashion. Since its advent in 1988 – the same year as Seoul was put on the map as host of the Olympics – its founder Woo Young Mi has drawn inspiration from the eclectic dress codes of the city’s streets, which might span work- and sportswear, hiking attire, or Americana.

Which is why it was important for partners Cooke and Burt to visit Seoul, despite the collection having largely been designed in London, where the pair live and work. ‘We visited in March to review the initial prototypes and stood in a room with their design team for three days to make the edits and notes together,’ they tell Wallpaper*. Some of the pieces, which span leather jackets and hoodies adorned by ceramic studs, utility jackets and denim shirts, were ‘pressure designed’ on the spot, a process only made possible by ’the extremely skillful team Solid Homme have’. Afterwards, it was a whistlestop tour of the city – Cooke and Burt had to leave to launch their collaboration with Mulberry in Tokyo the next day – visiting markets, ‘eating incredible food and shopping for research’ (as well as partaking in local liqueur with the team).

Solid Homme designed by Jake Burt and Stefan Cooke

The collection itself began with familiar influences, centring around three songs they both ’listened to on repeat’ in their respective hometowns ‘circa 2009’: A Wooden Box by Factory Floor, Drum Courts by These New Puritans and Redlights by Salem. It led them through what the pair call an ’American Apparel doorway’ – a reference to the Los Angeles-based label synonymous with the era’s style – a mood bolstered by a research trip that saw them rifling through the charity shops and thrift stores of Maine and New York.

‘Music has always been a huge part of our identities; we were actually both in various bands as teenagers,’ they explain. ‘Our musical finds are something we share amongst our closest friends and collaborators, and we had been listening to three songs bootlegged around 2009 right before we moved to London to go to university. There was a connection between the way the music was made and the clothes the bands wore – nothing showy but with a consideration – we just wanted to remember that time and funnel it into the wardrobe we created here.’

Closer to home, influences from 15th-century armour discovered in London’s Wallace Collection – the rivets inspiring the studs across the collection – lend the pieces the gleefully disorientating feel, at once familiar and strange in the pair’s signature style (some of the label’s earliest pieces were trompe l’oeil, whereby an image of one garment was transposed onto another to surreal effect). In the same vein, in the Solid Homme collaboration, photocopied prints appear on T-shirts constructed like American football jerseys, while a shearling pilot helmet is folded in half to create a saddle-shaped handbag. ‘We just folded it in half and it instantly became this incredible cross-body bag,’ says Cooke, who notes it is his favourite piece in the collaboration.

The marker of the collection’s success, which will launch on 9 August 2024, was the approval of their own longtime collaborators, like the photographer Theo Sion – who captured the accompanying campaign – and art director Bruce Usher. ‘We want people to feel casual when wearing this collection,’ they say. ’Theo and Bruce tried pieces on when we shot the campaign and it looked really natural on them. They are really fussy dressers, so it says a lot!’

Solid Homme designed by Jake Burt and Stefan Cooke is available from Solid Homme’s website from 9 August 2024.

solidhomme.com

‘Humanity is always the center of my practice,’ says Alex Prager, known for her colorful images that blur the line between reality and fiction.

In her work, the American photographer and Emmy-winning filmmaker uses ‘artifice and heightened or blurred time, color, and scale as entry points into something very real that people can connect with’ to talk about themes that might be ‘too difficult to confront in a straightforward manner,’ she adds.

Prager’s new body of work, Western Mechanics, opened at Lehmann Maupin in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, last month.

Concurrently, her commissioned installation Play The Wind (2019) is also on display at the Hyundai Card Music Library in Seoul through 2025. Her work is also featured in the group exhibition ‘Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection’ at Victoria & Albert South Kensington in London, which is on view through January 5, 2025.

Prager talks to Wallpaper* about her new solo exhibition and first feature film.

Alex Prager presentsWestern Mechanics

Wallpaper*: Can you share the inspiration behind the title of your current show ‘Western Mechanics.’’?

Alex Prager: The title Western Mechanics is intentionally ambiguous, nodding at Americana iconography that is rooted in American culture. It’s open to interpretation, and I like that it both references our tumultuous, machine-obsessed world and the universal image of the blue collar work-force that made America one of the greatest symbols in the world. It encapsulates the push and pull of man versus machine—the current status of our world. The title piece Western Mechanics itself encapsulates so much of what the entire body of work is about that I didn’t consider other titles for the image.

W*: This body of work is said to refrain “from linear narrative, focusing instead on the presentation of emotionally charged vignette.” Can you elaborate on the emotions you aim to evoke with this approach?

AP: I was driven by a jolt of ideas in response to our present dissonant world rather than any sort of preconceived narrative. It was important for each work to feel like a heightened frame or moment in order to play with a sense of time and how the viewer experiences it, as well as to create tension between the works. And I felt uniting the pieces under a singular overarching narrative would work against that. I hope people will connect with the level of dysfunction and instability, but also the hope that exists within each piece and that we’re all experiencing collectively as we consider a way forward.

W*: Any image in this show that you want to highlight?

AP: Hollywood (Day) is a work that I feel compelled to touch on. It embodies the idea or feeling of suspension—emotional, psychological, physical—these in-between moments in life that ask for a suspension of disbelief to fully connect with physical and metaphysical existence. There is a vagueness to whether the woman is falling out of the window or being drawn up into the sky, much like the idea of the Rapture. The image also mirrors a scene in my feature film DREAMQUIL that I'm currently shooting. Because I was writing the screenplay at the same time I was conceiving these images, there are some unintentional parallels. That's where my head was at the time.

W*: What influenced the decision to explore ‘the rise of technology and the decline of natural order’ in your first feature film?

AP: The interesting thing about the sequence of making Western Mechanics is that it fell during the pre-production of DREAMQUIL. So it wasn’t made alongside it, but rather conceived while I was deep in the throes of the film. A lot of the ideas and themes central to the film were subliminally infused into this new body of work. The ethos of DREAMQUIL is a cautionary tale about identity, automation, and what makes us human—something that has been on my mind for years and that Western Mechanics explores as well, albeit in nonlinear fashion. Both projects came from this urge to reflect on our current world—at their cores, they are both driven by humanity, influenced by our current fascination with automated technologies.

W*: In an Instagram post, you wrote that the show and film ‘were born from an urge to explore the complexity of being alive today by looking backwards at depictions of the past as we imagine the unknown of the future.’ Can you expand on that?

AP: I was thinking about the complexity of the world we’re living in today and how our emotional connection to it is intertwined with the past. Reflecting on what humanity has overcome before and will be up against again, I looked to History paintings and pulled references from contemporary culture to create images that feel human and alive. I found comfort in knowing we are not the first and we will not be the last in our experiences, which provides common space to imagine our future. This led me to want to incorporate a visual sense of the past conflated with the future in order to parallel the darker qualities of our current flummoxed existence.

Alex Prager, ‘Western Mechanics’ is on view at Lehmann Maupin in Seoul, South Korea until June 22, 2024

lehmannmaupin.com

Acqua di Parma has opened a playfully vibrant café in the heart of Seoul’s Lotte Tower Mall in South Korea. Designed by Dorothée Meilichzon, Acqua di Parma Yellow Café beautifully balances Italian architectural details with the energetic nature of Seoul, delivering a colourful space that is fun and sophisticated.

A reflection of the brand's Mediterranean roots, the boutique café is finished in noble white stone. Arches, and vaults replicate a Milanese cityscape, while splashes of azure blues and citrus yellows happily boost serotonin levels upon entering.

Step inside Acqua di Parma Yellow Café

The maison’s iconic art deco bottle is a source of inspiration throughout the space. Whether it be subtle detailing within table and column design to two life-size Blu Mediterraneo that stand tall at the entrance, the brand’s identity is notable throughout.

The warming hues of the maison’s signature colour palette make for an inviting space, while the vivid design gently nods to the Memphis movement. Round tables and soft yellow seating create a cosy ambience, encouraging communal conversations and interactions. Acqua di Parma products, (which are all made in Italy since the brand was founded in 1916) gracefully line the shelves of the central kitchen area. Meilichzon honed in on the brand’s affinity with citrus, integrating citrus peel textures and swirling curves into the design from sculptures to textural plaster.

The café’s decadent menu also creates an aroma of fresh citrus notes reminiscent of the maison’s fragrances. Drawing from Italian cuisine it includes a light panna cotta, colonia tart, tiramisu, and lemon or orange mousse cake, which will be updated seasonally and in occurrence with the maison’s new launches. Whether it be to browse the shelves to indulge in the scents of Blu Mediterraneo or Colonia, or to take part in coffee-tasting masterclasses, Acqua di Parma Yellow Café serves up a slice of Italian sun.

‘Designing the Acqua di Parma space in South Korea was an exploration of cultural synthesis  and vibrant aesthetics,’ says the designer Meilichzon. ‘My vision was to build bridges that connect the architectural heritage of Italy, particularly Milanese design, with the dynamic spirit of South Korea, especially Seoul. I drew inspiration from the Memphis movement, while paying homage to giant monuments, white stone, arches, vaults, and porticos that speak of timeless beauty. They are all coming together to create a space that is as much a cultural dialogue as it is a design statement.’

Acqua di Parma Yellow Café is open now.

acquadiparma.com

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Oneworld has opened its first-ever dedicated lounge experience in Seoul, South Korea. The leading airline alliance tapped global aviation ground services provider Swissport and the crew behind the award-winning Aspire Airport Lounges to bring the project to life.

Gerhard Girkinger, Oneworld vice president of customer experience, delivery and membership, notes: ‘The new Oneworld lounge is an exciting next step in our vision of making travel bright. Together with Aspire, we have combined refined fixtures and finishes, digital technologies, and warm and ergonomic settings to create smart and memorable travel experiences.’

Oneworld Alliance Lounge opens at Seoul Incheon Airport

Located in Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, the new lounge covers an area of 555 sq m and can accommodate up to 148 customers. It’s no more than a ten-minute walk from the furthest Oneworld Airlines’ departure gates, and it’s available to eligible Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire customers departing from Seoul on Oneworld flights, as well as first and business class customers travelling with member airlines.

The lounge features spacious, comfortable seating arrangements for customers to unwind, work, or dine. Inspired by South Korean culture, the design incorporates subtle nods to the colourful Lantern Festival, in the form of glass art, and the traditional Gat hat, by way of a welcoming bar. In addition, the lounge’s signature ‘mood light’ changes colour depending on the time of day to set a suitable ambience.

Jochem Straatman, D/DOCK art director, adds: ‘It was exciting to transform the highly dynamic but digital Oneworld brand into a tangible and sophisticated 3D space for the first time. We have created an engaging lounge with its own distinct Oneworld identity, designed as a vibrant integration of smart digital technologies to boost connectivity and fun.’

Tatiana Otani Nishi, D/DOCK interior designer, mentions: ‘Through careful design, with features reflecting its South Korean location, we have delivered a modern and original premium lounge experience which makes travel feel easy, comfortable and enjoyable.’

Seven Oneworld member airlines – American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines – operate more than 60 weekly flights to Seoul, connecting the Korean capital with over 900 destinations worldwide through the Oneworld member network.

oneworld.com

One of the places to try the viral 15-step Korean scalp treatment is the Eco Jardin by Park Jun salon, nestled beside Gongdeok station in Seoul (Best City in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024). One of South Korea’s most comprehensive scalp treatments, it incorporates products containing plant-based ingredients alongside human stem cell culture extract, known for effective hair loss prevention. The meticulous process takes approximately 90 minutes to complete. Practitioners at the salon spend a year studying scalp physiology, so all are well-versed in the treatment’s effects (from an intensely deep cleanse to purported relief from insomnia and stress).

It starts with a microscopic scalp analysis (in which an image of the client’s follicles appears digitally enlarged on a screen). Is your scalp too dry? Or too oily? Perhaps there is a build-up of products that show the need for a deeper cleanse than previously thought. (Using heavy products and skipping a clarifying scrub or shampoo, or using dry shampoo that is recommended for your hair type, can lead to this issue).

The 15-step Korean scalp treatment by Eco Jardin by Park Jun

This is followed by various massages on the neck, head and scalp. Massage opens up the follicles, allowing for the rest of the treatment’s steps to work at an optimum level. It also reduces tightness and tension in the body. Incorporating regular scalp massage into your haircare routine is also beneficial for hair growth. But make sure, when doing this yourself, to use the pads of your fingertips and gently manipulate your scalp rather than your hair to prevent breakage, or use a soft silicone tool like this one).

One of the treatment’s stand-out steps is the use of a galvanic sealing brush, which emits a gentle, continuous electric current to soften and emulsifies sebum and keratin in the hair follicle. (Galvanism was first used on hair in the 19th century, by an optometrist looking to remove ingrown eyelashes and encourage regrowth.) In the 15-step treatment, the brush also emits a combination of red and blue LED light on the scalp. Red light increases cell turnover, whereas blue light kills acne-causing bacteria. Steam and gentle water pressure, through the use of a waterfall tool, finally rinse the hair clean. The treatment concludes with a reanalysis of the scalp (where you will see it rejuvenated as never before), a mist tonic, and styling.

The below illustrations by Lucy Birant, as originally published in the February 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, demonstrate exactly what to expect, step by meticulous step.

01. Microscopic diagnosis

02. Oil massage

03. Galvanic sealing brush

04. Invigorating scrub

05. Steam mist

06. Neck massage

07. Relaxation tool

08. Hot towel

09. Shampoo

10. Y stick massage

11. Waterfall spa

12. Reanalysis

13. Mist tonic

14. T stick massage tool

15. Styling

A version of this article appears in the February 2024 issue of Wallpaper* – dedicated to the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024 – available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Seoul is set to become one of the most influential style and culture hubs on the planet. It’s a brave statement, perhaps. But that’s what defines the Korean creators who are shaping the city: bold, brave and proud. Visit Seoul and you will instantly encounter keys to the success of contemporary Korean culture. Dynamic energy, speed and a remix of so many things (old and new, Western and Eastern, high fashion and streetwear, industrial and craftsmanship) welcome you – although it might make you feel slightly giddy.

‘If love and hate have the same meaning, I love you, Seoul, I hate you, Seoul’, sings RM, of South Korean boy band BTS, in his song ‘Seoul’, produced by Honne. Growing up and living in Seoul, that’s how I felt about the city of over 10 million inhabitants, so intense and full of contradictions. From being one of the poorest countries in the 1960s, South Korea achieved remarkable economic growth, and such rapid social change enforced speed and fierce competition for Koreans to outperform. A small country squeezed between China and Japan, it had an insatiable desire for external recognition, which fuelled its cultural exports, from music and drama to fashion.

If you ask Korean artists how they did it, they’ll tell you that they are great at absorbing diverse cultural influences and remixing them to create something of their own. An extremely hard-working ethos keeps us going until we are assured that something original has been created. As Koreans have delved deeper into identity-seeking, Korean heritage has become a key influence. Keen to stand out from the crowd, Koreans once devoured foreign trends, but many now value our sense of place, our culture, traditions and the potential to rediscover our identity.

Reinventing heritage is prevalent, particularly in two of the capital’s oldest neighbourhoods, Bukchon (North Village) and Seochon (West Village). Designed by leading Korean architect Choi Wook, of One O One Architects, the flagship store of Korea’s leading beauty brand, Sulwhasoo, is located in Bukchon. Choi’s design reflects the character of the neighbourhood, a jumble of alleyways lined with traditional hanok houses. ‘Korean culture has a long tradition of juxtaposing images with a structured logic to express ideas, as seen in its Hangul alphabet,’ says Choi. ‘I wanted to create a place’s character through imagery and easy communication; I hoped to give back the sensation of the body along with the visual experience and convey the unique landscape of old Seoul.’

Choi believes that Seoul’s architecture is a reflection of Korea’s identity. ‘It is a complex of many fragments, chaotic but cheerful. It is not considered grand or beautiful, but it has a unique energy that blends with the mountainous landscape. It is not a collection of individual buildings but a giant collective.’ On the other side of Gyeongbokgung Palace is the Seochon district, home to the Onjium research institute, a cultural guardian of Korean traditions. ‘We carry out research, exhibitions, publishing and consulting centred on clothing, the culinary arts and lifestyle to ensure our traditional culture continues in modern life’, says Onjium’s chief creative officer Jeongin Kathryn Hong.

The centre also runs one of the most respected fine dining restaurants in town. Many acclaimed local establishments, such as Mingles, Mosu and Jungsik, reinvent staple Korean ingredients into recipes with a modern flourish. At Onjium, deep research takes a driver’s seat. Explaining Onjium’s approach, Hong quotes an ancient book: ‘The better the taste, the lighter it is. It is easy to get tired of a stronger flavour after the first taste, but a light flavour gradually seeps in and captivates for a long time.’

At Seochon Lounge, run by Seoul’s local government, the aim is to provide much more than just a cup of Korean tea for visitors. It offers guests the chance to experience everyday life in a hanok, with ongoing exhibitions on K-style living, and a library. ‘Thanks to interesting collaborations, today’s hanoks extend to hip and trendy contents, and young audiences love their increasingly evolving charm and values,’ says Yoo-sik Kim, Seoul’s director of hanok policy. You can pick up Korean crafts at Solunaliving or Ilsang Yeoback, while enjoying exhibitions by Korean designers and artisans.

Seoul, formerly known as Hanyang during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), was chosen as a capital for its outstanding feng shui. ‘The four mountains surrounding old Seoul are its best landmarks,’ said Seung H-Sang, who became Seoul’s first city architect in 2014. He shifted direction from urban growth to regeneration, and argued against people who felt Seoul needed a landmark by a starchitect.

You can easily hike up Inwang Mountain, or walk around the old city walls to appreciate the charm of old palaces oddly set against the dramatic backdrop of the grey slabs of tall buildings. My Life as an Architect in Seoul (Thames & Hudson; among Wallpaper’s pick of architecture books), by another established architect Byoung Cho, will equip you with a warm-hearted architectural guide to the city.

Seoul is dense and chaotic, with buildings tumbling over each other. You can take an underground train for 15 minutes and walk out into yet another bustling centre. But it’s easy to embrace this chaos once you realise how aptly it reflects the energy of the city, where dynamic architecture and hyper-aesthetic, cutting-edge shops are juxtaposed with great swathes of the old grey streetscape.

Trends come and go super-fast in Korea, but being on trend helps the fashion industry to develop fast and nurture talented designers. PAF (Post Archive Faction), stocked at Dover Street Market and Ssense, is one to watch. ‘For every PAF collection, there are “Left”, “Centre” and “Right” labels,’ PAF founder Dongjoon Lim says. ‘In Korea, political tension is high, but you are not supposed to casually express it, so I wanted to take on it in a playful way through clothes.’

Here is why he thinks PAF attracts global fans: ‘With each collection,we genuinely change. We continue to break with tradition and remix the past and the present.’ Lim believes this is the best time to start a brand in Seoul. ‘The spotlight is on Korea and you can access a great infrastructure in the middle of the city, something that will unfortunately soon disappear.’

South Korean brands such as Hyein Seo, Kanghyuk and We11Done established themselves by redefining the contemporary notion of luxury, but Seoul’s sybaritic aspirations are reaching new heights. Homegrown tailoring brand Lerici approaches its craft with an architectural perspective. Its eight seasoned Korean tailors produce only 16 suits per month, spending 90-100 hours for each garment sold at £6,000-8,000.

In the art world, Seoul’s rich pool of artists, private and public museums, and collectors have brought key players, such as Frieze Seoul, and blue-chip galleries, including White Cube and Thaddaeus Ropac, to town. ‘Seoul is an incredibly exciting destination for the arts that really shines amid the breadth and quality of its cultural landscape,’ says Frieze Seoul director Patrick Lee. ‘I would describe the art scenes as both cutting-edge and enmeshed in Seoul’s history.’ Alongside staples such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), which also boasts a good bookstore, and Leeum museums, Seoul has many stellar museums, including the Seoul Museum of Art, which has a few branches across town, and the recently opened Songeun art space.

The Songeun art and cultural foundation has been dedicated to supporting Korean artists for the last 35 years, and its artistic director Laurencina Farrant-Lee has witnessed a significant increase in the representation of younger talents. She points out that the compartmentalisation of art departments into specific disciplines, such as Western, Oriental or Buddhist painting, is a distinctive challenge in Korea. But there is an interesting twist, she says: ‘While this structure may pose technical limitations on the creative expression, it has paradoxically spurred artists to forge new languages, resulting in an intriguing and unique panorama within the Korean art scene.’

At the fringes of art lie the world-famous Korean-style tattoos. ‘The human body is my canvas and needles are my brushes,’ says tattoo artist Doy, who radiates the dignity of an established artist. When he is invited to Brad Pitt’s mansion in LA to create tattoos, he gets full respect as an artist. However, the moment he lands at Incheon airport, he is treated as a criminal and customs confiscate his tools because Korea is the only country where performing tattoos without a medical licence is illegal due to its historic association with organised crime. Doy has been leading the movement to legalise tattoos and is currently producing a documentary about tattooing as an art form. He travels around the world to tattoo a dot – a fundamental component of tattoos – on people, and interviews them on what it means to them.

Seoul is also where you can observe the future of retail spaces. Some brands here generate so much interest prior to their stores’ unveiling because they know how to create jaw-dropping spaces that will cause a buzz. At hip eyewear brand Gentle Monster’s Haus Dosan in Gangnam, immersed in the upbeat music and fashionable crowd, I felt like I had become cool. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt that way while visiting a store.

Often compared to Shoreditch or Brooklyn, Seongsu is where unexpected and creative exploration thrives, as seen in stores by fashion label Adererror or numerous pop-ups. The founder of Point of View and LCDC, which celebrate small local brands, Jaewon Kim lived in east London while studying at Central Saint Martins and liked the old redbrick buildings she found in industrial Seongsu when she returned. She started opening cafés with a design focus in 2014, and her places helped to transform the industrial streets by attracting like-minded shops.

Kim’s childhood dream was to own a stationery shop. Believing tools are important for creative minds, she wanted to share her passion for stationery, hoping that her future customers would think, ‘If I write my journal using this pencil, I will feel better.’ She started Point of View in a small corner of her café in 2016, and soon realised people were visiting the café only in order to go to the shop. Success was such that she expanded it to the entire three floors of the building last year.

Asked why Seongsu became so popular, Kim says: ‘The contrast between the industrial background and brand new shops is a big draw. Fundamentally, Seongsu enables delightful independent shops and big brands to coexist. For a neighbourhood to develop an interesting character, you need many fabulous small businesses. But people also enjoy large spaces by big brands where you can breathe.’

South Korea is at a point of social transition. The dynamic, explosive energy of its creative scenes is a counterpoint to a very repressive society with a narrow definition of success. There is a vigorous solidarity among young creators to ride a big wave of Korean culture. Some worry that competition and speed, which trained Koreans to churn out creative content, might also break us.

Over a nicely brewed Korean tea in his studio overlooking hills, architect Choi Wook explains what’s happening in Seoul. ‘Along with economic growth, people’s excess energy is on full display in the city, and the disharmony has created a free-spirited culture. Seoul is a safe haven from the chaotic energy of the marketplace that is common in Asia.’ What will happen to Seoul? ‘There has been a recent surge in density that is typical of a country with a growing economy, but I think the cultural maturation that will take place in the coming years of low growth will make Seoul even more beautiful.

At times, Seoul can feel overwhelming, and to recuperate, I like to visit Welcome to Paradise, a tiny makgeolli (milky Korean rice wine) bar in Hongdae, an area known for its indie music and skate scenes. Its owner Changhee Park has a genuine sparkle in his eyes. He used to design sets for films and his bar is a collection of everything borrowed from the work of his favourite director, Wong Kar-wai. The last time I saw him, I was suddenly curious about what inspires him. ‘I used to be influenced by philosophers and monks, but now the lives around me move me. The funny lives of my friends, the bright and sunny hearts of my regulars, the sunlight pouring out of my window, and my four cats.

In partnership with Aesop

Designed with first-time Aesop collaborator Samuso Hyojadong and located in one of northern Seoul’s oldest neighbourhoods, Aesop Seochon was inspired by jeongja, a type of traditional Korean, open-sided pavilion – a typically calming and enveloping structure often found under trees where people can come together surrounded by nature.

Challenged to express qualities such as rest, scent, and calm, Hyojadong employed minimal architectural elements and a restrained materiality. ‘People in our era are busy with their daily lives and exhausted by a lot of things,’ says the architect. ‘That's why you need to have an internal charge. For this, rest is necessary. But rest doesn't have to be at a pavilion – it can be done anytime, anywhere. No matter how busy you are, if you are in a space where you can feel comfortable, even if it's not for a long time, you can feel comforted.

‘From the simplicity of the design, the scent of Aesop released into the street, and the attitude of how staff greet customers, it is possible to find customer comfort and generate a sense of calm as you shop and experience the store,’ he continues.

The length of the Aesop Seochon store is fronted with a series of doors that fold back to create an entirely open façade, blurring the boundaries between exterior and interior and allowing visitors to transition seamlessly from street to store – just as aromas flow out unimpeded onto the pavement outside. Once closed, the woven metal backing creates a translucent surface, allowing curious passers-by to peer inside and make out the hazy silhouettes of amber bottles in regimented rows.

Anchored by natural materials, the space features a rough-edged piece of stone that acts as a display unit, its hue echoed in the granite flooring and pale walls – the latter also reminiscent of traditional Korean hanji paper, laden with texture and nostalgia. Sinks and shelves are finished with reclaimed timber and aged copper, while rosewood lines the inside of a concealed fragrance armoire housing Aesop’s full range of unconventional eaux de parfum. In this airy environment, trained consultants are on hand to recommend the products best suited to each customer’s individual needs.

The store design uses ‘ancient materials – Korean granite, copper, and metal – created by nature over millions of years’, explains Hyojadong. ‘Such true material makes human beings feel the sense of time. The same is true of landscapes. Light and shadow meeting elements of nature, adding the sense of time to the landscape.’ Over time, he says, materials at Aesop Seochon will fade and mature, telling their own story through their patina. 

Referring to the characteristics of the hanji-like walls, he adds, ‘Hanji does not change. However, like skin, hanji has a subtle transparency, so shadows are formed as if they were soaked in. So, it will come with a different feeling every moment. It's like a living creature.’

Asked what makes something quintessentially ‘Aesopian’, the architect responds: ‘It lies in being natural. Nature in Korean comes from two Chinese words for self and being so. Being like that can be interpreted in many ways, but for me it's close to “not too much, not too little”.‘

It’s a fitting summing up of Aesop Seochon, a store of perfect balance.

To celebrate the opening of the Aesop Seochon store, Wallpaper* and the brand hosted a special event, including a panel discussion between Wallpaper* contributing editor Dal Chodha and architect Samuso Hyojadong.

aesop.com 

Aesop Seochon, 36 Jahamun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Open Monday – Sunday, 11am – 9pm

The Wallpaper* celebration at Aesop Seochon followed similar events at recent Aesop store openings in New York and Rome.

When describing his architecture, Byoung Cho often talks about nature. But his connection to it is not achieved through specific physical means – such as materials of a certain provenance, or particular low-tech construction methods. He doesn’t only build on arcadian sites, neither does he forsake dense urban conditions or tall buildings. 

At the core of his practice, Cho places ‘interdependent nature,’ a flexible, context-specific take on architecture, centred on the idea of an equilibrium. He cites the Dalai Lama, who first talked about this concept in his ‘The Path to Tranquility’ (1998): ‘We need a clear awareness of the interdependent nature of nations, of humans and animals, and of humans, animals, and the world. I feel that many problems, especially man-made problems, are due to a lack of knowledge about this interdependent nature.’ 

Byoung Cho and the notion of 'interdependent nature'

Byoung (Soo) Cho broadly defines this as the way ‘nature, people and every living organism interacts and coexists - the social relationships between people, how air flows through a space, the interplay of light and shadow, the passage of time and the weathering of materials.’ He is fascinated by how it is all connected, ultimately shaping our lives, as we, in turn, shape our environment. The Korean architect, head of his namesake studio in Seoul, BCHO Architects since 1994, seeks to explore this relationship between nature, landscape and architecture, as a sense of balance, through his work. On top of this, he layers the traditional Korean concept of ‘ubuntu’. Its rough translation is ‘humanity towards others,’ which promotes an awareness of how one’s actions affects others, and how we are all interlinked. 

Growing up in a Korean hanok, he experienced firsthand his country’s traditional architecture, and how it touches the ground lightly – using gentle design gestures, but quite literally too, as hanoks are typically slightly raised from the ground. He also remembers Korea’s growth and change in the 1970s, as it was increasingly influenced by international styles. It inspired him to become an architect (he studied in the US completing a postgraduate degree at Harvard), before setting up shop in his hometown of Seoul. 

His career grew slowly and steadily (but he capped staff numbers at 30, so ‘I can have close input in every project’), starting with a series of private residences, such as his 2004 Concrete Box House and his 2009 Earth House. He sees those as the continuation of his Harvard thesis project on the emotional impact of a place. They are both low, minimalist, rural structures about ‘lowering oneself in the ground and being submerged in nature,’ he explains.  

He acknowledges the 2014 Southcape Hotel in Gyeongsangnam-do as a landmark commission, which propelled him to the forefront of his field in the country due to its elegant yet bold design, scale and public nature. It is now due to be extended, and Cho has been busy revisiting his old design to bring it to the 21st century. It’s one of his biggest current works, alongside Saemanguem Seed, a scheme that looks into restoring damaged ground in a former landfill site and introducing nature back in, creating more sustainable architecture, as part of a public library, youth job creation centre and cafe complex some three hours outside Seoul. He has also worked on high rises, including office buildings in the capital, but his approach is always the same, drawing on context and seeking a sense of calm and poise between what he builds and what lies around it.  

His latest completion is AYU Space, a flowing, serpentine gallery, restaurant and café complex just outside Seoul for art entrepreneur Miyoung von Platen. It is a project that encapsulates Cho’s approach about humankind’s relationship to landscape, as its terrain ‘ultimately determined the undulating form of the building, creating an unique dynamic experience for the visitors.’ Complementing an existing, 1970s structure next to a traditional hanok, the scheme draws on the site’s dynamic topography to carve a volume that swells and drops around a circular courtyard hosting a dry, meditative, rock garden. The restored hanok hosts exhibitions, while the concrete extension hugs it on one side, containing hospitality. The whole frames vistas towards the nearby river and surrounding nature, making for the perfect viewing platform, projecting a sense of calm, and inviting visitors to take in art, architecture and landscape at once.  

Cho is also heading the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2023, which launched this month [September 2023] – the festival’s fourth iteration. He was appointed curator of the event in 2022, and has been working on its programme ever since. His theme, centred on ‘land architecture,’ follows his fascinations, aiming to place landscape, nature, and related ‘social and cultural phenomena’ at the forefront of people’s mind. As part of it, he is crafting two site-specific installations – the Earth and the Sky Pavilion. The latter, in Songhyeon-dong, uses soil from four excavation sites across the country. Their differences in colour and texture become an integral part of the design, symbolising unity and collaboration as part of his ‘interdependent nature’ thinking. The former is an ‘indentation into the ground’, from which visitors can experience panoramic views towards the mountains of the north and the city on the south. He is also particularly excited about the students’ contributions as part of the Global Studio section of the event, where participants were asked to reimagine bridges - themes of connection reappearing. 

While his work always looks crisp and elegant, strongly, seemingly, leaning towards minimalism, he believes that formal expression, and the idea of maintaining a certain ‘look’, is overrated in the architecture world. His response tends to favour more conceptual routes, where there’s space for feeling and flaws too. Imprinting personality and allowing imperfections to come through in each project has, for him, value. ‘I prefer more meditative spaces that feel raw and unique. I really value that so many people truly consider working with the environment and not just try to greenwash a project. Being mindful and highly sensitive to what is happening around you is an important skill to have as a designer,’ he says. 

In a bustling office with some 30 projects on the go at any one time, including the biennale, and several teaching and speaking commitments, is it hard for Cho to practise this mindfulness? He’s been an avid painter since his student days and art not only helps him express his creativity, but also has meditative qualities. ‘Art and architecture stem from the same process,’ he explains. ‘The only part that differs is the media used. Instead of shaping buildings, in my art I create shapes in paint on paper. In both scenarios I feel guided by the spontaneous reaction and energy that I call ‘Mahk’ - it refers to the humble action of making that ultimately leaves traces on the finished product. My paintings and my habit of sketching early in the morning are means to preserve this essence of Mahk. In a busy world these moments energise me.’ 

‘My Life As an Architect in Seoul’ by Byoung Cho (Thames & Hudson) comes out in September

The Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2023 will run 1 September to 29 October 2023

bchoarchitects.com

This article appears in the October 2023 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print from 7 September, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

'Land' is the key word to zoom into at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2023, which has just launched at the South Korean capital, taking place from 1 September through to 29 October. 

Titled 'Land Architecture, Land Urbanism: City of Mountain Ranges, Waterways, and Wind Breezes – Drawing of the Seoul’s Next 100 years' and curated by general director Byoung Cho, this year's biennale explores the connection between urbanity and nature, especially in the context of its host city of Seoul. 'Ecology', 'topography' and 'view' – the three elements highlighted at the festival as critical to building – are master concepts explored throughout the event, threading together the theme across the biennale.

Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2023: stepping outside the box

The main difference between this year’s biennale and previous editions is the use of outdoor space. While previous festivals were all held indoors in a more conventional, exhibition format, this year, an outdoor, green space is used as the main venue, inviting visitors to connect with nature. 

Songhyeon Green Plaza – which used to be an empty, unused space that had been closed off to the public until earlier this year – has now become the event's beating heart. Whats more, situated between Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art, this open square will continue to be available to the public for three years after the biennale ends – until a museum dedicated to the late Samsung chairman, Lee Kun Hee, breaks ground on site. 

Beyond Songhyeon Green Plaza, two more locations have been enlisted for this year's big architectural event: the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, and the Seoul Citizens Hall. At the Songhyeon Green Plaza lie Cho’s Sky Project and Earth Project. Conceived as independent pavilions, the two structures are an important part of the biennale's themed show. 

The Sky Project is an installation that provides an experience that resembles climbing a mountain, as visitors must go up stainless-steel stairs to reach the top of the 12m structure. There, from a platform which functions like an observatory, people can feel the breeze and enjoy the scenery. It is also meant for visitors to appreciate land and its provenance and variety, as the soil piled up in small hills within it were brought from four different regions in the country.

'Seoul has a unique topography and is a city that was built around an axis – from the mountains to the river. I wanted people to feel and discover that axis,' says Cho. 'Only when you are 12m up can you see the nearby mountains (Mount Bugak and Mount Inwang), which are shadowed by the buildings.'

Nearby is the Earth Project, a large pond surrounded by stones and manmade hills. The installation will remain on site for three years while the others will be taken down after the biennale. The festival this year aims to be waste-free, using re-usable, modular materials that are easy to assemble and dismantle.

Surrounding the two main installations are a further five pavilions, including Sound of Architecture by USI Mendrisio, and art installations of nine Korean new and established artists, such as Jungjoo Im and Jungmo Kwon. 

At the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, which is located next to City Hall, the exhibition 'Seoul 100-year Masterplan' explores ideas for the future – looking into the next 100 years. 

Here, a mix of studios from across the globe map out suggestions for life and architecture in the city in the next century or so. For example, the Los Angeles-based architecture collective RIOS reimagines the future of Apgujeong, a posh neighborhood in Gangnam, as a vertical Hanok Village that extends and connects to the river barrier-free. 

'Seoul has become too dense and clustered by buildings and roads, leaving little space for greenery. In the masterplan, we explore how we can make way to greenery in spaces occupied by buildings and roads,' says Cho. 'Until now, Seoul only had regulations and no masterplan. As European cities were built with a masterplan, Seoul should also move in that direction.'

In that vein, the Guest Cities exhibition 'Parallel Grounds' at the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture and Seoul Citizens Hall, presents case studies of how other cities address the issue of density and yet maintain vibrancy at the ground level - expanding the biennale's theme beyond its host city's strict borders and reaching out for meaningful connections, inspiration and idea exchange. 

seoulbiennale.org 

Kim Whanki – the late pioneer of Korean abstraction – wanted to be an artist so badly that he boarded a ship from Korea to Japan in 1933 at age 20 so that he could learn the craft at the College of Arts at Nihon University, which he attended from 1933 to 1936. Kim’s ambition brought him to Paris in the 1950s, before he moved to New York in 1963, where he passed away in 1974 at 61 years old. 

The career gamble paid off; Kim’s painting 05-IV-71 #200 (Universe) became the most expensive painting by a Korean artist when it sold for 88 million Hong Kong dollars ($11 million) at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2019. There’s also a museum in Seoul dedicated to the artist. Even RM, one of the members of BTS, Korea’s biggest K-pop group, is a fan; he paid tribute to the artist in an Instagram post. 

The artist’s oeuvre depicts an abstraction that was revolutionary at the time. He carefully painted series of dots to form thoughtful, large-scale, abstract compositions, full of colour and form. But despite all the buzz about Kim’s work in Asia, he has only just been afforded a global platform – at Frieze Seoul 2023.

Kim Whanki’s art reimagined for the digital age

Korean art is certainly having a moment in the global spotlight, and the work of Kim Whanki has received an audience of curators, gallerists, collectors, artists, and more from September 6 to 9 at the second edition of Frieze Seoul, thanks to LG OLED, the event’s lead sponsor, whose television pixels emit their own light. 

‘Kim Whanki is the father of abstraction in Korea,’ said Kate Oh, the vice president of home entertainment marketing at LG. ‘He’s the beginning. I wanted to introduce his great works to the world.’ 

The exhibition, nestled between Hall C and Hall D at Coex, gives Frieze Seoul visitors the opportunity to see a dozen of the artist’s original paintings from his time in Paris and the pointillist works that he created during his final decade in New York. Kim will also have his works presented in digital form through the LG OLED, allowing viewers to see the work in a new, vibrant light. ‘The old generation, they know about it, but the young generation don't,’ said Oh. ‘So I just want to introduce [it] the way young people like, so that's one of the best ways to show the beautiful words to the young generation.’  

LG OLED partnered with Je Baak, an associate professor and chair of the department of sculpture at the College of Fine Arts at Seoul National University and creative director of Verseday, who worked with a collective of artists that also included Jason Kim; Mano Ahn, creative director and CEO of Ahn Graphics; and Daehwan Kim, CEO of Besign. 

The digital versions of Kim’s works range from a reinterpretation of a 1972 painting consisting of a series of red-hued dots that form a circle. Verseday created approximately 30 to 40 layers to make the reimagination sparkle on the LG OLED screen. For a pink work accented with curved lines, Verseday envisioned every stroke as if the artist himself was painting, and the piece runs for approximately an hour before viewers see the final version. Jason Kim took 7-VII-74, Kim Whanki’s final painting from 1974, and pixelated it to make the black-and-white work dance as each pixel moves about on the screen. 

‘One artist generated art tools so he made all the pieces [come to life],’ said Je. ‘Another artist showed a very concept-heavy approach. It takes one hour to show all the painting, but you can feel all the tension of all the strokes, and the practice Kim Whanki made. And then Ahn has a very graphic design-style approach. He made a grid and moved elements.’ 

The LG OLED team worked closely with the Whanki Foundation to ensure that the new digitally enhanced works stayed true to the integrity of the late artist’s work. ‘There was a continued discussion and alignment with the foundation; there were several rounds of discussion based on the concept, how we can express that, what we want to keep, what are we open to – a continuous conversation,’ explained Oh. ‘They were imagining it was like a conversation, as if we were talking, and imagining how he would answer their questions,’ added Je.

Kim Whanki paved the way for the Dansaekhwa movement, a loosely related group of artists who include Park Seo-Bo, Ha Chong Hyun, and Lee Ufan. In New York, he found himself surrounded by artists who would go on to become big names: Nam June Paik, Mark Rothko, and Barnett Newman. LG OLED would like its efforts to bring Kim Whanki to a global stage beyond Frieze Seoul. ‘I have a duty to let the people know about the origin of Korean art,’ said Oh. ‘It started from Whanki. Every Korean knows about him, but globally, not many people know about [his] work. If he lived a little bit longer he [could have] changed the art in Seoul.’

frieze.com

20 years of Frieze will be marked at Frieze London 2023 in October

Following last year’s success of its inaugural edition in the burgeoning new art capital (and ahead of Frieze’s 20th anniversary in London in October), Frieze Seoul 2023 launches today (6 September 2023) amid great enthusiasm, in COEX, an exhibition hall in Gangnam, southern Seoul. The fair’s focus this year is heavy on Asian and Asia-based galleries – possibly seen as an effort to solidify its presence in Asia.

Frieze Seoul 2023: what to see

‘The percentage of (participating) galleries that operate spaces in Asia is 57 per cent this year,’ said Patrick Lee, director of Frieze Seoul. The participation of Asia-based galleries has increased by around 10 per cent from last year’s 48 per cent. Over 120 galleries (including 32 new to the fair) from more than 30 countries are participating this year.

“This year’s Frieze Seoul includes a strong core of galleries from throughout the Asian region, with a particular emphasis on those with spaces in Korea, from established names like Gallery Hyundai, Kukje, and Gana through to the city’s newest and most promising young dealers,’ said Lee.

Galleries participating for the second time in Frieze Seoul are excited to meet the Korean audience, whom they believe are an educated public, and a different crowd from what they’ve experienced elsewhere.

‘I was surprised to see how studious Koreans were at last year’s Frieze Seoul. People asked a lot of questions and came back the next day having studied the artists carefully,’ said Marie Lusa, co-founder of Zurich-based Galerie Gregor Staiger. ‘It’s exciting to see a crowd that is serious about art. Also, it was amazing to see such a large crowd of young people at an art fair, which is unusual in Europe.’

Solo exhibits will be quite noticeable this year as many galleries are dedicating their booths to solo presentations of artists such as Mary Weatherford, Chou Yu-Cheng, Cindy Ji Hye Ki, Naoki Tomita, and Andrea Marie Breiling. Likewise, in Focus Asia, ten young galleries in Asia will present solo exhibits of artists such as Sinae Yoo and Woo Hannah. In Frieze Masters, the work of American conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner will be presented concurrently with its solo exhibition at Amorepacific Museum of Art.

This year, Frieze Seoul has expanded its curated programme to include a more extensive talks agenda and music in addition to film, according to Lee. ‘A major highlight will be Frieze Film, which introduces 14 artists, all based in Korea, whose video works will be activated at four non-profit spaces across the city,’ he said.

Meanwhile, several galleries are debuting for the first time in Seoul, such as Gray Gallery from Chicago, which ambitiously brings a selection from Jim Dine, David Hockney, and Alex Katz, among others, to celebrate the gallery’s 60th anniversary. Some galleries are opening spaces coinciding with Frieze Seoul, notably White Cube which opens its first gallery space on 5 September at the Horim Museum in Gangnam, and Duerte Sequeira, which opens its second gallery space the same day near the City Hall.

The scale of celebration of the art week in Seoul has grown this year with many art and art-related events held concurrently with Frieze Seoul, not to mention the slew of side events taking place across the city.

Alongside Frieze, is the opening of KIAF, Korea’s leading international art fair, from 6 to 10 September, bringing together 210 galleries this year – a significant increase from 164 last year. Thirty galleries are joining the fair for the first time and more than 130 galleries are from Korea. 

Seoul city is also joining in the art festival, dubbing the period between 1 and 10 September ‘Seoul Art Week’, providing information about galleries, exhibitions and festivities taking place during Frieze Seoul and KIAF as well as about many other art-related events during this period. The city also celebrates the 4th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, which opened 1 September and runs until the end of October.

Late-night openings and parties will invigorate three of Seoul’s most important gallery districts, including Cheongdam (6 September), and Samcheong (7 September). Participating galleries and institutions for Hannam Night include Gallery Baton, Cylinder, Esther Schipper, Leeum Museum of Art, Lehmann Maupin, P21, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac, Sprüth Magers, VSF and Whistle. Cheongdam Night will highlight spaces including Atelier Hermès, G Gallery, Gladstone, One and J, Perrotin, Songeun, and White Cube. Samcheong Night will include A-Lounge, Arario Galler, Art Sonje Center, Hakgojae, Gallery Hyundai, Kukje and PKM.

Interesting side events are also taking place such as the LG OLED Frieze Night party taking place 6 September at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) featuring popular Korean rapper Beenzino. LG is the official headline partner of Frieze Seoul. On the same day, Korean conceptual artist Sung Neung Kyung will hold a newspaper reading performance with 100 foreigners as part of Seoul Art Night hosted by Gallery Hyundai at Lightroom Seoul.

Also taking place at DDP from 1 – 11 September is Swiss artist Dan Acher’s ‘Borealis’ exhibition which projects artificial auroras that light up the night sky from 8 to 11pm. Between 4 and 8 September, art dealer Lawrence Van Hagen presents ‘What’s Up / Seoul ‘12 Masters’ in celebrity Korean designer Teo Yang’s early 20th-century hanok (traditional Korean house), exhibiting works by modern masters such as Andy Warhol, Lee Ufan, Alexander Calder, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Frieze Seoul takes place from 6 - 9 September at COEX, Gangnam

frieze.com

Van Cleef & Arpels has once again partnered with Jouin Manku studio, this time on the creation of its Seoul maison, in a vast new space nodding to both French and Korean design codes. The striking building is encased in celadon, a traditional Korean ceramic, and cast aluminium, in a considered marriage of the old and the new.

Embracing nature: Van Cleef & Arpels’ Seoul maison

‘Given the importance of closeness to nature in Korean culture, the guiding principle of this project was to create a mountain in Seoul, a small mountain with gardens at different levels,’ says the studio of the Korean influences that run throughout. ‘So, we created this jewel case in the heart of an ultra-mineral city, featuring a delicate, protected, and omnipresent garden, which represents the interdependence between the building and nature.’ 

Nature is also a frequent inspiration for Van Cleef & Arpels, which depicts flora and fauna in brightly coloured precious gems. ‘The main inspiration was obviously the oneiric world of Van Cleef & Arpels, and how to transcribe this atmosphere into the building itself. The idea was for this house to be a fully-fledged Van Cleef & Arpels ambassador for Korean customers, so that they could instinctively understand the very fairytale, natural spirit that defines Van Cleef & Arpels.’

Creating the building during Covid proved challenging, as did shaping the exterior. ‘Getting all the craftsmen to work together was also complex, especially for the facade, which is a technically highly sophisticated object due to the contrast between the celadon and the extruded aluminium structure, which, nevertheless, creates a unified whole in the end. Ceramic is a living material, which is not precise. Because of the firing process, the result is not predictable; it can change colour as well as shape, which is not compatible with placing it on a rigorously rigid structure. This encounter between industry and craft, tradition and innovation, was not an easy one. Another challenge was to bring nature into the heart of the boutique. Thanks to the landscaper STL – Seo-Ahn Total landscape – this challenge was successfully met so as not to be too burdensome in terms of care for the teams on site.’

jouinmanku.com

The Blue Bottle Coffee franchise – with over 100 stores internationally, and eight stores already in Korea – embarked on a new coffee shop in the bright and busy Myeong-dong shopping district in Seoul. For the design, the company tasked local Teo Yang Studio, which harnessed Korean architectural principles – and plenty of blue. 

The studio, led by Seoul native Teo Yang (a Wallpaper* Design Award 2021 winner for Seoul’s K1 arts complex), arrived at the drawing board for the new Blue Bottle Coffee store with the location’s context taking a major role in its design. Dubbed a ‘Blue House’ by the studio, the outcome is an angular blue box.

Teo Yang Studio’s Blue Bottle Coffee project, Seoul

The design for the Blue Bottle Coffee project creates a contrast with its location, in the centre of a commercial shopping district where ‘selling products has become the main axis’, as Teo Yang describes. Aiming to create an oasis of sorts, the studio’s team began designing the storefront in minimalist opposition to the visually busy lights, signs and adverts of the shopping district. 

Using the traditional Korean architectural principles of ‘jakyung’, which poses the house as scenery in itself, and 'chakyung', which means 'borrowing the outside view to accentuate the interior space', Teo Yang Studio used a ‘philosophy of reduction’. This is seen in the white façade, featuring an entrance and the brand’s logo. The logo's design was crafted by traditional local artisans Deok-Ho Kim and In-Hwa Lee, and takes centre stage. 

Brushed steel covers most interior surfaces, with metal grill ceilings and the occasional white wall being the only exception. Pale blue LED lighting – a reductivist response to the bright lights of the store’s street-side neighbours – plunges the interior into a space-age, but soothing, ambience.

Teo Yang Studio saw the coffee shop as an opportunity to create a moment of calm in the area: ‘We wanted to altogether create a relaxing environment through the use of simple architectural shapes and concise materials [and offer] a moment to pause and rest.’

Blue Bottle Coffee began its journey in Oakland, California, in 2002 and has expanded across the USA; there’s Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and far beyond. In more recent years, the company has been dropping pins in China, Korea and Japan – we visited Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya by Keiji Ashizawa in 2021, and the first Blue Bottle Coffee Kyoto in 2018. 

teoyangstudio.com; @bluebottle

Frieze’s inaugural edition in Asia, Frieze Seoul opened on 2 September amid heated enthusiasm in South Korea’s capital. 

A 30-minute queue stretched along the walls of the entrance to the VIP opening, akin to the throngs of eager fans awaiting a BTS concert. 

That was the level of enthusiasm felt at this international art fair held in Korea for the first time – a monumental event not just for Seoul, but South Korea and Asia. Frieze Seoul is the art organisation’s fourth global location and first Asia venture, joining the Los Angeles, New York and London editions on the international art world calendar and is held alongside KIAF, operated by the Galleries Association of Korea.

‘Seoul is a dynamic place with a sophisticated and inquisitive collector base and art world infrastructure,’ said Patrick Lee, director of Frieze Seoul. ‘The country boasts incredibly talented artists, world-class museums, corporate collections, non-profits, biennales and galleries which make it an ideal location for an art fair.’

More than 110 of the world’s leading galleries from across 21 countries are participating in Frieze Seoul for the four-day event which will come to a close on Monday. 

Among participating galleries, around 30 per cent are Asian and 15 are new to the fair, according to Lee. ‘I'm so excited about the qualities of the galleries’ work. They showcase the region at its best. I hope this is a platform to meet a new audience,’ he said. 

For Rachel Lehmann of Lehmann Maupin, it was an emotional experience. ‘It's the first time after Covid that I’m meeting people from other parts of Asia so it's very uplifting and we're all emotional.’ 

‘I always say wait for the second day to judge a fair, which is what you should do, but the reason why I say it's an excellent fair is that the level of curiosity of business, new collectors and questions and interests from museums are just overwhelming,’ she said. ‘Usually, I might be biting my tongue tomorrow, but I don't think so,’ she added when asked about the gallery’s sales. In fact, multiple gallerists from around the world testified that the first-day figures were already impressive.

As gallerist Thaddaeus Ropac explained, ‘I think what is astonishing about Korea is you have a younger generation of collectors here than in Europe or the U.S. They are so eager to learn about art and live with art which I haven’t seen so much. They want to know, they follow things, they go to exhibitions. I'm impressed I have to say.’ 

Ropac was especially impressed by K-Pop icon and BTS leader RM who visited his booth earlier in the day. ‘I'm really amazed how educated and how much RM knows about art,’ he says. ‘K-pop artists themselves are so interested in contemporary art and I think this created a generation of new people interested in art and collecting. I'm astounded by this.’ 

It wasn’t just Frieze Seoul that saw astonishing sales figures, Frieze Masters also fared astoundingly well. Jorn Gunther Rare Books from Switzerland, displaying antique publications dating back to the Medieval Ages, already sold two books in the five-digit figures in US dollars on the first day, which owner Jorn Gunther says, is something to celebrate with wine. ‘We've never exhibited in Asia. We're bringing this material to Korea for the first time but you can see how crowded we are. It’s amazing how young people are interested,’ he says. 

To Gunther’s surprise, the crowd in Korea is younger – mostly in their thirties – than the crowd they usually have at fairs – mostly in their sixties. ‘They’re younger, but they have the money. That's quite interesting and something completely new,’ Gunther explained.

This is the first time Frieze Masters is held side by side in the same space with contemporary Frieze which could explain why Frieze Masters is seeing a much younger audience. ‘This is the first fair in Asia and the first time we’re bringing Frieze Masters out of London,’ explained Nathan Clements-Gillespie, director of Frieze Masters. ‘Every time I visit Korea, I’m always struck at how sophisticated and thoughtful the collectors and audience are. Collectors are very well-researched. They studied, they know what they're interested in, and yet always keep an open mind.’

The neighbourhood of Samcheong-dong, which has a slew of internationally renowned galleries along its main street, was brightly lit until late on Friday with galleries holding exhibitions, parties, and talks. While Art Sonje held a talk event with renowned art curator and critic Hans Ulrich Obrist, Gallery Hyundai was packed with art insiders partying in the courtyard. Late-night openings took place in two of the most important gallery districts – Thursday in Hannam-dong, a cosmopolitan neighbourhood just above the river, and on Friday in Samcheong-dong, a relatively traditional neighbourhood in the north. 

Other side events during the Frieze period include Frieze Film which features the work of ten local and diasporic Korean artists in two locations near Gyeongbokgung Palace – Together Together and Magjib. A joint talks program is also expected to take place over the weekend in association with KIAF Seoul at COEX.

INFORMATION

Frieze Seoul runs until 5 September at COEX, Seoul. frieze.com

Seoul’s summer monsoon season brings with it a biblical rain that doesn’t shower but saturates. Each time the rain clears, a new Seoul is born; umbrellas become parasols and the muted urban vista makes way for a vibrant, old-meets-new vernacular, accentuated by a lush, mountainous backdrop.

In recent years, Seoul has undergone another sort of rebirth. After the international phenomena of K-pop, K-beauty, K-style and K-cinema, it now seems to be the moment for K-art, thanks to the rise of local players and the arrival of international cultural titans. Our arts editor, Harriet Lloyd-Smith, explores how, with new museums and galleries, bustling bars and restaurants, all eyes are on the South Korean capital. 

Postcard from Seoul: 8 arts and culture must-sees 

International galleries 

Joining acclaimed native galleries such as Hyundai and Kukje, a new wave of global blue-chips – including Thaddaeus Ropac, Lehmann Maupin and König – have flocked to Seoul for a piece of the action. Ahead of Frieze Seoul 2022, two major players announced ambitious extensions. Pace Gallery will expand its multi-level arts complex with a new outdoor sculpture courtyard, while Perrotin will open a new space in the upmarket retail neighbourhood of Gangnam, joining its original outpost in the historic art district of Jongno. 

Frieze Seoul

The inaugural edition of Frieze Seoul in 2022 marked a major moment for Asia’s art scene. Held at Coex and led by director Patrick Lee, Frieze’s fourth global location, and its first in Asia, welcomed more than 110 galleries and featured a special section, Focus Asia. The much-anticipated addition to the art world calendar took place alongside KIAF (the Korea International Art Fair), placing Korean art firmly on the international stage. Frieze Seoul 2023 is set to take place 6 – 9 September.

Seoul Museum of Craft Art

The Seoul Museum of Craft Art opened in 2021 as the first institution of its kind in South Korea. Shows in 2022 included ’Craft, Moving Beyond Time and Boundaries’, exploring how age-old traditions can collide with contemporary experimental approaches. Korean craft also took the spotlight at the 2022 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, exhibited at the museum in July, where seven of the 30 international finalists hailed from South Korea, including this year’s winner, horsehair weaver Dahye Jeong. 

Sanchon

All this cultural consumption demands sustenance, and a culinary gem lurking in a backstreet nook of the Insadong district promises to awaken tastebuds you didn’t know you had. Sanchon is an acclaimed vegan temple food restaurant established by a former Buddhist monk. The soul- and body-cleansing a la carte menu offers distinctive dishes involving kimchi, tofu, seaweed, japchae glass noodles and lotus fruit – the latter a punchy experience for the unseasoned palate. The food is accompanied by live piano music, live birds chirping, bounteous live greenery and an adjacent art gallery.  

Design Museum at Dongdaemun Design Plaza

The new Design Museum at the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza was inaugurated in 2022 by the exhibition ’Meta-Horizons: The Future Now’, exploring ZHA’s work across digital technology, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and sustainable strategies. Created in collaboration with artist Refik Anadol (who created the Seoul Light: Seoul Haemong multimedia public installation at DDP in 2019), the show was a multidisciplinary collision of virtual and physical worlds. 

281 Eulji-ro, Euljiro 7(chil)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
museeum.com/museum/dongdaemun-design-plaza/
zaha-hadid.com

Wellness K at Kukje Gallery

With its unique union of world-class art, wellness, food and design, Kukje is part art gallery, part state-of-the-art lifestyle hub. Within the multi-use art complex’s K1 building (which secured a Wallpaper* Design Award in 2021) is Wellness K, an inventive fusion of fitness, mindfulness and aesthetics. Within a space designed by Teo Yang studio, the wellness centre offers members personalised programmes including strength and core training, yoga, dance, and meditation. What’s more invigorating than lifting weights within feet of a Julian Opie? 

54 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
kukjegallery.com

Oul at the Four Seasons Seoul 

Cocktail hour at the Four Seasons Seoul has long been headlined by the ‘secret’ subterranean speakeasy that is Charles H. But above ground, the newly-opened Oul is shaking things up. The late-night bar concept, tailored to the Korean ‘Generation MZ’ (encompassing Millennials and Gen Z), offers contemporary takes on a long history of Korean liquor crafting and fermentation, such as a reimagined Gyeongseong-era sujeonggwa cinnamon punch, and a Kimchi Highball with a twist of green chilli soju. With its dynamic Obangsaek colour palette and neon signage, Oul is a new mixology hotspot for experimentally-minded night owls. 

97 Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
fourseasons.com

SongEun Art & Cultural Foundation

Seoul has long been a hub for projects by internationally acclaimed architects, from Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas (who each designed a wing of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art) to Dominique Perrault, whose Ewha Womans University blends seamlessly into its hillside landscape. In late 2021, Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron made their South Korean debut with the SongEun Art & Cultural Foundation, an angular, monolithic 11-storey structure in the high-end Gangnam district. The building – which houses a non-profit cultural space championing Korean and international emerging art – has become something of a Seoul landmark, a feat in a city defined by such a dense urban tapestry. 

441 Dosan-daero, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
songeunartspace.org

INFORMATION

This article appears in the September 2022 Issue of Wallpaper*, available on newsstands now, as well as on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

‘When I was in elementary school, we always had to buy this bag,’ begins the Korean-born, Berlin-based graphic designer Na Kim when I ask about the concept behind her latest exhibition. She tells me about this simple, small bag that in the 1980s and ‘90s was sold at stationery shops across Korea, and contained a number of ambiguous objects that were often used as teaching materials at school. ‘I remember some images of individual objects,’ she continues, ‘but more strong are the memories attached to these objects.’

In ‘Bottomless Bag,’ Kim’s new solo exhibition at Buk-Seoul Museum of Art, the designer’s distinctive visual vernacular forges a framework for considering images as networked components within a relational system of organisation as well as discrete, subjective sites of memory. This unorthodox presentation of Kim’s elemental sense of colour and geometry engages with her longstanding interest in recontextualising forms and patterns found in everyday objects and proposes alternative approaches to graphic design based on dynamic logics of spatial organisation.

Anchoring the exhibition is the most recent iteration of Kim’s installation series SET (2015-present), which reinterprets a range of two-dimensional design elements as physical objects. ‘In many cases of previous SET series it was built up as a wall painting’ she recalls, ‘but here I want to bring these shapes and colours into the space, and that could be a sort of playground for children.’

As a commissioned artist for the museum’s biannual Children’s Exhibition Series, Kim had carte blanche to create a multilayered platform where visitors of all ages can freely interpret and interact with her work. An expansive playground installation at the core of ‘Bottomless Bag’ reflects the constantly-evolving rules of engagement that guide Kim’s aesthetic decisions, enlarging shapes, blobs and squiggles derived from her visual archive to construct an immersive environment of colourful curtains, carpets, stairs and structures.

The origins of these images can be traced to Kim’s daily collage practice, in which she repurposes found objects and mass-produced materials – such as stickers, plastic bags and various papers – in a meditative process of discovery that yields a steady stream of inspiration. She calls these small works on paper Found Compositions (2009-present), explaining that ‘most of them are based on the idea of how to find the hidden rules inside a composition.’ Beyond addressing the impulse to communicate such rules and relationships, however, this methodology also invites the active reinterpretation of specific memories that she associates with each object. By imagining the gallery space itself as her own ‘object bag,’ Kim imbues her images with meaning as visual objects that evoke recollections of the past as well as tools for realising mindful designs that ontologically tether form and function.

INFORMATIONADDRESS

‘Bottomless Bag’, until 13 September, Buk Seoul Museum of Art. sema.seoul.go.kr; ynkim.com

Buk Seoul Museum of Art 
1238 Dongil-ro
Nowon-gu
Seoul

K-Pop's star-makers YG Entertainment have got a brand new headquarters – a piece of futuristic office architecture to match their impressive ability to have their fingers on the global cultural pulse, when it comes to musical talent and chart-topping successes. The building, now the home of these giants in the world-famous South Korean music scene, comes courtesy of Dutch architecture practice UNStudio and sits in Seoul's Mapo district, next to Yanghwa Bridge and the green island of Seonyudo Park. 

UNStudio says that the headquarters is 'inspired by YG Entertainment’s business and the music industry in general.' The overall, streamlined shape of the building, in fact, draws on musical references. 'The protective shell of the new HQ building manifests as a new ‘urban speaker’. It is designed to be more reminiscent of a product than a building; one in which every design feature has a performative function,' the architects say. Additionally, as the new structure is located next to the YG Building, a multi-functional practice and performance space belonging to the same company, its massing reflects that of its neighbour, maintaining harmony and continuation in this Seoul streetscape. 

The building contains a workspace for employees, chic meeting rooms for the multiple stars on its roster, and recording studios. The aim, the architects explain, is to create a space that is functional but also uplifting, to make for an engaging and motivating working environment for the company's numerous employees and visitors. 

The interior's light-coloured tones and large openings help towards that. They invite the light in and direct the gaze out. Playful geometries create a sculptural, futuristic environment, while allowing the natural light to bounce off the walls. Tall ceilings, planted areas and expressive shapes make for an arresting interior, with an atrium placed at the heart of the internal arrangement, glazed on one side to open up towards the views.

This also fits its site and context, as the plot is located on the edge between a housing district and a series of open urban spaces, including the river, a couple of parks and part of Seoul's dense urban circulation network of roads and bridges. The project is designed to be orientated towards the long views of the adjacent public spaces and beyond - offering a sense of place in this dynamic and contemporary piece of office architecture.

INFORMATION
unstudio.com

The Seoul neighbourhood of Hannam-dong, home to Gucci’s flagship store in the South Korean capital and Thaddeus Ropac’s first Asian branch, has now also welcomed the metropolis’ newest luxury residential scheme, Brighten Hannam. The design- and amenity-led development, the brainchild of established local real estate specialist Shinyoung, architects Urban Agency and dynamic Seoul architecture studio Intg, which is led by partners Daniel Song and Kate Cho, promises a luxurious, architectural experience for its residents – and it has just launched its show apartment. 

Drawing on the neighbourhood's richness, diversity and international culture – which also makes it hub for subcultures and hipster hangouts – Brighten Hannam proposes a vibrant, sophisticated spatial experience that appeals to creatives and young professionals. In a similar vein, Intg’s design approach (the studio looked after the interiors, while Urban Agency tackled the overall shell architecture) merges the refined luxury of a modern residential development with the spacious and somewhat utilitarian feel of a loft. Brighten Hannam will include a total of 144 units in its elegant high rise volume. 

Brighten Hannam interiors by Intg

The structure’s clever design means that the loft interiors can be adjusted and customised by the residents, so as to appeal to various needs and requirements – from open-plan, flowing spaces to an approach that favours more privacy and the creation of more individual rooms. A selection of floorings and wall treatments can similarly flexibly respond to different interior design concepts. 

Communal areas within the building are designed to have an intimate feel, using warm, rich colours and clever spatial separations so as to provide residents with the option of using the Brighten Hannam facilities with a certain privacy. Amenities range from private meeting rooms to wellness spaces and bespoke classes. 

Intg, which was founded in 2016, may still be considered a young practice, but Cho and Song's flair and hard work have taken the brand from strength to strength since its inception. Projects such as Hana Bank’s minimalist private lounge and a Memphis-inspired Gangnam apartment (both in Seoul) have showcased the team's versatility and refined, contemporary take on interior design and architectural space, with Brighten Hannam now representing the studio’s first residential project of this scale.

INFORMATION

intgspace.com

brighten-hannam.com

urban-agency.com

Fritz Hansen Stay, a pop-up hotel in the Gahoe-dong district of central Seoul, converts a Fritz Hansen showroom into a calming retreat. The building, originally designed at the end of the 19th century, is in the traditional hanok style and stays faithful to its roots with a simple layout that encourages natural movement through the space, in its incarnation as a Fritz Hansen hotel.

‘There are the characteristics of a hanok, such as a yard, daecheongmaru (living room), toenmaru (balcony between yard to house), numaru (loft-like floor/raised area), deulmoon (connecting door between master bedroom and living room), wooden tiled roof and shoji paper windows,’ explain the Fritz Hansen team. By keeping to this arrangement, organic spaces encourage a seamless flow between the indoors and outdoors.

Contemporary and modernist design accents make a chic foil for the traditional elements, with furniture adhering to neutral hues for a feeling of tranquillity. ‘Poul Kjærholm furniture in various places in the hanok is arranged to give a perfect view of the beautiful scenery of Seoul, the peaceful Bukchon Hanok Village and Namsan Tower. Kjærholm’s “PK80” daybed, and a glass “Clam” lamp by Ahm & Lund also gently embrace the space,’ the team add. The pieces sit alongside other design classics, such as Arne Jacobsen’s ‘Egg’ and ‘Swan’ chairs, as well as artworks by Korean artist Heejoon Lee. The elegant lines of Kjærholm’s furniture act as a harmonising presence, uniting the opposing elements.

‘Fritz Hansen wanted to show how contemporary design blends with a traditional Korean house,’ say the team. ‘A Danish interior mood is created in the house through the embracing of low light. Lounge chairs such as the “PK20” and “Swan” encourage relaxation and a slower pace. Danish tea is offered as a welcome drink when guests check in, while a contemporary, Danish mood is enhanced with international art books and Bang & Olufsen speakers. The aim was to create a “hygge” mood in a traditional house, through slow experiences such as incense, tea and music. Fritz Hansen wanted guests to feel a little Denmark in a Korean house.’

INFORMATION

Fritz Hansen Stay will be open for guests between November 16 and December 21 this year

fritzhansen.com

Gaming, in its physical and digital iterations, has emerged a winner when it comes to its prevalence in the fashion world. Today, there's a whole playground of styling- and dressing-inspired games and apps to engage with, including Drest and Ada, and fashionable skins to flaunt on Animal Crossing, League of Legends, and Fortnite. Brands have geared up their gaming instinct IRL too. For Dior's S/S 2022 runway show, the label erected a board game-inspired show set, designed by Italian artist Anna Paparatti. 

Bottega Veneta has also amped up its competitive spirit. In a car park in Seoul, South Korea, the Italian label has launched ‘The Maze', a labyrinthine triangular construction that extends over 16m, emblazoned in the label's signature parakeet-green tone.

Bottega Veneta ‘The Maze’: Get lost in the brand’s shearling-swathed labyrinth

The maze design riffs on the motifs, textures and tones that creative director Daniel Lee has instilled in the label: think the triangular shape, familiar on clothing and accessories, the verdant hue, and the tubular fronds of snuggly shearling that line the maze’s interior. For A/W 2021, the brand introduced a chubby shearling coat into its repertoire, formed from padded tails of turquoise and post box-red fabric.

Bottega Veneta's immersive maze experience in Seoul is one of several interventions from the brand across the globe. The brand has also opened a pop-up shop in east London – complete with space-age metallic sofas and brightly painted exposed interior fittings – and on 21 October 2021 it showcases its Salon 03 fashion show in Detroit. 

Keen to make your way into the metal mesh passageways of ‘The Maze'? We suggest you take a trail of breadcrumbs with you to ensure an easy escape route. Although, considering the alluring green tones of its inner sanctum, and those snuggly shearling-lined walls, you may never want to leave.

INFORMATION

bottegaveneta.com

Foundry Seoul, a gallery owned by a Korean pipe manufacturing company, opened in June 2021 beneath the new Gucci flagship store in the affluent neighbourhood of Hannam-dong. Designed by Seoul-based architecture and interior design studio Intg, it’s just another addition to the district’s already thriving local art scene, which has more than a dozen galleries within a 5km radius, making it a key part of the wider Korean art boom. 

Next to the Han River, Hannam-dong is increasingly popular among international galleries opening their first Seoul outposts, or expanding their existing footprints in the city. 

Pace Gallery recently relocated to a space four times bigger than its previous Seoul location – next to the Leeum Museum owned by Samsung – and Thaddaeus Ropac will be opening its first Asian outpost in Hannam-dong in October 2021, which will feature interiors designed by Seoul-based designer Teo Yang. Yang was also responsible for Kukje Gallery’s K1 multi-use arts complex, which won Best Cultural Draw in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021. 

Local galleries such as BHAK, Gallery Joeun and Gallery Baton have all settled in Hannam-dong, and Gana Art Center has two exhibition spaces there. 

The rise of Hannam-dong as a sweet spot for galleries catering to wealthy local collectors coincides with Seoul’s ascent as an art and culture hub in Asia. Berlin-based gallery König relocated its Asian outpost from Tokyo to Seoul in April 2021, settling in the MCM building in the upscale fashion district of Cheongdam-dong. Frieze art fair will be holding its first Asia fair in the capital in September 2022.

Why has Seoul become a magnet for international galleries and art fairs? 

‘It’s a creative, cool, interesting [city],’ says Victoria Siddall, board director of Frieze. ‘Korea has incredible music, food and architecture and just a lot of reasons for people to want to visit.’ What Frieze is looking for is a city ‘that has a great foundational art community, but also goes beyond the arts’, she says. 

‘London, New York and Los Angeles are all cultural centres that have amazing communities of artists, galleries, museums, great art schools and sophisticated collecting scenes,’ she continues. ‘That's been the approach we've taken to fairs, and Seoul was the perfect addition.’ 

Seoul’s burgeoning local art scene

‘It feels like Seoul and Korea have rapidly risen to be a major city and country in the global art world,’ says Kyu Jin Hwang, Asia director at Thaddaeus Ropac. 

The Korean art scene has grown rapidly in the past five or six years, beginning with the Dansaekhwa boom, she says, which brought international attention to Korean art. ‘Big names such as Lee Ufan, Park Seo-Bo, Yun Hyong-keun, Chung Sang-hwa and Ha Chong-hyun were steadily promoted by local galleries such as Kukje and Hyundai, and as these artists started to garner global attention, naturally the market grew,’ says Hwang.

‘I’ve lived in Europe for 15 years. Ten years ago, when we said Asia, people thought of China, Hong Kong or Japan. Now the contemporary Korean art market has established a strong foothold and I’m proud to be spending my career in the art industry as a Korean.’

‘All the right ingredients’

Despite the pandemic, the art world in Seoul hasn’t struggled. In fact, it’s actually faring better because of it, gallerists say. ‘Because people stayed at home, they spent what they would spend on travel on interior decoration and buying art. Online fairs have also become an effective way for people to consume art,’ says Hwang. 

Soo Choi, managing director at König Seoul, also says the pandemic has helped bring art closer to people. ‘Since there are social limitations to what people can culturally enjoy, I think they have newly discovered how much they can experience in galleries. They’ve also started collecting art within their budget,’ says Choi. 

The lower barrier to entry has allowed galleries to be visited by a younger audience – another contributing factor to the burgeoning art scene. ‘I’ve been a gallerist for 15 years and I definitely notice that the audience is younger these days. Galleries weren’t easy places to visit but now the perception has changed, it’s somewhere they can visit freely,’ Choi continues. ‘People’s tastes have elevated as well.’

The influx of the younger audience cannot be explained without social media, which played a pivotal role in creating the art boom in Korea, says Youngjoo Lee, senior director at Pace gallery, which inagurated its new Seoul outpost with a solo show by American artist Sam Gilliam. ‘When it comes to contemporary art and understanding it, Koreans’ speed of communicating and sharing on social media is fastest, especially among young people,’ says Lee. ‘I think the biggest change in the market is that Korea is leading the trend in terms of introducing art [to the public].’

Could Seoul become Asia’s new art capital?

Socio-political factors are not to be dismissed in Seoul’s rise, however, as galleries are exiting Hong Kong to find a new Asian hub. Seoul is the most favourable option for many because it offers similar tax benefits to Hong Kong, as well as a growing cultural scene. 

‘I don’t think we’ve fully taken advantage of Korea’s tax-free benefits until now. If Korea uses that to its advantage, not only will the Korean art market grow, Seoul can become a trading hub,’ says Choi of König.  

‘Tax exemption for trading art has definitely played to our advantage,’ adds Lee of Pace. ‘The strong contemporary art scene, tax exemption, and popularity of Korean culture have made Seoul an attractive destination.’ 

As Siddall continues: ‘I think it [Seoul] has potential to be the art market capital in Asia just because it has all the right ingredients.’

The coronavirus seems to be slowly fading away here in Seoul, with daily confirmed cases fallen to single digits and people roaming the streets as if business as usual – some even without their masks. It has been a long journey for South Koreans, who were behind masks for four months, as our country was one of the first to be directly and severely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. As we draw near the end of the tunnel, I speak with five noted South Korean designers to hear how they have persisted through the difficult period and found creative inspiration. 

For Minju Kim, the coronavirus was an unexpected variable that impeded all ambitious plans after she won the Netflix series Next in Fashion. ‘I had been putting all my effort into preparing for the A/W2020 collection, but since a lot of things got cancelled or delayed, I had to find new ways,’ says Kim. Instead of presenting her work in the flesh, she collaborated with Vogue Korea to hold a digital fashion show. 

These days she is redesigning her brand from logo to website, while gearing up for the S/S2021 collection. ‘I’m reflecting on everything, from the ways of presenting a collection to the type of clothes I should make,’ she says. The biggest challenge from this crisis was that fashion has become less important in people’s lives. ‘I’m going to focus on people’s needs rather than beauty in the post-Covid era.’ 

Prototype of Saerom Yoon's new work

Furniture designer Saerom Yoon faced similar challenges in presenting his work to the public while exhibitions and fairs were being cancelled or delayed. Logistical issues, such as an increase in freight costs and limitations on where he could deliver his designs, meant that arranging delivery schedules became his top priority. 

‘The design industry is in financial difficulty, and designers have lost opportunities to present works offline,’ says Yoon, who had been named Next Generation Designer of the Year in the 2018 Wallpaper* Design Awards. With more time, however, he was able to organise his thoughts, come up with new ideas, and experiment with new colours. He is currently working with Hyundai Motors on a concept model, and designing installation work for an upcoming hotel. ‘Since I’ve had time to reflect and observe, I hope I’ll be able to see things in the design and art industries with new eyes when this situation is over.’ 

View of Kiyoung Ko's home garden blooming with azaleas

Kiyoung Ko also dedicated time to deep thinking and observing her surroundings. ‘I started to think a lot about humans – their behaviour and psychology, and their relationships with other people and with nature,’ said Ko, who runs lighting design studio Bitzro. 

Having spent more time at home, held meetings through Zoom, and made very few visits to project sites and meetings, she has started to view the house with a new perspective. ‘I realised the important role lights play in elevating the emotional quotient. A little shift in lighting can immensely change the mood of the home. I have great hope that the demand for good lighting will rise after the crisis.’ 

Front view of Sukwoo Lee's seat in his office

For Sukwoo Lee of SWNA, changes have been limited. ‘I would say only 20 percent of my life changed due to the coronavirus: wearing masks during meetings, shopping mostly online, and avoiding social gatherings. I go to the office every day and hold meetings with my team as usual.’ 

Business-wise, Lee’s studio has yet to feel the impact from Covid-19 as it mostly takes on B2B projects, but the impact from the economic downturn is concerning in the long term. ‘If we are to find opportunities, we need to free ourselves from the limitations of geography and be able to expand our client base to various regions. Gradually, Koreans will become used to working online.’ 

Light fixture for the newly designed Kukje Gallery's restaurant by Teo Yang Studio

Similarly, it has been business as usual for Teo Yang, who is working on some exciting new projects – the private residence of a famous K-pop singer whom he’s admired for a long time, a French restaurant for a LA-based chef, and a wellness centre and a restaurant for Kukje Gallery, to name a few. His weekday life remains unchanged, though his weekend scene has shifted from dinner at restaurants and gathering with friends at bars, to Netflix at home with a glass of wine. 

‘I deeply miss travelling around the globe and meeting and being inspired by creative people,’ says Yang. But the challenging period also gave him a creative nudge. ‘I am a homebody, so I always wanted to design a furniture line for like-minded people. Now seems like the perfect time to do so.’

Read more from Wallpaper* World View

Letter from Milan
Letter from Spain
Letter from Melbourne
Letter from Japan
Letter from Hong Kong
Letter from Canada

INFORMATION

Minju Kim @_minjukim_, minjukimathome.com
Saerom Yoon @saero_me, saeromyoon.com
Kiyoung Ko @bitzro, bitzro-partners.com
Sukwoo Lee @swna.office, theswna.com
Teo Yang @teoyang, teoyangstudio.com 

What happens when society’s outsiders are welcomed into the fold? When the periphery becomes the center? When nonconformity breaches the constraints of convention?

These are the questions posed in ‘No Space, Just A Place’, an ambitious exhibition at Daelim Museum in Seoul, South Korea. The show adopts a collective curatorial model to address the vital role of independent art spaces within Seoul’s local art ecosystem, incorporating presentations by ten prominent nontraditional local exhibition venues that embody the diversity and energy of the city’s thriving underground art scene.

Sponsored by Gucci and led by Myriam Ben Salah, the Tunisian-born curator and executive director of Chicago’s Renaissance Society, ‘No Space, Just A Place’ invites viewers to consider radical perspectives on ‘otherness’ and alternatives to mainstream institutional and market-driven paradigms for consuming contemporary art. ‘I’m interested in the museum as a physical eterotopia, a space that is literally other, and that others what you’re looking art,' says Ben Salah, borrowing terminology from the French philosopher Michel Foucault. ‘Working with these spaces allowed me to reflect on a wider, and more metaphorical definition of an “alternative” or “other” space.'

This fundamental rethinking of dominant discourses in the cultural sphere seeks to empower narratives voiced by marginalised communities in Korea’s increasingly heterogeneous social fabric, revealing a multiplicity of perspectives on notions of utopia, togetherness and belonging. Among the projects staged by local art spaces are ‘Psychedelic Nature’ presented by Boan1942, which explores the notion of artificial paradises through the work of Sungsil Ryu and Haneyl Choi; ‘Swimming QFWFQ*’ presented by space illi, which interrogates what society deems ‘natural’ through works by four female video artists; and ‘Secret of Longevity’ presented by White Noise, placing disparate artists in dialogue with one another to create new collaborative visions of identity forged through temporary relationships.

Other local spaces activate their own histories to suggest different ways that alterity assumes primacy of place beyond the white cube. Foremost in pursuing this strategy if Audio Visual Pavilion, which presents works from two previous exhibitions held at its space, alongside newly commissioned archival works that underscore the impermanence inherent in such non-commercial art venues, while Space One screens video archives that document significant exhibitions, performances and talks it has produced over the years.

‘No Space, Just A Place’ does more than assemble various independent art spaces under one roof, however; throughout the museum, immersive installations by five international artists offer global perspectives on identity politics and representation that expand the scope of the exhibition’s discursive mandate. Brooklyn-based Meriem Bennani’s acclaimed video ‘Party on the Caps’ (2018-2019) subversively addresses structures of displacement and immigration through clever storytelling and sardonic humor, imagining an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as a hub for refugees and illegal immigrants in transit. Kang Seung Lee, a Korean artist based in Los Angeles, takes a more staid approach to considering communities on the margins of society, lining the museum’s three-storey central stairwell with photocopies of some 1,700 covers of books and magazines from the Korea Queer Archive in an unpretentious yet elegant tribute to generations of LGBTQ activists, scholars and artists.

The most salient implication of the exhibition is its emphasis on inclusion and dialogue as hallmarks of a new paradigm for the production and consumption of contemporary art. In light of the changing social dynamics of distancing and isolation brought on by our global health crisis, there is a newfound interest in ‘alternative’ methodologies for living, working and communicating. And with it, perhaps, a chance to reset the status quo in ways that celebrate, rather than condemn, ‘otherness’. It is with this optimism that Ben Salah situates ‘No Space, Just A Place’ in the context of COVID-19: ‘Within the art world, I believe — I hope — that the current crisis will force us to focus on what truly matters: good art, good artists and important ideas.'

To enjoy a 360° tour of ‘No Space, Just a Place' from home, click here

INFORMATION

‘No Space, Just a Place,’ is on view at the Daelim Museum, Seoul until 12 July 2020
daelimmuseum.org; www.gucci.com; nospacejustaplace.gucci.com/en.html#360tour

ADDRESS

21, Jahamun-ro 4-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea

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In the heart of Seoul there is always some peace to be found within the walls of one of the Five Grand Palaces, built during the Joseon dynasty (1392 – 1897) to house the imperial families. Entering the ancient compounds is like stepping into another beautifully preserved era. At Deoksugung, the palace neighbouring City Hall and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), during your visit you will find a few unexpected – and very much 21st century structures – have popped up between the traditional sweeping eaves and connecting courtyards.

From a floating video unlocking portals into imagined worlds, to a roving set of multi-functional furniture pieces, the installations enliven the palace grounds with ideas exploring the relationship between architecture, urbanism and heritage on the occasion of the centennial of the first Emperor Gojong’s passing and the March First Independence Movement. While these events marked the start of Korea’s modern era, rulers were still very much grappling with how modernity would sit alongside traditions and heritage of the past politically.

Curator Lee Jihoi enlisted the stellar group of architects – CL3, Bureau Spectacular, OBBA, Obra Architects, Space Popular – to envision ‘a new interpretation of the Korean Empire’s dream for future city on the brink of modernism’. This imaginative framework provoked questions also relevant to today such as, how can the past and present exist in harmony together?

Even in the face of remarkable amounts of change from the Joseon era until today – invasion, industrialisation, westernisation – the palaces maintained their stoic presence in the city. With this in mind, the idea of ‘transition’ was a starting point for CL3 Architects, and the theme was also relevant to us now, in the context of mobility, displacement and migration.

William Lim, founder and chief architect of CL3, designed a set of furniture on wheels for Gojong, the last King of Joseon and the first Emperor of Korea. Mixing cross-cultural references – the common push-cart seen in many Asian cities meets a Palanquin imperial carriage, Le Corbusier-designed furniture meets traditional Korean furniture – the roving set features everything from a chaise lounge to a garden storage unit, and is fully equipped for an era of instability.

Space Popular, Frederik Hellberg and Lara Lesmes, became absorbed in the rich architectural ornamentation, colourful painted timber and stucco decoration of the palace, and its imperial role of communicating an aura of splendour and power to its audiences. At the Gwangmyeongmun Gate, which played an important role in this spectacle, their site specific video installation plays out, leading viewers through a series of 1:1 gates. The portals open up and traverse from an imperial interior, to a modern-day chat room, opening and closing each time to reveal an even more surreal space.

The architects compare the draw of this historic gate and its capacity to communicate to society through architecture, to the television screen of the 1950s, and now the screens in our pockets, the feeds and the VR goggles through which we enter virtual worlds each broadcasting their own ideas. Packed with technicolour, pattern and animated objects, the work concludes that while the tools with which we communicate might change, our nature as humans, with an innate need to express ideas with the visual objects around us, stays the same.

INFORMATION

‘Architecture and Heritage: Unearthing Future’; until 11 April 2020.

mmca.go.kr

spacepopular.com

cl3.com

perpetualspring.org

obraarchitects.com

ADDRESS

Deoksugung Palace
99 Sejong-daero
Jeong-dong
Jung-gu
Seoul
South Korea

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In the past, cities were formed as a result of collective effort – for the people, by the people. Yet as humanity has evolved, modern-day cities have degenerated into an outcome of capitalism and commercialism, marred by political and economic ambitions. Seoul is a city where such influences are evident, which is why it serves as the perfect venue to host the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.

The city’s relentless urbanisation takes root in its history. After the Korean War (1950-1953), it undertook painstaking efforts to catch up with the rest of the world. Stripped of aesthetics, ergonomics and a sense of community, high-rise apartments and buildings were rampantly built across the city. When the travel ban was lifted in the late 1980s, well-travelled Koreans added foreign taste to the urban dynamics. As the city modernised, commercial and political interests demolished historical remains and residential areas.

The 2019 edition of biennial, themed ‘Collective City’ aims to address such issues related to the formation of the cities across the globe, and create an open platform for discussion exploring the relationship between architecture, city and governance and what it means to create a ‘collective city.’ Weight is more on urbanism than architecture.

‘It’s about the logic that makes the city more humane,’ said Francisco Sanin, Colombian architect and educator who co-directed the event with Jaeyong Lim, principal architect at OCA. ‘The aim of this biennale is to position Seoul in the world arena to engage in debate, exchange experiences and conversations on what's going on in other parts of the world. We wanted to create an equal footing for the global south.’ In such effort, they invited cities from Africa, South America and South Asia to share their perspectives.

Exhibitions are scattered across five different locations in the city – Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Donuimun Museum Village, Sewoon Plaza, and Seoul Museum of History – purposely curated to make visitors explore the city.

The Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture is an introductory building of the event showcasing a few Seoul-related projects and a few from the Cities exhibition. The Thematic exhibition at the DDP features 48 projects and six documentaries that challenge the current paradigms of city. Introducing the exhibition is the Baeksa Village Residential Area Preservation Project, a collaborative effort for a village design from 10 Seoul-based architects working with local communities.

‘It's a call for cities to think about the people that will live in them rather than the top-down modernist designing of the city as an aesthetic,’ said Beth Hughes, curator of the thematic exhibition, who heads the architecture programme at Royal College of Art. This section features Atelier Bow-Wow’s Urban Rural Exchange project, which seeks to involve city-dwellers in farming; a wall of black and white cartoons exploring an alternative future for LA by City Form Lab and Harvard GSD; and a deep dive into ‘Jimjilbangs’, a traditional form of communal living, that explores non-conventional domesticity by amid.cero9.

The Donuimun Museum Village, a traditional residential area-turned museum town, is dedicated entirely to the Cities Exhibition, showcasing works of 80 participating cities addressing their cities’ most pressing issues. Case studies include five Korean examples of Cheong-ju, Cheon-an, Tong-yeong and Ulsan.

Outdoor installations draw attention such as audio installation City of Sound: City of Dust by Nick Sowers who documented the sounds of the temporary Black Rock City constructed for Burning Man in Nevada. Stereo speakers are diffused through acrylic panels surrounding an aerial image of the city. The speakers emit sounds of the city generated by the people, transportation and equipment.

The Global Studio in Sewoon Plaza exhibits research projects by 40 schools on how architecture becomes a tool to convey actions of the collective to change the city. Last but not least, the Seoul Museum of History explores how markets, formed like a collective city, are evolving and how they should be utilized.

The inaugural biennale, launched in 2017, dealt urbanism with a focus on ecological issues such as environment, resources and food. The 2019 edition continues the thread as a centre of discourse on urbanism and architecture – this time with weight on socio-urban dynamics and public engagement for devising collective strategies.

‘Rather than being a one-time event, it is meant to be a prototype for government, professionals, and citizens to act together to make the city better,’ said co-director Lim. The biennial runs until Nov 10, 2019.

INFORMATION

seoulbiennale.org

They say art is abstract. But wait until they see the works of Haegue Yang. Even this broad term doesn’t fully encapsulate the creations of the Korean artist, who is taking abstractionism to a whole new level. Drawing from historical references, personal experience and other sources of inspiration, she weaves them into multi-sensory art experience involving the visual, auditory and tactile.

Yang’s recently opened solo exhibition ‘When The Year 2000 Comes’, her first at Kukje Gallery in Seoul and her fourth in Korea, brings abstractionism sans logic or consistency to its pinnacle. The Seoul and Berlin-based artist typically refers to a ‘piece’ as a ‘body of work’, but this exhibition is full of ‘elements’ that cannot be declared as ‘pieces’ which, she says, is what differentiates this from her other shows.

When visitors step into the K3 space of Kukje Gallery, they are greeted with the optimistic lyrics of AD 2000 by Hae-kyung Min, a Korean singer famous in the 1980s: ‘When the year 2000 comes, we will head to outer space. We will climb on a rocket and fly among the stars. There will be no war.’ The song wasn’t a favourite of Yang’s but one day, she became conscious of its words. ‘I’m surprised why I’m struck by the lyrics of this song,’ says Yang. ‘Time was folded in the song, time as a concept – casual but significant in social, political factors.’

Paradoxical to the environment when the song was released in 1982 – Korea was still under military dictatorship then – the song wishfully dreams of a peaceful, utopian future in the year 2000. Similarly, the sound of birds chirping, recorded during the historic Inter-Korean Summit between the North and South Korean leaders in 2018, also contrast with the tense political environment at the time.

While the acoustic elements are reflective of time and space, the visual and tactile details juggle seemingly disparate narratives. Adjacent to the entrance hangs a collective artwork, Treasure Ship (c 1977), painted by Yang and her two younger brothers and one of the few pieces that survived from their childhood. The four walls of the interior of the gallery are covered with wallpaper created in collaboration with German graphic designer Manuel Raeder – an eclectic arrangement of motifs such as garlic and onions, rainbows and lightning, surgical robots and straws and bells.

The floor is plastered with holographic tape in grid-form – alluding to the Korean chess game of janggi – sprawling across the length of the gallery and up the ceiling, while shiny gym balls are dotted throughout for visitors to touch and sit on. Earthly scents infiltrate the space while dried ice creates a mystic carpet of fog.

There are also works that may be recognisable to those who are familiar with Yang. The Venetian blind is revisited with added dynamics requiring two people to move the piece around. In opposing corners of the gallery, the artist’s Sonic Gym sculptures are suspended from the ceiling, this time equipped with new elements such as handles or artificial straw. The sound generated from rotating them manually references rituals across different cultures.

Yang’s exhibition will be supplemented by additional programming including flying soccer ball-shaped drones, performances of Korean composer Isang Yun’s Images (1968), and face painting sessions. ‘When the Year 2000 Comes’ is a synthesis of elements that folds time and space, the personal and the political.

INFORMATION
‘When The Year 2000 Comes’, 3 September – 17 November, Kukje Gallery. kukjegallery.com

ADDRESS

Kukje Gallery
54 Samcheong-ro
Jongno-gu Seoul

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Scotch whisky plays a long game. It takes its time to develop complex layers of flavour during the long maturation in oak casks, and its moves and milestones are measured out in decades rather than years. Royal Salute’s flagship whisky, The Signature Blend, was originally created by the Chivas brothers in 1953, to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The whisky is aged for a minimum of 21 years – a significant number that references the 21 gun salute that honours the Queen.

Sixty-five years later, Royal Salute holds its place as Scotland’s most prestigious blended whisky range, and this year, for the first time since its inception, two new whiskies are unveiled to join the 21 year old collection; the Malts Blend, and the Lost Blend.

Royal Salute takes proud ownership of its unique heritage and well deserved status, but doesn’t rest on its laurels, and keeps a keen eye on innovation, with a view to bringing the brand to new generations of increasingly sophisticated luxury consumers. Premium whisky drinkers are a discerning crowd – they know their peat and their malt, and they expect excellence and diversity.

The Malts Blend is the first ever blended malt to be added to Royal Salute’s 21 year old range. Taking account of growing global interest in single malt whisky, the blend is crafted from more than 21 single malts from the Chivas Brothers portfolio, each aged for at least 21 years. Its creator, Royal Salute’s Master Blender, Sandy Hyslop, demonstrates that a blended malt can be as multilayered as a single malt, a sweet symphony of orchard fruits and spices.

The Lost Blend adds another exciting new dimension to the range, being the first permanent peated whisky for Royal Salute – so named because it celebrates scarce and notable whiskies from ‘lost’ distilleries no longer in production. A taste of ripe pears (a classic Royal Salute flavour note), mingles with orange rind, hazelnuts, and just the right amount of smouldering bonfire.

Scotch whisky’s reach into the future is placed in perspective by Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, when he points out that he is now laying down casks to be used in Royal Salute 21 years from now, after he has retired. He is charged with ensuring the continued excellence of the brand in decades to come, and the creation of these two new blends are part of his legacy.

Royal Salute’s melding of history and modernity is apparent with new merchandising. Created in collaboration with fine artist Kristjana S Williams, the design features animals from the British Royal menagerie, (which used to be housed in the Tower of London). The iconic porcelain flacon is still produced by British heritage brand Wade, in dramatic black for the Lost Blend, and jewel-like green for the Malts blend.

Thinking outside the box, Royal Salute has understood the value of collaborating with artists, creators, and ambassadors who are not directly part of the whisky world, but are connected to it, and offer new angles of sensory awareness.

Parisian perfumer Barnabé Fillion, Creative Advisor for the brand, takes inspiration from the worlds of art, philosophy, and literature. He brings his olfactory expertise, and works with the master blending team on new products and experimental blending techniques. Alongside Sandy Hyslop, he has created cocktails to complement each of the three expressions in the 21 year old range. The beautifully nuanced drinks enhance the appreciation of the Royal Salute family of flavour, and demonstrate the depth and opulence of the blends.

These are exciting times for luxury whisky drinkers – literally a golden age. As Royal Salute’s marketing director, Mathieu Deslandes, makes clear, ‘we’re raising the bar for Scotch whisky and we’re only just getting started’. 

INFORMATION

royalsalute.com

Balancing regulatory constraints, a rising demand for housing and powerful traditions, such as multi-generational living, South Korea is a thriving place for any architect working in the residential field. Local firm stpmj, who has offices in both Seoul and New York, is among a new wave of architectural studios making their mark in the country.

Founded by Seung Teak Lee and Mi Jung Lim, the practice follows the idea of ‘Provocative Realism’, exploring, through their work, ‘the boundary between the ideal and the real,’ they explain.

Five-Story House is their latest residential completion, located in the Gangseogu district of the South Korean capital. Clad in beautiful red brick and featuring sweeping curves that make the volume look like it’s been entirely carved out of clay, this is a single family house with impact. 
 
Responding to the area’s high density – yet trying to balance a small footprint with much needed space for the residents – the architects went on to create an unusual tall and skinny structure. In a city where most residents live in – or aspire to live in – a single level apartment, this was a clear departure from the norm. ‘[Here] a vertically stacked house with small floor area is a provocative residential type in this culture,’ they say.

Designed for a family of five, the house incorporates the necessary living spaces for the family, as well as a studio for husband’s hobby, furniture-making, and a multi-play room for 10, 8, and 6 years-old girls. Functions are spread, as the name suggests, over five floors, with the top ones cantilevering out over the ground level parking space – which is a typical move in this part of town. The house’s curves and twists aim to maximize daylight indoors. 
 
Residential work is a big part of the young studio’s portfolio; not that it comes without its challenges. ‘[Designing someone’s home means] trying to understand someone’s everything,’ say the two partners, although they add that they have learnt ‘not to hesitate to make a decision that feels right.’ 

INFORMATION

stpmj.com

WALLPAPER* ARCHITECTS’ DIRECTORY 2019

In Seoul, apartments with views of the Han River are, not surprisingly, prized commodities. Rarer still are those that open in the direction of two compass points. For locally based studio intg, this 112 sq m bolthole – on the 11th storey of a 30 storey apartment building that sits diagonally to the river in the city’s Gangnam quarter – was a boon.

Designers and intg co-founders, Daniel Song and Kate Cho say the views are ‘quite amazing – from the living room and bedroom, you see the river park, and from the office, you see the mountains with Namsan Tower, a major Seoul landmark, across the river.’

The east-west perspective had a direct impact on the design approach. ‘Since there is all-day natural lighting, we were able to be bold and use saturated colours and dark tones. And since the sunlight shifts throughout the day, we allowed the living room to be white so that it becomes a canvas.’  

The relatively long and narrow layout of the three bedroom apartment, especially along the axis from the entrance to the living area, required a horizontal layering of textures and colours – not least Lasvit pendant lamps, Arflex chairs and BD Barcelona Design accessories – to create distinct and separate visual zones. As Song puts it, the decision was to ‘add, rather than subtract or relocate.’

The result is an artful blend of Memphis and neo-deco. For the most part, the floor is white washed oak, while the atelier and library are sheathed in green marble, and walls are clad in mint and purple fabric panels. The bijou kitchen, meanwhile, features a brushed stainless steel counter and copper cabinets, alongside custom millworks in walnut and anodized metal.

For Song and Cho, the Seoul apartment is a useful shorthand for the DNA of their three year old studio which is currently working on the Seoul HQ of the Aju Hotels & Resorts group, and a VIP lounge for the Lotte department store. ‘The apartment’s design narrative comes from its existing condition and purpose. We had to create a visually inspiring, yet comfortable and embracing space.’ Mission accomplished, we say.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the intg website