In Seoul's Seongbuk-dong, art finds a home in historic spaces

Seongbuk Art Week opens Tuesday in Seoul’s Seongbuk-dong, turning the historic neighborhood and surrounding district into an interconnected museum with more than 40 exhibitions and projects. Organized by Seongbuk District, the Seongbuk Cultural Foundation and the Seongbuk Museum of Art, the event explores how artistic connections to places endure across generations. Exhibitions pair contemporary works with traditional houses, Seoul’s city wall, historic gardens and sites associated with Korean artists and writers. The event runs through Nov. 1.

The Seongbuk Museum of Art exhibition connects abstract ink painter Suh Se-ok with his son, installation artist Do Ho Suh, through their shared Seongbuk-dong hanok.

Do Ho Suh created a new rubbing work tracing the surfaces of the family hanok, reawakening memories of his father embedded in the house.

Chung Hyun’s seven The Standing Man sculptures, made between 2015 and 2021, are installed beneath Hanyangdoseong at Seongbuk Historical and Cultural Park.

Han Sung-pil’s Songseokjeong: Built of Emptiness depicts a pavilion partially destroyed by fire in 2025 while it awaits restoration.

Seongbuk-dong Byeolseo was created by late-Joseon official and writer Hwang Yun-myeong and was designated a scenic site in 2020.

Published Oct 20, 2026 12:00 pm KST

Inaugural Seongbuk Art Week traces artists' lives and memories that shaped creative enclave

Choi In-soo's "The Face of Time" (2016) is installed at Choi Sunu House, the former residence of art historian Choi Sunu in Seoul, as part of the inaugural edition of Seongbuk Art Week. Courtesy of Seongbuk Art Week

In Seongbuk-dong, a quiet neighborhood tucked beyond Seoul’s centuries-old city wall, traditional houses and secluded gardens have long drawn generations of modern and contemporary Korean artists, poets and architects seeking space to live, work and reflect.

Painters Kim Whan-ki, known for his abstract works, and Lee Jung-seop, best known for his paintings of white oxen, were among them.

So it is fitting, then, that Seongbuk Art Week is taking shape here.

Opening Tuesday, the inaugural art week will turn the neighborhood and surrounding district into an interconnected museum, featuring more than 40 exhibitions and projects. Organized by Seongbuk District, the Seongbuk Cultural Foundation and the Seongbuk Museum of Art, the event will also explore how attachments to places can endure across generations.

Do Ho Suh's "Heavenly Peaches" (2026) and Suh Se-ok's "Heavenly Peaches" (1989) are installed at Seongbuk Museum of Art as part of the inaugural edition of Seongbuk Art Week, Monday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Home shared across generations

At Seongbuk Museum of Art, a special exhibition brings together abstract ink painter Suh Se-ok and his son and installation artist Do Ho Suh, through their shared connection to the family’s Seongbuk-dong hanok, or traditional Korean house.

For the elder Suh, who embraced the spirit of Joseon-era literati painters, home was a place for contemplating existence. His son grew up there before pursuing a nomadic life abroad and now explores home as something portable — a living entity layered with time and memory rather than a fixed address.

The exhibition pairs their paintings together with the younger Suh’s new rubbing work tracing the hanok. Running his hands across its surfaces, the younger Suh reawakens memories of his father embedded in the house.

“It feels somewhat moving and very new to me,” Do Ho Suh told reporters during a press preview Monday, describing the father-and-son exhibition as a “prequel” to a larger presentation he hopes to develop with the museum.

While their interests overlap, he cautioned against seeing only continuity between father and son.

“I think it would be right to look at both the similarities and the differences at the same time,” he said.

Chung Hyun's "The Standing Man" (2015-2021) is installed along Hanyangdoseong, Seoul's old city wall, Monday, as part of the inaugural edition of Seongbuk Art Week. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Time written into wood and stone

At Seongbuk Historical and Cultural Park, sculptor Chung Hyun’s seven The Standing Man sculptures, made between 2015 and 2021, rise beneath Hanyangdoseong, Seoul’s city wall.

First built in 1396, the wall bears traces of successive rebuilding campaigns in its differently sized and colored stones. Chung’s weathered railroad ties carry another history: years spent absorbing passing trains’ weight and vibration.

“The railroad ties themselves are about enduring time,” Chung said, explaining why he chose the site. “They are about enduring hardship.”

The wall’s protective role and the wood’s long endurance, he said, bring the two materials into conversation.

Han Sung-pil's "Songseokjeong: Built of Emptiness" (2026) is installed at Seongbuk-dong Byeolseo, a secluded traditional garden in Seoul, Monday, as part of the inaugural edition of Seongbuk Art Week. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

At Seongbuk-dong Byeolseo, a traditional garden created by late-Joseon official and writer Hwang Yun-myeong, Han Sung-pil addresses a more recent wound.

Designated a scenic site in 2020, the garden temporarily opens for the festival. Its Songseokjeong pavilion was partially destroyed by fire in 2025.

Han’s “Songseokjeong: Built of Emptiness” reconstructs its appearance on a protective screen through an ink-and-color painting based on documentary photographs.

“Drawing is building,” the artist said. The image restores the missing pavilion to the landscape while the building awaits restoration.

Lee Woo-sung's "Searching for the Ox" (2026) is installed in the backyard of Simujang, a former hanok residence of poet and independence activist Han Yong-un in Seoul, Monday, as part of the inaugural edition of Seongbuk Art Week. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Searching for ox, finding new meaning

At Simujang, where poet and independence activist Han Yong-un lived from 1933 until his final years, Lee Woo-sung brings contemporary painting into a home associated with literature and resistance.

The house’s name invokes the Buddhist search for a lost ox, a metaphor for seeking enlightenment.

Lee reinterprets that journey in “Searching for the Ox,” while “To Live With a Singing Heart” brings animals and a guitar into the grounds, imagining music accompanying the aspirations preserved there.

“This is an opportunity to revisit Seongbuk’s accumulated historical, cultural and artistic heritage through contemporary art and share the value of its preserved spaces,” Kim Bo-ra, director of Seongbuk Museum of Art, said.

Details on programs and exhibition visits are available here . Seongbuk Art Week runs through Nov. 1.

城北艺术周将于周二在首尔城北洞开幕，届时，这座历史悠久的街区及其周边地区将化身为一座相互连接的博物馆，展出超过40个展览和项目。此次艺术周由城北区政府、城北文化财团和城北美术馆联合举办，旨在探索艺术与地域的联系如何代代相传。展览将当代艺术作品与传统民居、首尔城墙、历史园林以及与韩国艺术家和作家相关的场所并置展出。艺术周将持续至11月1日。

城北美术馆的展览通过抽象水墨画家徐世玉和他的儿子、装置艺术家徐道获共同拥有的城北洞韩屋，将他们联系起来。

徐道获创作了一幅新的拓印作品，描绘了家族韩屋的表面，重新唤起了他父亲在房子里留下的记忆。

郑铉于 2015 年至 2021 年间创作的七件《站立的人》雕塑作品，被安装在城北历史文化公园的汉阳岛城下。

韩成弼的作品《松石亭：空无而建》描绘了一座亭子在 2025 年被大火部分烧毁，等待修复的情景。

城北洞绝瑞是由已故朝鲜官员兼作家黄允明创作，并于 2020 年被指定为风景名胜区。

发布于2026年10月20日韩国时间下午12:00

首届城北艺术周追溯了艺术家们的生活和记忆，这些都塑造了创意聚集地。

崔仁洙的作品《时间的面孔》（2016）在首尔崔善宇故居展出，该故居是艺术史学家崔善宇的故居，此次展览是首届城北艺术周的一部分。图片由城北艺术周提供。

在首尔拥有数百年历史的城墙外，静谧的城北洞，传统的房屋和幽静的花园长期以来吸引着一代又一代的韩国现代和当代艺术家、诗人和建筑师前来寻求生活、工作和思考的空间。

以抽象作品闻名的画家金焕基，以及以白牛画作闻名的画家李正燮也在其中。

因此，城北艺术周在这里举办也就不足为奇了。

首届艺术周将于周二开幕，届时该街区及周边地区将变身为一个互联互通的博物馆，展出超过40个展览和项目。此次活动由城北区政府、城北文化财团和城北美术馆联合举办，还将探讨人们对场所的依恋如何跨越世代而延续。

周一，徐道获的《天桃》（2026）和徐世锡的《天桃》（1989）在城北美术馆展出，作为首届城北艺术周的一部分。韩国时报 李海琳摄

世代相传的家

在城北美术馆，一场特别展览将抽象水墨画家徐世玉和他的儿子、装置艺术家徐道获联系在一起，这源于他们与家族位于城北洞的韩屋（韩国传统房屋）的共同联系。

对于秉承朝鲜时代文人画家精神的老徐先生而言，家是思考人生的地方。他的儿子徐先生在那里长大，之后远赴海外过着游牧般的生活，如今他探索的“家”并非一个固定的住所，而是一个可以移动的、充满时间和记忆的鲜活存在。

展览将他们的画作与小徐的拓印作品并置展出，小徐的拓印作品描绘了韩屋的轮廓。他用手抚摸着韩屋的表面，唤起了埋藏在房子里的父亲的记忆。

“这对我来说既令人感动又非常新颖，”徐道获周一在媒体预览会上告诉记者，他将这场父子展览描述为他希望与博物馆合作开发的更大规模展览的“前奏”。

虽然他们的兴趣有重叠之处，但他告诫人们不要只看到父子之间的延续性。

“我认为应该同时关注它们的相似之处和不同之处，”他说。

周一，作为首届城北艺术周的一部分，郑铉的雕塑作品《站立的人》（2015-2021）在首尔古城墙汉阳道城沿线展出。韩国时报摄影师李海琳摄

时间镌刻于木石之上

在城北历史文化公园，雕塑家郑铉于 2015 年至 2021 年间创作的七座《站立的人》雕塑矗立在首尔城墙汉阳岛城下。

这座始建于1396年的城墙，其大小不一、颜色各异的石块，见证了多次重建的痕迹。钟氏风化的铁路枕木则承载着另一段历史：它们经年累月地承受着过往列车的重量和震动。

“铁路枕木本身就象征着经受时间的考验，”钟先生解释他选择这个地点的原因时说，“它们象征着忍受苦难。”

他说，墙壁的保护作用和木材的持久耐用性，使得这两种材料可以联系起来。

韩成弼的作品《松石亭：空无之建》（2026）于周一在首尔城北洞别西——一座幽静的传统庭园——展出，作为首届城北艺术周的一部分。韩国时报 李海琳摄

在城北洞别西，这座由已故朝鲜官员兼作家黄允明创建的传统花园里，韩成弼处理了一个更近期的伤口。

该花园于2020年被指定为风景名胜区，为庆祝节日而临时开放。其松石亭于2025年被大火部分烧毁。

韩的《松石亭：由空虚构成》通过一幅基于纪实照片的水墨彩画，在保护屏上重现了松石亭的样貌。

“绘画即建造，”艺术家说道。这幅画将缺失的亭子重新呈现在景观之中，而建筑本身则等待着修复。

李宇成的作品《寻找牛》（2026）于周一在首尔诗人兼独立运动人士韩容云故居——思慕庄的后院展出，作为首届城北艺术周的一部分。照片由《韩国时报》李海琳拍摄。

寻找牛，发现新的含义

在诗人兼独立运动人士韩永云从 1933 年到晚年居住的思慕庄，李宇成将当代绘画带入了这座与文学和抵抗运动相关的宅邸。

这栋房子的名字源于佛教寻找走失公牛的故事，象征着寻求觉悟。

李在《寻找牛》中重新诠释了这段旅程，而《带着歌唱的心生活》则将动物和吉他带入这片土地，想象着音乐伴随着那里保存的愿望。

“这是一个通过当代艺术重新审视城北积累的历史、文化和艺术遗产，并分享其保存空间价值的机会，”城北美术馆馆长金宝罗说道。

有关活动安排和展览参观的详细信息请点击此处查看。城北艺术周将持续至11月1日。