The Art of a Solo Trip

Odds are, you’ll arrive in Seoul ready to meet new people, see the city, and tick all the items off your bucket list. I came to Seoul knowing three other people, including my roommate, but I was shocked at how little time we would have together while here and how little of my bucket list I would do. Trying to find time to hang out with one another was foiled by our different class schedules, sickness, club activities, and homework. I wanted to take the time to talk about one of my solo trips, because for the first month or so I didn’t want to do anything alone, and I regret not exploring more at the beginning of the semester. This blog is basically to convince you that, while intimidating, solo trips can be really fun and worthwhile! 

Gwangjin, Seoul 

The first solo trip I went on, I did not plan for. I knew I wanted to explore various museums because I love art in all forms, and I didn’t have classes on Fridays, which made them perfect days to go out and explore. I found an exhibition that sounded interesting on Naver Maps at Sejong Museum Gallery located at Sejong University, in Gwangjin, Seoul. Unfortunately, I went a little later in the day, so I missed the opening hours. It turned out the last days of the exhibition were that weekend, and I didn’t even think to check when they would close! 

So, I planned to come back to the exhibition on Sunday, and instead explored the area around Sejong University. The campus was very pretty, and right across the street was the Children’s Park. There was a fountain that choreographed the water to the music, and while I didn’t explore the entire park since my phone was about to die, I did get to see these historical statues (located in the gallery above). 

Nam Sang Woon and Mondeouvert 

Since the last day of the exhibition was on a Sunday, my roommate was able to join me! We went to the gallery around noon. It was free admission, and only two people were looking around inside. While we were looking around, though, a woman came up to us and asked in broken English how we found the exhibition. I tried to answer (in my just as broken Korean) that I had come earlier, but it was closed. She seemed very excited to know we could speak a little Korean and was telling us that the man who was standing in the room was the artist, Nam Sang Woon! 

I was excited to geek out over art with the artist, and even more excited to try to discuss art in Korean. We got to speak with MK Hong, the woman who came up to us. She is the creative director of the gallery Mondeouvert, and she was excited to tell us about Nam Sang Woon’s son. She said he was a famous actor, and lo and behold, his son is Nam Da Reum! After geeking out internally, and telling him his son is in my favorite drama, we got to talk with him about his paintings (albeit in poor Korean), but he seemed to understand my questions. 

There are little characters within his Blue Moon Series, which depicts a lotus leaf, and his signature “blue” color. Various characters like Spider-Man, Astro Boy, The Little Prince, and even a little girl who resembles The Little Prince. When I asked him who it was, he told me the little prince in his paintings represents Nam Da Reum when he was young, and the girl is his younger sister. 

As we were leaving, Nam Sang Woon gave us signature cards with an overview of his work (which you can see in the gallery above), and MK Hong invited us to her gallery Mondeouvert for the following Friday to view the exhibition Lingering Infusion. We had to reschedule for the week after, though, as her exhibition was located in the middle of the protests. Once we got to the gallery, she bought us coffee and showed us around and told us about the different artists' work. She also gave us artist cards for the artists in the exhibition, and she also recommended other galleries for us to visit! 

Overall, if I had never gone on my solo trip, I never would have had the opportunity to view the galleries and converse with the artist Nam Sang Woon and the creative director MK Hong. If you would like to see his work, I’ll leave you with the artist's socials and exhibition locations in case you would like to visit them on your trip to Korea! 

Sejong University Museum Gallery: 

98 Gunja-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (located on the basement floor) 

Mondeouvert Gallery: 

9-2 Susong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Socials: 

g.mondeouvert 

namsangwoon (남상운)

Until next time! (: