A Gwanghwamun Office Worker's Winter Lunchtime Stroll: Encountering the Park Gwang-jin Exhibition at the Seoul Museum of Art
A New Alternative for Lunchtime Strolls in the Cold Winter
With the fierce winds of winter, it's not easy to go for a walk during lunchtime. However, there's a good alternative for office workers in Gwanghwamun: visiting nearby art museums. Today, I want to share my experience visiting the
Park Gwang-jin: Whispers of Nature
exhibition at the Seosomun Main Building of the Seoul Museum of Art. I was able to spend a time that warmed both my heart and mind while enjoying art pieces in a warm indoor space.
Exhibition Information and Basics
The Park Gwang-jin: Whispers of Nature exhibition started on December 12, 2024, and will be held until February 9, 2025. Since there's less than a month left until the end of the exhibition, be sure to visit soon. The location is the first-floor exhibition hall of the Seosomun Main Building of the Seoul Museum of Art, and admission is free. This exhibition displays a total of 117 artworks, offering an opportunity to deeply appreciate Park Gwang-jin's artistic world.
Exhibition Structure and Main Sections
This exhibition is divided into four sections, showcasing Park Gwang-jin's diverse world of art:
- Exploration: Figures, Still Lifes, Landscapes : In this section, composed of early works, you can see traces of Park Gwang-jin's exploration of nature through figures and still lifes.
- Discovery of Landscape : This section exhibits works capturing famous places both domestically and internationally in oil paintings. Here, I was delighted to see places that I had visited before.
- The Light of the Four Seasons : A section that beautifully expresses the four seasons of Korea, where you can appreciate the different lights and landscapes of each season.
-
Sounds of Nature
: There are many works with subjects like the silver grass and canola flowers of Jeju Island, allowing you to feel the unique nature of Jeju.
Park Gwang-jin and His Artistic World
Park Gwang-jin is approaching his 90th birthday this year, but his works still show a vibrant palette and composition, transcending time. I felt that nature does not age as the works painted several decades ago blended naturally with his recent ones. Especially, the later works inspired by Jeju, captured the vitality of the reeds and canola flowers on canvas, which were touching.
This exhibition doesn't simply reproduce beautiful scenery. It shows the artist's lifelong journey of capturing the sensory messages gained from interacting with nature onto the canvas. Especially, through subtle elements like the changes in light and water, it allows visitors to realize how nature and art can be in harmony.
I Recommend Visiting the Art Museum for a Lunchtime Stroll
If you want to spend your lunch break meaningfully even in the cold winter, I recommend visiting the art museum. You can warm both your heart and mind while enjoying beautiful works of art in a warm indoor space. Especially, the Park Gwang-jin: Whispers of Nature exhibition is free, so please feel free to visit.
Also, there are many various cafes and restaurants around the art museum, so it would be nice to enjoy a cup of coffee and reflect on the exhibition after lunch. If you work in Gwanghwamun, don't miss the opportunity to enjoy culture in such a short amount of time.
In Conclusion...
For office workers in Gwanghwamun, this exhibition will be a special time to connect with nature in their daily lives beyond simply appreciating art. Take a short break during your lunch hour and visit the Seoul Museum of Art. And I hope you all experience the whispers of nature that Park Gwang-jin has captured on canvas!
