Sue Park’s Seoul: An Artist’s Guide to South Korea’s Capital

After earning her masters in Sculpture at London’s Royal College of Art, South Korean artist Sue Park returned to Seoul to build her multidisciplinary practice, exploring existential themes from environmental change to personal relationships — underpinned by a precarious sense of uncertainty that characterises our future. Through a mix of mediums, such as embroidery, video, painting, and glass, Park creates evocative works that at once highlight human resilience and absurdity amidst looming crisis. On the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition, Bring an umbrella just in case, on view at WHITE NOISE, Seoul until 10 November 2024, Park has compiled a very personal guide to her native city for Something Curated — spanning food, art spaces, walks, bookshops, and more. The below are her words.

Woo Lae Oak

This establishment is famous for their Pyongyang style cold noodles ‘naeng myeon’ and their marinated beef barbecue. It is such a nostalgic place as I’ve had many family gatherings here since childhood. The noodles have a high buckwheat content and the broth has a subtle and elegant beef flavour which might be a very new flavour profile for first time visitors. If you want to play it safe I recommend the marinated beef with rice drowned in the broth from the ring of the grill. At the weekends and dinner time there is a long wait. Register on the kiosk and go for a walk by a nearby stream (Cheonggyecheon) and you might see a crane fishing for dinner.

Jungnangcheon

This stream on the east side of Seoul is my favourite place to cycle and go bird watching. Throughout the year you can see an abundance of flowers from roses, hibiscus, poppies, wild flowers, cosmos and more. And all sorts of birds hanging in the river such as cranes, Eurasian teals, mallards, freshwater cormorants, white-cheeked black ducks and mandarin ducks. Take a public bicycle from Hannam or Eungbong station and cycle north. The best bird watching spot is by Hagye station where you can stop by the Buk-Seoul Museum of Art to see a show and then take a taxi to Damteo Loach Soup for the best loach soup and fried loach in the city.

Piknic

Tucked away in a quieter area of Namdaemun Market, Piknic holds exhibitions of photography, film, art, design and more. They have many places to chill such as a rooftop garden with the view of the city and a ground floor cafe. Their gift shop is fun to browse too.

원조호남손팥칼국수

This humble red bean spot is perfect for the colder months if you love the irony rich flavour of red beans. They serve red bean soup that’s been boiling for a long time until it is broken down into a silky texture. You can have it as a rice porridge with rice cakes or flour noodles. But the star is the unison of these dishes with their amazing kimchi that has just enough kick from the chilli peppers and saline funk from the fish paste. Heaven. Also, Cylinder gallery is just around the corner so you can pop in to see a show.

The Book Society

Located near Gyeongbok palace in the north of the city, The Book Society is an independent bookshop and project space; they hold books on various subjects such as art, ecology, philosophy, science and gender. It is really fun to look through their collections in the shop and also their online space. Afterwards, you can walk through Togin Market and walk down to Gimjinmoksam where you can have the most flavourful pork barbecue.

Seoul Museum of Craft

Opened in 2021, this museum houses every form of Korean traditional craft from patchwork and embroidery to lacquerware in their permanent collection. They host of programme of curated exhibitions spotlighting more modern and contemporary craftspeople, as well as housing an impressive library.

Kiosk Kiosk

Located in Seongsu, Kiosk Kiosk is a shop that sells household goods, books, stationary and ornaments from various craftspeople and artists. I particularly love the ceramic pieces by Eastsmoke. The Seongsu area has a history of having been the work place of many shoemakers and still has a lot of companies specialising in leather. It is a fun area to have a look around.

Barakat Contemporary

This gallery brings together both international and local artists, creating a space that reflects Korea’s evolving multicultural landscape. In just a few years, they’ve showcased works from regions as diverse as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Each exhibit is engaging and full of insights, offering visitors a unique chance to experience different cultures and perspectives through art. It’s like a journey around the world, all within one gallery.

YPC Space (Yellow Pen Club Space)

The YPC space is run by the YPC team who’s work primarily centres on producing projects — writing, exhibitions, publications — that explore art and its surrounding themes. The space holds exhibitions as well as various programmes such as workshops, lectures and book clubs. You can also check out their publications online.

Mr. Ahn’s Makgeolli

This Michelin restaurant offers a modern seasonal Korean menu with traditional Korean liquor pairings. They translate Korean cuisine surprisingly well to tweezer food which I find very rare. And they have a good variety of liquor from distilled and clear rice wine to takju.



Feature image: Sue Park, Bring an umbrella just in case at WHITE NOISE, Seoul. 11 October – 10 November 2024. Courtesy the Artist and WHITE NOISE, Seoul