A Visit to the WooYang Museum of Art: Nam June Paik and Amoako Boafo Exhibitions
Hello! I'm sharing my experience visiting the WooYang Museum of Art in Gyeongju to see the Nam June Paik media art exhibition and the Amoako Boafo exhibition.
For parking, you can enter through the Hilton Hotel and park in the parking lot near the WooYang Museum of Art, or you can use the external parking lot marked as 'B' on the map below. It's free and very close to the museum. However, it only has space for about 10 cars and is in a convenient location for visiting Bomun Lake, so it can sometimes be full. Keep that in mind!
This is the route to the WooYang Museum of Art after parking in the external parking lot shown on the map above. It's a short walk.
WooYang Museum of Art: Nam June Paik & Amoako Boafo Exhibitions.
A large banner on one side of the museum wall heightened my anticipation for the exhibition.
NAM JUNE PAIK - HUMANITY IN THE CIRCUIT
Amoako Boafo - I Have Been Here Before.
The exhibition runs from July 20, 2025, to November 30, 2025.
You can purchase tickets via Naver reservation or on-site at the kiosk.
When you get your ticket, it comes out from the kiosk with the receipt but, like an idiot, I only grabbed the receipt and went to the cafe. When I came back my ticket was gone...ㅠㅠ
I was flustered, standing in front of the kiosk, but luckily, it seems this happens often. They kindly checked my receipt and reissued a new ticket. The funny/sad thing is, when I scanned the new ticket's QR code, it said the ticket had already been used.
Haha... it wasn't that the ticket didn't come out, but that someone had already taken it and used it...ㅠ.ㅠ
Anyway, thanks to the museum's consideration, I was able to enter safely.
Make sure to grab your ticket from under the kiosk!!
Lee Cheong-ha's audio guide.
I'm sure she would have provided explanations with a calm and beautiful voice, but I was too flustered by the ticket loss to listen. It's a shame.
Before entering the museum, I went to the BiBiBiDang cafe to check out the merchandise.
They had bags, postcards, magnets, and bookmarks.
The bags printed with the artist's self-portrait caught my eye.
First, I went to the BiBiBiDang cafe to get some caffeine before viewing the exhibit.
I hadn't originally planned to write a post, but the cafe's atmosphere was so nice and the coffee was so delicious that I quickly took some pictures. There were usually more people, but I took these during a brief lull.
This is the cafe latte. The prices are a bit high since it's inside the museum, but I understood when I saw that each drink came with a small assortment of snacks. The cafe latte comes with chocolate.
Iced Americano. As expected in Gyeongju, it's served in a white ceramic cup. Delicious. They also gave a brief explanation of the beans when taking my order.
The accompanying snack is black sesame. It's delicious :)
BiBiBiDang Plum Tea and Omija Tea.
The plum tea is on the left, and the omija tea is on the right. Each comes with a raspberry-flavored jelly that's like a cross between a yanggaeng (sweet red bean jelly) and a jelly.
I drank them iced, and both were incredibly tangy, sweet, and flavorful. They're perfect for recovering from summer heat fatigue.
BiBiBiDang Vanilla Ice Cream.
Vanilla ice cream topped with a Lotus cookie. It's even crunchier and sweeter when eaten with the cookie.
It also comes with a slice of dried apricot.
BiBiBiDang has a signature coffee menu, but unfortunately it's decaf so I skipped it. I'm still regretting it though.
Now that I've recharged, it's time to go see the exhibition in earnest.
The Nam June Paik media art exhibition is on the first floor.
I always thought media art was amazing when I saw it on TV a long time ago, but seeing the phrases written on the wall at this exhibition made the works feel more meaningful. It also gave me food for thought when considered in the context of the 1980s and 90s.
Turn technology into an artistic tool - Nam June Paik -
Ancient Equestrian Figure
Media art combined with a Mongolian horseman.
Ancient Equestrian Figure - Nam June Paik
Ancient Equestrian Figure
The combination of horse and TVs was fascinating, but the video on the screen was also very interesting.
What would I have thought if I had seen this video 30-40 years ago?
Now it's a vibe I can sometimes get from Netflix animation openings, but I can't imagine how I would have felt seeing such a video 30-40 years ago.
TV, a canvas as precise as Leonardo
As free as Picasso
As colorful as Renoir
As profound as Mondrian
As violent as Pollock
As lyrical as Jasper Johns
Will allow us to form.
-Nam June Paik-
While viewing the exhibition, I naturally became curious about how these works were created.
I couldn't take many pictures while viewing the exhibition, but various works had Korean, Chinese, English, and cute drawings, and some even said '깍두기 (kkakdugi - cubed radish kimchi)'...
I immediately wanted to buy a book to learn more.
Electronic Superhighway 1929 Ford
This work features a colorful cloth inside the car and a palanquin on top.
The car has a TV playing a video, but the TV in the palanquin shows nothing.
Electronic Superhighway 1929 Ford
At the entrance to the art exhibition, there's a biography of Nam June Paik, mentioning that he went to Hong Kong as a child, then studied in Japan and Germany. It seems he was in an environment where he couldn't help but be interested in the meeting of East and West, and the connection between the past and present. It's also amazing that he moved so globally during a time when international travel wasn't easy.
The Amoako Boafo exhibition is on the second floor.
Amoako Boafo, an artist from Ghana.
I wanted to see the artwork I saw in the exhibit promotion because the colors were so pretty.
The WooYang Museum of Art presents Amoako Boafo's (from Ghana) first solo Asian exhibition: 'I Have Been Here Before'. This exhibit invites viewers to explore the delicate layers of identity, visibility, and self-representation through the artist's representative works and recent works spanning four thematic spaces. Through artwork with deep personal narratives and strong sympathy, Boafo's unique views and artistic language are something that can be experienced.
To commemorate this exhibition, Boafo will be unveiling new paintings within space installations inspired by the traditional Korean Hanok architecture. This structure was designed by Glenn DeRoche of derocheprojects, highlighting a sense of place specificity. This space, with its contemplative atmosphere, invites visitors into an intimate experience encountering Boafo's portraiture. His portraits range from internal reflection to vulnerability to bold self-expression, and expresses the artist's intention to capture the depth and complexity of the various experiences of life.
WooYang Art Museum Homepage
Section 1. I Shall Gaze.
This room is actually filled with paintings that only show the faces or upper bodies of people.
The work that catches your eye as soon as you enter the exhibition room.
A man wearing boxing gloves is looking on.
This artist's titles are very simple. He just gives the painting its corresponding title. I actually liked that.
Woman with a Black Scarf. (It was a similar title;)
The clothes were made by cutting out wallpaper.
I wondered if the person's skin was drawn with fingers, but I saw the work being produced and my assumption was correct.
It was very impressive how the black skin was expressed in multiple colors using fingers. On the contrary, since the skin color and texture are so diverse, it's attractively distinguished from the black scarf and hair.
I can immediately remember this drawing's title!
I suddenly get confused whether it's 'sunflower nail' or 'sunflower yellow nail', but he made the title in such a way that you can tell just by looking at it. That's why I liked it even more. Each of the drawings has a small signature.
Section 2.
States of Being. You encounter people that contain different internal states.
Artwork: Brick red.
Man playing tennis. I didn't get a good shot of it, so it was cut off.
The green-ish blue t-shirt and the dark green background were very impressive.
The single color emptiness of the background makes up a large part, but it's unique how they arranged the color to be similar to the color of the person's clothes. But it harmoniously blends to give off a stylish vibe.
As expected, this piece has good colors.
Section 3. Stance and Pose
In this room, people express themselves more intentionally and autonomously.
Amoako Boafo Self-Portrait
This is Amoako Boafo's self-portrait.
The color of his clothes and the color of the background are both green. The fancy flower patterned clothes look good on the artist.
Surprisingly, the exhibit wasn't very crowded.
I was worried that I'd have to wait in line to see it, but it's the charm of the Gyeongju WooYang Art Museum that you can leisurely view artwork and exhibits like this.
Section 4. Sacred Space
The ending of the exhibit unfolds within a special architectural installation that was created by architect Glenn DeRoche and Amoako Boafo in collaboration.
It was said that it was installed after being inspired by Hanok, and the core concept of this installation is embroidery.
At the end of the exhibit, the drawings are displayed within a wooden installation space like this.
Man Wearing a Tulip Coat.
These clothes were not embroidered. I've never seen anyone wearing a Tulip Coat in my life, but how wonderful.
There's also a space where you can sit down and rest for a bit. The tulip pattern that's visible through the window.
I looked around for the embroidery since it was said that the core was embroidery, but I didn't see a lot of the drawings with embroidery so I might have missed it
The person in this drawing's clothes were embroidered. Did they draw the picture first, and then embroider on the canvas?
The background color was, as expected, daring and stylish.
When you exit the Hanok, there's a print artwork. Three Earring
A print artwork where the color of the earrings change.
The artist's self-portrait. A 2020 lithograph artwork.
After the exhibit is finished, there's a space like this for children to create dolls.
It would be a great memory for parents and children to participate and create dolls together.
If you go to Gyeongju, I hope you go to the WooYang Art Museum exhibit.
It's an exhibit that you can easily and enjoyably view without difficulty. Seeing media art with my own eyes is definitely something else, and it makes me curious about the artist's intentions. And the artist from Ghana's drawings are a joy to look at.
And if you have the time, stop by the BiBiBiDang cafe inside the WooYang Art Museum. It's small but the vibe is nice and the coffee is good, so it's a place I want to visit even if there's no exhibit.
At the end, I brought back postcards, bookmarks, and magnets as souvenirs, and if I get the chance, I want to visit other places in Gyeongju such as the Solgeo Art Museum.
The WooYang Museum of Art presents Amoako Boafo's (from Ghana) first solo Asian exhibition: 'I Have Been Here Before'. This exhibit invites viewers to explore the delicate layers of identity, visibility, and self-representation through the artist's representative works and recent works spanning four thematic spaces. Through artwork with deep personal narratives and strong sympathy, Boafo's unique views and artistic language are something that can be experienced.
To commemorate this exhibition, Boafo will be unveiling new paintings within space installations inspired by the traditional Korean Hanok architecture. This structure was designed by Glenn DeRoche of derocheprojects, highlighting a sense of place specificity. This space, with its contemplative atmosphere, invites visitors into an intimate experience encountering Boafo's portraiture. His portraits range from internal reflection to vulnerability to bold self-expression, and expresses the artist's intention to capture the depth and complexity of the various experiences of life.
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