Celebrate traditional Korean alcohol without the hangover

Korean Heritage

Published: 14 Feb. 2023, 17:02 Updated: 09 Mar. 2023, 19:18

Celebrate traditional Korean alcohol without the hangover

OMA Space's "Euphoria" displays craft works by artists Kim Gyeong-chan, who created “cosmo-one shot series” and “cosmo-orum series” using clay from Jeju, and Park Song-kuk, who is showcasing his “Hanji Series.” [OMA SPACE]

Though excessive amounts can lead to hangovers and lost memories, alcohol, known as sool in Korean, has been a constant companion for people. It’s often used to celebrate special occasions, bring people together in times of joy, and act as a source of comfort during moments of sadness.

Drinking alcohol is somewhat perceived negatively in our society today, often linked to crimes and accidents, but it’s been a part of human history for much longer than any other food culture and has a deep cultural significance.

In Korea, traditional alcohol is developed based on regional and family traditions, and its taste and aroma are diverse and unique, reflecting the natural ingredients and brewing techniques used in each household. Just like the alcohol itself, which is influenced by the climate and environment, the culture surrounding alcohol is shaped by the people who drink it, passed down through generations with a rich history of taste and style.

Artist Jo Seong-yeon's "The Gap of Time," an archival pigment print on hanji (traditional Korean paper) and silk panels. [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

The exhibit displays artist Kim Gyeong-sik's "Moon Jar," "Liquor bottle with peony pattern," Kim Jung-ok's "Liquor bottle" and Park Song-kuk's "People (meditation)." [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Wooran Foundation in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, has organized an exhibition to showcase alcohol as Korea’s cultural heritage, with the aim of highlighting the values surrounding traditional alcohol.

The exhibit is titled “Strolling along the Night.”

The term pungryu has existed since the Silla Dynasty (676-935). Choi Chi-won, a renowned philosopher and poet of the Silla period, said that pungryu combines Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and changes every living thing it touches. But over time it came to describe the enjoyment of poetry, art and music in harmony with nature. Back in the day, when there were gatherings that involved poetry, art and music, there was almost always alcohol.

Alcohol wasn’t treated merely as a beverage, but as something that stimulated people to write poems, music and paint, as they notice the change of season with the change in the taste of their drinks.

“Pungryu for Koreans during the time was an opportunity to concentrate on themselves and calmly sink into the inner world,” said OMA, one of the participating artists of the exhibit from OMA Space, a Seoul-based contemporary art, design and craft studio. “Such an attitude is a must-have for people who currently live a rat-race life today.”

Five artists display their works — the products of contemplating together about what kind of attitudes people in the past had toward alcohol, reflecting on our current drinking culture and thinking about how this drinking culture should continue in the future.

As soon as visitors walk into this dark space, they’ll be drawn to OMA Space’s installation “Euphoria” which plays ambient music composed by OMA Space’s art director Daniel Kapelian.

The circular panel made using hand-woven natural hemp projects an image of nature to help visitors feel the ambiance of pungryu, a term that describes the enjoyment of poetry, art and music in harmony with nature, which was always accompanied by drinks. [OMA SPACE]

On a large circular table, OMA haphazardly laid 20 sacks of husks of grain. They are black because OMA burnt them before placing artworks like alcohol jugs and cups designed by ceramic artists Kim Gyeong-chan, who created the “cosmo-one shot series” and “cosmo-orum series” using clay from Jeju, and Park Song-kuk, who is showcasing the “Hanji Series," the name he gave for his thin hanji-like jars and cups.

The table is surrounded by a circular panel — made using hand-woven natural hemp — that projects moving images of the reddish plant suaeda japonica that trembles in the breeze — another creation by Kapelian.

“This stage resembles the scenery that would have surrounded Korean ancestors while they were drinking. The landscape, like an ink painting, transports us into that time as we slowly walk along the proposed path and observe the objects,” said OMA. “This moment of contemplation will make the audience feel like they are performers, returning to the time of our ancestors. I hope visitors find tranquility and inner peace and the urge to grab a well-made alcohol as they leave this exhibit.”

In fact, OMA thought about making visitors sit around the large circular table and enjoy a sip of alcohol and really experience their own style of pungryu, but it couldn't be realized due to the foundation's operation policy.

Artist Cho Duck-hyun's "The Garden of Sounds" [YIM SEUNG-HYE]

Artist Cho Duck-hyun is also presenting a site-specific installation titled "The Garden of Sounds," which invites visitors to sit down in front of a large white translucent screen that seems to suggest a different world exists on the other side. In this soundproofed room, Korea’s highly respected composer Isang Yun’s “Espace I (1992/space)” is played.

The exhibit is free and runs through Feb. 24.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]