Written by Joon Moon

A Closer Look at the President’s Son’s Revealed Artwork: “Fresh and Fun” / by Dongyang Ilbo

[Dongyang Ilbo | Mina Kim] On the 17th, Joon Yong Moon (39), the son of the president, garnered significant attention with his artwork at the “Bright New World” exhibition commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Cheongju Museum of Art.

According to the museum on the 23rd, over 500 visitors attended during the Chuseok holiday. This exhibition attracted the most visitors in such a short period since the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to the interest in Moon’s artwork.

Visitors have been actively posting about Moon’s work on social media, further increasing curiosity. The title of Moon’s work is “Augmented Shadow.” Moon primarily showcases works using augmented reality (AR) in media art.

In this interactive piece, visitors use a flashlight-like device to interact with the artwork, generating moving shadows that create images.

Visitor A commented, “It’s the first time I’ve seen such a work in Cheongju. It’s fresh and fun.” The piece encourages visitors to discover a new world where reality and virtuality overlap, allowing them to create their own stories.

Local media artist T stated, “I found Moon’s work inventive and fresh a few years ago without knowing he was the president’s son. I believe my initial impression was unbiased.” They added, “A few years ago, the traditional art scene viewed augmented reality with skepticism, but the pandemic has shifted paradigms. In this emerging metaverse era, Moon’s work is undeniably trendy and holds great potential.”

Jinyo Mok, a professor at Yonsei University’s Department of Design and Arts, explained, “There are very few artists in the domestic media art field, and Moon is among them. His works involve experimentation and a high risk of failure, requiring significant time and resources.”

The exhibition, featuring nine artists including Moon, Paik Nam-june, Lee Nam, Park Ki-won, Kim Yoon-seop, Shin Bong-chul, Ha Dong-cheol, Woo Je-gil, and Park Jin-ah, explores the theme of “light” in art. The exhibition runs until December 19.

Mina Kim, kmn@dynews.co.kr