Sung Hwan Kim’s solo exhibition Ua a‘o ‘ia ‘o ia e ia 우아 아오 이아 오 이아 에 이아 is being held at the Seosomun Main Branch of the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) from December 19, 2024, to March 30, 2025. Supported by Hermès Korea and Samsung Neo QLED, the exhibition examines the intersections of knowledge, migration, and history through a multifaceted artistic approach. The title, translated as “He was taught by him,” is presented in Hawaiian and Korean phonetics, delaying immediate interpretation to encourage deeper reflection on the processes of understanding and learning.

At the heart of the exhibition lies Kim’s ongoing series Pyohaerok, which revisits the untold stories of early Korean immigrants who traveled through Hawaii to the United States in the early 20th century. These narratives, often excluded from conventional historical accounts, are reframed to explore broader issues such as migration, boundaries, and ownership. Hawaii, both a geographical and metaphorical locus, serves as a space where displaced lives and cultures intersect, challenging established knowledge systems and fostering new perspectives.

The exhibition unfolds across three interconnected rooms. The first room investigates Hawaii as both a historical and conceptual space, bringing together migration narratives and cultural intersections. The second room functions as a hybrid studio-gallery space, where Kim will actively adapt his work throughout the exhibition period, allowing visitors to witness and participate in the creative process. The third room reinterprets Kim’s 2007 work Keijo’s Summer Days: Records from 1937, integrating archival and contemporary materials to explore the dualities of memory and documentation.

Through this evolving structure, the exhibition invites visitors to move beyond passive observation. Each section emphasizes participatory engagement, transforming the viewer into an active participant in the creation and dissemination of knowledge. The exhibition’s dynamic nature, with certain works displayed only on select dates, encourages repeated visits and continuous discovery.

Ua a‘o ‘ia ‘o ia e ia challenges visitors to reconsider the formation and preservation of knowledge, offering a nuanced lens on histories that remain underrepresented. By retracing the stories of marginalized lives, the exhibition underscores the interconnectedness of individual and collective understanding.

As part of SeMA’s annual series spotlighting contemporary Korean artists, the exhibition highlights Kim’s ability to intertwine historical inquiry with artistic innovation. Admission is free, with daily docent tours available at 1 PM, providing visitors with deeper insights into the exhibition’s themes and structure.

Sayart / Maria Kim, sayart2022@gmail.com