PODO Museum Presents ‘To Breathe’ by Kimsooja At Sunhyewon

Sunhyewon, a significant site in the history and tradition of SK Group, recently reopened as the group’s new research institute. To introduce this special cultural platform to the public, Jeju Island’s PODO Museum has launched the ‘Sunhyewon Art Project 1.0’ with an inaugural exhibition by the internationally renowned Korean artist Kimsooja.

Titled Kimsooja, To Breathe—Sunhyewon, the exhibition creates a contemplative experience that transcends time and space between the moment Kimsooja’s artistic universe meets the historical depth of the site. In the central work, To Breathe—Sunhyewon (2025), Kimsooja transforms the traditional hanok-style Kyonheunggak into a whole piece of contemporary art by covering its floor with mirrors.

This immersive site-specific installation reinterprets the stillness of hanok into a sensorial experience, where the past and present, and the space and being intersect. Boundaries between built structures and the individual dissolve in the reflections that return images of the architecture, light, and themselves to the viewers. Even the seemingly fixed architecture begins to shift and flow as it blends with ephemeral light and reflections, as if it were a living, breathing entity.

The exhibition runs through 19 October 2025.

Main image: Kimsooja, To Breathe—Sunhyewon (2025). Site-specific installation with mirror panels, size variable. Courtesy PODO Musuem.