Currently on tour across the world, the “Korea: Cubically Imagined” exhibit aims to explore connections between South Korea’s past, present and future through pop-culture phenomena such as K-pop superstars BTS and the multiple-Oscar-winning 2019 film Parasite , as well as works created by up-and-coming digital artists and content reimagined from the collection of the National Museum of Korea. Presented by The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) and South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the exhibit, which visited other cities including Paris and Hong Kong in 2021, opened in New York on May 2. Virtual reality devices and immersive cubicle spaces full of projected artworks and videos help bring audiences closer to the dichotomy of South Korea’s culture and art in the 2020s: modernity laced with history, technological advancement built on traditional crafts. Reality and fantasy also blend, depending on where you stand: attendees can see fast-paced Seoul from a bird’s-eye view; attend a BTS concert (either surrounded on all sides while watching the band perform singles DNA and Dope, or more intimately via a VR headset); stroll around the sets of Parasite in VR; or watch an animated royal procession from the Joseon dynasty. Some even explore the future, like the dystopian-feeling In the Gray : a VR experience by media artist Roomtone that questions what it means to be part of the natural and human world in a time when we are increasingly reliant on machines. Ye-seung Lee’s JungJoongDong-DongJungdong augmented reality media installation is one artwork that blends traditional art with technology. She says she uses her work to explore liminal connections between artworks and art forms. “My background is in oriental painting so what I aim to do is reinterpret traditional artworks to new mediums, going back and forth between [physical] materials and [digital] non-materials,” she says. “ Coexistence is a core part of Korean culture, and I think this exhibition is a great way of bringing that theme to life.” Several video installations by design company D’strict reimagine jungles and flowers in captivating, ethereal renders. “The main concept for our art [on display] is eternal nature,” says Sung-ho Lee, CEO of D’strict. “We reinterpret the space and periods of nature by combining elements in media so that every person around the world can enjoy it.” Some of the company’s works are set to come to Hong Kong soon: Lee says D’strict is working with Hong Kong property giant New World Development to bring elements of its associated digital museum, Arte Museum on South Korea’s Jeju Island, to Hong Kong’s K11 properties. “[It’s] maybe opening this October,” he hints, with additional promises of New York and Las Vegas installations hopefully coming soon. Yong-sung Kim presents his Moment in Art as a reimagining of, and attempt at bringing to life, traditional landscape paintings known as sansuhwa in Korean. He is trying to redirect the attention of audiences who may be more familiar with South Korean pop art and Korean tech products (think Samsung and LG) rather than historic artworks – which is more or less the overall theme of the exhibition. Kim says his work and the exhibition are great ways to give understanding and cultural background to current pop-culture content. “Like the name says, this is a moment in art.”