Connect, BTS: A BTS Exhibit in Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul

Just got lucky!

I remembered the giddy feeling I got when I chanced upon a Titanic exhibit at the Art Science Museum in Singapore, and the Frida Kahlo exhibit while I was in Budapest. Both were running for limited time only, so what are the chances that I was in the city during those dates!

This time, I found myself browsing the website of Dongdaemun Design Plaza to check their ongoing exhibits, when I saw that they have one related to BTS. I went to DDP immediately the next day.

Sharing the sights and sensory experiences of going to Connect, BTS in Seoul.



Dongdaemun Design Plaza or DDP is one of Seoul's most popular places to visit. In fact, this Zaha Hadid architecture was Instagram's most tagged location in Korea back in 2015! DDP is an iconic landmark for South Korea, a venue for big events like Seoul Fashion Week, concerts and trade shows, and even Korean drama shoots. They are also popular for the LED Rose Garden at night.



When I went there last February, most of the entrances were locked. They limited the entry points to swiftly monitor cases of the corona virus.





I got a little lost trying to look for the exhibition hall, but followed a pair of girls heading for the entrance and finally found it.





I visited the exhibit prior BTS! This wall by the entrance was still bare, but later on filled with messages and signatures of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook.




Got a bit dizzy by the reflective flooring, trippy!


FAQs

Where: 
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul South Korea

When: 
January 28 to March 20, 2020

What:
Connect, BTS is a global project to connect 5 cities and 22 artists, a collective curation hoping to resonate BTS' philosophy through their art.

The 5 cities include London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul, and New York. Displayed in the middle of the exhibition hall were glimpse of the artworks in other featured cities.











The artworks in Seoul include the Green, Yellow and Pink by artist Ann Veronica Janssens of United Kingdom. Green, Yellow and Pink is an art experience where you have to enter an enclosed dome filled with colored haze and mist (in colors green, yellow, and pink). You won't see anything beyond 3 steps away.

The experience was a bit dizzying and confusing for me. But when I took out my phone to take photos and videos, I got over it and found my selfies with the colors amusing. The mist won't just go out, you have to follow a bell sound for the exit when your time inside is up!

Green, Yellow and Pink provokes different reactions and emotions from its audience. Some will find it exhilarating and exciting, while to others it might be anxiety inducing or trigger claustrophobia.




ROSE

Another artwork by Janssens is the Rose. This is a part of the artist's Fog Star series wherein light and haze form the shape of a star. Art changes along with the presence of the guest.






Meanwhile, Beyond the Scene by Korean artist Yiyun Kang is a large projection mapping. I entered a room with full LED walls, showing projections of falling things, grids, pressing hands and bodies on cloth, and other things that seem realistic!

They say that these are the artist's reimagination of BTS' signature dance movements.







Same reaction with V while watching Beyond The Scene while seated on the floor hehehe:







I like what J-Hope said! It resonates with my personal experience.

"They're all new types of art for me. It makes me wonder, is there a limit to art?"

Find out more about the exhibit here: https://www.connect-bts.com

Watch: BTS at CONNECT, BTS in Seoul:

Watch my CONNECT, BTS Experience: