Humans of Jeju

Ham Hyun Young is a young artist based in Jeju, engaging in a wide range of artistic practices including installation, sculpture, and drawing. Born and raised in Jeju, she has never left the island, embodying the essence of a true Jeju native. Her solo exhibitions include "The Fruits in the Deep" at Seetangraum, Jeju, in 2021, and "A Thorn of Bitterness from Within" at WWW SPAC...

Based in Jeju Island, Cho Ki Seob creates paintings rooted in the spirit of traditional Korean art. Using a material called ‘eunbun (silver pearl pigment)’, he explores themes of "life and death." Through the concept of ‘Yukdo Yoonhoe (the six realms of reincarnation)’, he views nature as embodying the cycle of life and death occurring six times in a single lifetime. He has held various...

In the small village of Jeoji on Jeju Island, Doseon and Jinhee run their cherished bookstore. As true romantics who love books, they have made their passion their livelihood. Throughout their journey—dating, getting married, and living their daily lives—books have always been by their side. They pursued their dream of running a quiet bookstore in a place they wanted to live, and now they reside i...

Since relocating to Jeju Island in 2017, Park Geun-joo has been capturing the essence of Jeju’s buildings through his photography. He reimagines these structures with colors and shapes, creating images that resemble paintings. His work explores the boundary between reality and idealism, encouraging viewers to reflect on this interplay. Buildings that we often pass by unnoticed, unaware of their pr...

Park Soon-woo writes in various formats, including essays, articles, and interviews. She moved to Jeju Island after meeting her husband while walking along the Jeju Olle Trail. They built a two-story house in Jongdalli Village, along Olle Trail Course 1, where they first met, and have been living there for 12 years, raising their two children. She runs a small writing space called ‘Island Writing...

Ten-year-old Hyun-jun, a third grader at Jungang Elementary School, was born and raised in Jeju. Alongside his father, who was also born and raised in Jeju, Hyun-jun explored the island’s natural beauty through “caravan camping” from the time he could barely walk. Small, agile, and solidly built, he quickly picked up and excelled in any sport he tried. By chance, he encountered climbing, which cap...

Architect Oh Jeong Heon, who returned to his hometown of Jeju to pursue the architecture he envisioned, and Architect Kim Si Hi, who moved to Jeju to create everyday spaces, first met through work and eventually married. Together, they have left their mark across Jeju, designing single-family homes, stay accommodations, neighborhood facilities, and public architecture projects. Their talents have...

Lee Seung-taeck has been actively working across fields such as public art, community development, urban regeneration, cultural revitalization, arts and culture, and local initiatives, bridging both the private and public sectors. He currently runs , a regional management company dedicated to building a sustainable Jeju community. Through fostering and networking various local communities, he aims...

For over 20 years, Kang Yun-sil has researched and studied Jeju stone houses, expressing their essence through ceramics. She has held five solo exhibitions across Seoul and Jeju and has participated in numerous group exhibitions. Currently, she operates a workshop called ‘Ohnldo 239’ in Jeju. Her work centers on capturing the natural environment of Jeju and the spirit of its people, using clay as...

Kim Jinsoo chose Jeju Island as the place to begin his second chapter in life. While contemplating what to do, he stayed long-term at a foreigner guesthouse and actively guided foreign visitors on tours of Jeju. Inspired by the joy he found in those experiences, he decided to open a foreigner-only guesthouse, and on the same property, he launched a shared book café, Ganderak Shared Book Café. The...

She was a bold young girl who, right after graduating high school, took a guitar and moved to Seoul. After becoming the vocalist of the band Sinchon Blues, which represents Korean blues, she released the EP in 2005. Later, she established the indie label Run Music and released her first album . She received praise as a "singer-songwriter who possesses the strength to never fall into despair, even...

Oh Hyang-jong majored in pottery. Although he initially planned to study ‘Onggi (traditional Korean pottery)’ for just a year, he’s continued honing his craft for 40 years, captivated by its charm. He learned Onggi under the guidance of five masters, but finds that the more he works with it, the more challenging it becomes. He has traveled the world promoting Korean Onggi, participating in confere...

Born and raised in Jeju, he runs Lamp Studio in the western village of Gosan-ri, Jeju. He handles sound across various fields, including album production, documentaries, films, commercials, and live performances. Like a daily exercise, he collects sounds from Jeju, later using his accumulated sound data in his projects. He also engages in meaningful work with sound, such as layering Jeju's natural...

Byeolatgan Farmers is a community of eco-friendly farmers who explore “What does a sustainable way of life look like?” by planting countless questions like stars and seeking their own answers. Ten farmers are working together to cultivate a 1,000-pyeong (about 3,300 square meters) ecological garden in Daheul-ri Village, conducting “harmless farming experiments” for the benefit of all living beings...

In 2001, Kim Poomchang moved to Jeju Island with his family and settled in Seogwipo City. He has won awards at prestigious art exhibitions such as the Korea Art Exhibition and the National Art Exhibition of Korea. He has consistently created works centered on Jeju Island and has held over 20 solo exhibitions. He has also participated in numerous group and invitational exhibitions both domestically...

Since childhood, he has loved making videos. Since 2014, he has been consistently creating video content related to Jeju and has been active as a video creator. He now also serves as an ambassador promoting Jeju and is expanding his activities by taking on the new genre of stand-up comedy.

Kyung-hwa and Yun-ho operate a small space called "Paper Room," where they run a risograph printing studio and showcase a variety of works for sale. As designers, they leverage their expertise to create diverse art books and regularly participate in book fairs. Risograph is an eco-friendly printing method that uses soybean oil and rice bran oil, allowing for vibrant colors and high saturation, as...

Born in 1953 in Songdang-ri Village of Gujwa-eup Area, Huh Gye-saeng faced a difficult life from a young age due to her family's poor circumstances. She did work typically reserved for men. At the age of 20, she married and moved to Seonheul-ri Village in Jocheon-eup Area, where she raised four daughters and one son while farming tangerines. After suffering from an unexplained illness, she began l...

In 2016, after hearing about teenagers who were forced to use insoles as sanitary pads due to financial difficulties, she founded a cooperative to promote the use of cloth sanitary pads. The cooperative, Hamanghaneun Geunal (The Day in Jeju), consists of 10 members and operates as a social enterprise with a zero-waste focus. They produce various products using organic cotton, which are introduced...

Earth-saving farmers running an eco-friendly, year-round healing experience farm called Garden of Tangerines Baryeong. The term "Baryeong" is a Jeju language word that means the origin of organic farming, and they put the philosophy into practice. They offer various experiential programs throughout the seasons: tangerine blossoms in spring, green tangerines in summer, and picking ripe or...

After majoring in fine arts, she has worked in various art-related fields. While freelancing in design, illustration, and video production, she experienced burnout. To change her environment, she moved to Jeju, a place she had long admired, in December 2023. After obtaining her certification as a cultural arts educator, she began working as an art instructor. She teaches art not only to children b...

Kim Eun-young conducts research on crops produced in her hometown of Jeju, using the old text <Jeongjoji>, and archives traditional recipes from grandmothers. Drawing on her experience studying at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York, she showcases naturalistic cuisine using Jeju's local ingredients. Currently, she runs the ‘Cossat’ studio in Seonheul village, Jeju, where she engage...

Park Sungwook started taking photographs in college after inheriting his father's film camera. Although he worked at a Swedish IT company in Seoul, he eventually left to pursue his own passion, moving to Jeju Island with his wife. Noticing the lack of cultural spaces in Seogwipo City compared to other areas, he established a place called "Still Negative Club." This space not only dev...

Kang Mi-Seung started her career as a fashion and feature editor at a magazine. Despite enduring a grueling schedule of leaving work at 2-4 AM and returning by 7 AM, she suddenly felt the urge to escape and embarked on a journey to the unfamiliar lands of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. There, she met a French man, whom she eventually married, and they now live together in Jeju. Having worked as a jour...

Hong Ji-yeon is a textile artist with a focus on traditional Korean fabric wrapping called bojagi. She became interested in the historical use of bojagi and now works as a bojagi artist. She creates eco-friendly fabric products using natural dyes derived from Jeju’s materials. Hong Ji-yeon conducts classes related to natural dyeing and bojagi art, and her products are exhibited and sold through he...