'ARTE MUSEUM Gangneung' in Chodang-dong, Gangneung; revitalizing the local economy
Media art across 12 themes; expected to draw 1 million visitors annually
Hyundai Future Net has unveiled Korea's largest 'immersive media art exhibition hall' in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The company aims not only to offer customers a new experience but also to actively attract tourists and thereby contribute to revitalizing the local economy.
An immersive media art exhibition hall is a new concept exhibition space that utilizes multimedia-related technologies such as video and sound, along with a variety of visual expression techniques.
Hyundai Future Net, an information and communications technology (ICT) specialist affiliated with Hyundai Department Store Group, joined hands with digital design specialist d'strict Holdings Co., Ltd. to open 'ARTE MUSEUM Gangneung' in Chodang-dong, Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on December 23 last year.
Spanning 5,000㎡ (about 1,500 pyeong), ARTE MUSEUM Gangneung presents a colorful array of media art across 12 themes, including the sea and natural scenery of Gangneung, one of Korea's leading tourist cities. The exhibition halls apply 'projection mapping technology,' which wraps every surface forming the space—walls, floors, and columns—in imagery; 'motion tracking and interactive technology,' in which customers' movements tracked by smart sensors transform the exhibited works; and 'ultra-realistic technology,' which links wind, scent, and lighting with the imagery to create synesthetic effects—offering customers a new experience unlike anything before.
For example, 'Gangwon, Beauty Shaped by the Time of Nature,' exhibited in the roughly 700㎡ main exhibition hall, the 'Garden' hall, delivers deep emotion by adding the beautiful melodies of gugak (traditional Korean music) artist Song So-hee to Gangwon Province's magnificent nature. In the 'Beach' hall, an exhibition space of about 190㎡, an infinitely expanding shoreline is created using the 'anamorphic technique' that induces optical illusion, so that visitors feel as if they have arrived at an endlessly stretching beach.
Admission to 'ARTE MUSEUM Gangneung' is on par with major domestic exhibitions: 17,000 won for adults (ages 20 and over), 13,000 won for teenagers (ages 14–19), and 10,000 won for children (ages 8–13), while preschool children (ages 4–7) and seniors (ages 65 and over) pay 8,000 won. An additional 3,000 won applies when purchasing a package that includes a beverage-based media art experience (TEA BAR).
A Hyundai Future Net official said, "Through synergy with nearby tourist attractions such as Gyeongpodae, Ojukheon, and the Heo Gyun & Heo Nanseolheon Memorial Hall, we plan to make ARTE MUSEUM Gangneung a flagship exhibition hall of Gangwon Province, drawing more than 1 million tourists annually," adding, "It will greatly contribute to revitalizing the local economy."
Earlier, 'ARTE MUSEUM Ocean,' which Hyundai Future Net unveiled in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, last August, has been achieving better-than-expected results, drawing about 300,000 visitors within five months of opening. In particular, an analysis found that 81.8% of all visitors came from regions outside Yeosu—demonstrating the potential for ARTE MUSEUM Ocean to establish itself as a signature attraction representing Yeosu.
Meanwhile, following the physical spin-off of its broadcasting (SO) and telecommunications business divisions last November, Hyundai Future Net acquired SK Bioland (now Hyundai Bioland), the top company in the natural cosmetics ingredients market, to secure a new growth engine, and is also reviewing entry into new ICT-related businesses such as healthcare and edutech.