Features

On November 11, the School of Visual Arts’ Korean Alumni Association gathered for its first formal event in four years at a reception and dinner at the Westin Josun hotel in Seoul. Spirits were high as more than 150 alumni reunited with former classmates after a long pandemic pause and welcomed a new KAA president, Kenny Kim (BFA 1994 Graphic Design) and his new cabinet, succeeding Tak Hoon Kim (MFA 2005 Computer Art; BFA 1997 Animation) following his four-year tenure. 

In her welcome remarks to members, SVA Alumni Affairs and Development Director Jane Nuzzo acknowledged KAA’s enduring heritage and the timing of the event to SVA’s 75th anniversary year. “It’s a pleasure to mark this moment with our Korean alumni,” she said. “We are extremely proud of your hard work and exceptional achievements and are honored that you chose SVA to learn and grow as creatives and individuals, and remain a very special part of the College’s legacy.” 

The event was the culmination of a week of SVA alumni and cultural engagement conducted by SVA’s New York and Seoul offices. Joining Nuzzo from New York were Director of Admissions Matthew Farina (MFA 2014 Art Criticism and Writing), Director of Communication Joyce Rutter Kaye and BFA Animation Chair Hsiang Chin Moe (MFA 2008 Computer Art). SVA Seoul was represented by Andrew Chang (MFA 1987 Illustration as Visual Essay), director of the Office of International Programs; and Heewon Seo (MFA 2012 Fine Arts), SVA Seoul office manager and counselor. Read on for highlights.

Museums, Galleries and Studios

The week kicked off at SVA’s Seocho Gallery to view “Vanished Elephant,” an exhibition of early works by three MFA Photography, Video and Related Media alumni: Okhyun Ahn (2003), Jungsuk Park (2007) and Jeongmee Yoon (2006). Both Park and Yoon were on hand to personally guide visitors through the display of hauntingly beautiful images of animals in the wild and in captivity. On Wednesday at Amore Pacific Museum of Art, Minseop Yoon (MFA 2013 Fine Arts) accompanied Kaye, Nuzzo and Seo to see her stunning site-specific piece Dance for the Night, featuring ethereal sketch-like sculptures of ballet dancers within the current group show of emerging artists in “APMAP 2022 Seoul—APMAP Review,” on display through Sunday, December 18. This was followed by further discussion of her practice and influences over tea in the museum’s café.

Thursday afternoon’s studio visits hopscotched millennia of art practices—oil painting to animation—in a matter of mere hours. Heewon Seo joined his father, Myoungduck Seo (MFA 1992 Illustration as Visual Essay), for a walkthrough of their shared painting studio overlooking the fall mountain splendor of the city’s West Gate area. There Myoungduck displayed his large-scale, richly hued still lifes and early portraits alongside more recent tableaux veering toward surrealism. Heewon’s work, by contrast, ranged from darkly humorous carnivalesque subjects to deeply personal psychological studies to a growing array of soft-sculpture misfit toys. Over cups of tea the elder Seo reflected on the guidance provided by the late MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Chair Marshall Arisman during his student years, as well his own 16-year tenure as KAA president. 

The next stop was Chun Ang University in Dongjak-gu to join Hsiang Chin Moe for a visit with Tak Hoon Kim and CAU’s animation department, which houses Tak Toon Enterprise, the force behind such stop-motion and 2D animated TV series as “Galaxy Kids, ”Teeny Scouts BigFive,“ ”The Forks with Spiky Hands,“ and ”The Curious World of Linda.” (A conversation between Kim and Moe about animation education and industry trends will appear in the spring/summer 2023 issue of the Visual Arts Journal.)

More Colleges—and the Mill

Moe stopped by two additional Seoul-based colleges to engage with local arts educators. Earlier on Thursday, Moe joined Jeannie Kang (MFA 2002 Computer Art) at Ewha Woman's University, where Kang shared her career journey from the industry to education: she is now passing on expertise in UX/UI to emerging talent as a faculty member at her BFA alma mater, just as she did as a faculty member at SVA prior to her return to South Korea. Later, Moe was introduced to Yoomi Choi, dean of the College of Art & Design, for a discussion on the challenges in higher education during the pandemic as well as a potential collaboration between the college and SVA. 

On Friday, at the newly opened Seoul office of the global production company The Mill, Moe and Nuzzo met with Creative Director YoungChan Kim (MFA 2010 Computer Art), who recently returned to Seoul for the opening of the office, as well as VP, Head of Studio Tony Choi, to talk about the possibility of future SVA hires as The Mill opens positions at the senior and junior levels.

Further Alumni Interactions, Food and Culture

No trip to Seoul would be complete without formal and informal gatherings around delicious traditional Korean cuisine. On Tuesday evening, the group gathered with members of the Korean Alumni Association Cabinet for a formal BBQ dinner at the renowned Samwon Garden, where words of thanks and gifts of appreciation were exchanged. They included Tak Hoon Kim (MFA 2005 Computer Arts; BFA 1997 Animation); Kenny Kim (BFA 1994 Graphic Design); Myoungduck Seo (MFA 1992 Illustration as Visual Essay); Kyungsoo Kim (MFA 2002 Computer Art); Yeon Hee Kim (BFA 2015 Design); Joonsung Lee (MFA 2013 Computer Art), Andrew Chang and Heewon Seo. Another night, Korean street food favorites tteokbokki and bean sprout pancakes were sampled at the stalls in Gwangjang Market followed by a lively dinner with a group of MFA Computer Arts alumni Joonsung Lee (2013), Gahyun Kim (2013), Hanna Kim (2013) Ah Young Kim (2011) and Moe (2008) at Insadong Brewery. There, cups of the signature milky rice beverage takju were held high to toast in-person reunions held at long last—and to cherished friendships and memories made across the miles and years at SVA.