Whispers of the Forest
Whispers of the Forest: An Interactive Exhibition Where Everyone Belongs
The Korean Cultural Centre Canada (KCC) will present the exhibition <Whispers of the Forest> from July 11 to September 5, 2025, with a special focus on children and family audiences. Centered on the theme of “forest,” the exhibition invites viewers to engage with a variety of artworks across different media while reflecting on the values of the environment and coexistence.
Artist UM A Long transforms discarded materials and images of animals and plants into sculptural installations. Drawing from personal memories of frequent relocations due to rapid urban development, his work explores themes of displacement, resilience, and environmental loss. Through the act of collecting and reassembling overlooked objects, UM breathes new life into everyday waste—echoing the adaptive journeys of animals and plants forced to survive in changing environments.
Artist HONG Haksoon brings to life the vibrant world of Wink Tokki World, a fantastical universe inhabited by characters who live in harmony with one another and the natural world. Through bold murals, playful drawings, and animated films, his work shares stories of intergalactic friendship, imagination, and joyful coexistence.
In this exhibition, the two artists transform the gallery into a forest playground. Through contemporary Korean visual art, the exhibition explores a world where nature, humans, and various beings coexist, with a special focus on conveying the values of sustainability and community to future generations. Moving beyond a passive experience of ‘viewing’ art, the exhibition invites visitors to engage and interact with the works, offering an artistic experience that encourages a deeper understanding of nature and reflection on relationships with others. Whispers of the Forest invites us, like a quiet forest whispering stories, to imagine a world where all beings can live and grow together.
Exhibition Details
- Exhibition: Whispers of the Forest
- Dates: July 11, 2025 – September 5, 2025
- Venue: Korean Cultural Centre Canada(150 Elgin St #101, Ottawa, ON K2P 1L4)
- Opening Reception: July 11, 2025, at 17:00 (ET) * No registration is required.
- Featured Artists: HONG Haksoon, UM A Long
About the Artist: HONG Haksoon
HONG Haksoon is the creator of the Winktokki Universe, a whimsical world where cosmic characters live in harmony with one another and nature. Since 1998, he has developed a unique drawing system known as Tokki Code, through which he has produced over 20,000 pages of visual storytelling compiled into nine volumes of the Tokki Book (as of 2025). Building upon this expansive universe, HONG creates a wide range of works—including themed drawing series, animated films, and digital art—that explore imagination, empathy, and playful coexistence. His practice offers audiences of all ages an invitation to enter a fantastical world grounded in care, wonder, and creative possibility.
https://www.instagram.com/wink_tokki/
About the Artist: UM A LONG
Artist UM A LONG grew up in the city and witnessed rapid redevelopment throughout his childhood. These experiences deeply influenced his creative practice, shaping both the materials and themes of his work. His artistic process often begins with collecting discarded objects from urban environments and transforming them into installations that reflect on memory, movement, loss, and regeneration. UM’s work highlights the overlooked or abandoned, encouraging viewers to consider new possibilities for what we throw away.
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