Under the title Stories Dressed in Hanbok, from May 14 to July 31, the Centro Cultural Coreano (Paseo de la Castellana, 15-Ground floor and 1st floor) hosts global pop culture dressed in Korean tradition in the first solo exhibition of Wooh Nayoung.
The exhibition brings together 25 works from one of the most prominent figures in contemporary digital art known for her collaborations with Marvel and Disney, who reinterprets universal icons through the aesthetics of traditional Korean clothing.
The exhibition features large-format pieces, the use of traditional hanji paper, and a folding screen in digital art, in which the artist establishes a dialogue between Korean tradition and contemporaneity. In some pieces, she also incorporates inspiration from the Cervantes era, highlighting an unpublished work based on Don Quixote de la Mancha.
Wooh Nayoung is recognized for reinterpreting iconic characters from popular culture through the hanbok, the traditional Korean clothing, placing them in a visual imaginary where tradition and contemporary culture coexist. Her work combines Eastern painting, comics, and digital media, resulting in a unique artistic language that balances visual experimentation and aesthetic serenity. The inauguration of the exhibition will feature the presence of the artist.
Trained in Eastern painting at Ewha Womans University (Seoul), she began her professional career as a pixel art artist at the video game company Nexon, where she participated in titles like The Kingdom of the Winds. This stage marked her professional beginnings, although it did not fully respond to her creative concerns.
The turning point came with her return to comics, one of her childhood passions. Her reinterpretation of Alice in Wonderland dressed in hanbok marked the beginning of her international projection and a line of work focused on re-reading characters from a Korean perspective.
The exhibition includes collaborations with Disney and Marvel, featuring characters like Spider-Man and Mickey Mouse alongside reinterpretations of female figures from classic Western literature. Among them are Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and a Cinderella fleeing from Gyeongbok Palace at midnight, dressed in the mujigi chima, a multi-layered skirt whose movement adds dynamism to the scene. Her version of Alice in Wonderland is also presented in the format of a traditional scroll made of silk and hanji, a Korean artisanal paper.
All works incorporate elements of Korean aesthetics and tradition, configuring the exhibition as a bridge between global popular culture and Korea’s visual heritage.
As a central piece, Wooh Nayoung presents an unpublished work inspired by Don Quixote de La Mancha, in which she transports the Cervantes universe to 17th century Korea. Through this cultural crossover, she establishes a parallelism between two transforming societies and between figures that challenge their time, evoking the decline of the chivalric ideal in both contexts. Through clothing, posture, and the expressiveness of the characters, the artist reinterprets the Quixotic spirit from a contemporary perspective that connects Korean tradition and Spanish literary legacy.
Starting today, the period of free registrations to attend the opening on May 14 (at 7 PM) through Eventbrite opens (more information on the website and social media of the Centro Cultural Coreano).
From May 15 to 17, Wooh Nayoung will participate in the Comic Barcelona fair, where seven of her works will be part of the festival’s exhibition space, in addition to her participation in program activities. More information and registrations for Comic Barcelona at this link.
