German, Russian visual artists explore Korea through art and everyday experience

From left, artists Laila Kamil, Niklas Kleemann, Ava Korte and Amalia Ekshenger stand in the alley of KOTE in central Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood, June 5. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu

By Bereket Alemayehu

• Published Jun 7, 2026 7:40 AM KST

A group of international artists studying and living in Korea recently came together to present "Sweet Bread," a group art exhibit currently on display at KOTE in central Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood, inspired by their experiences as foreigners navigating life in Korea.

The exhibition is a collaboration between four art students from Germany and a photographer from Russia, who display a visual reflection of everyday life encounters in Korea, resulting in shifts in perception, habits and attention. Their collective perspective as outsiders allows them to reread everyday visual and digital stimuli as simultaneously seductive, soothing and excessive.

Laila Kamil from the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig, who came to Korea on an exchange program with Chung-Ang University, said their group was formed from friendships through university studies. Several of the artists met in sculpture classes at Chung-Ang University, while others had known each other previously in Germany. “Our group initially applied to several open calls for exhibitions but received little response. Eventually, through connections and the support of a local gallery, we were able to bring our vision to life,” she told The Korea Times.

For this exhibition, she created a series of postcards inspired by everyday scenes in the city. Seoul Postcard Compositor is a software program that generates postcard designs. The algorithm combines photographs taken in Seoul, including various signs, labels and stickers found throughout the city, to create unique postcard layouts every time the program is executed.

“I really like writing postcards because, especially nowadays, we're used to always being in contact, but I think sending a postcard is more meaningful," she said. "I noticed there are not really that many postcards that I could find, so this is how I decided to make my own. And I think one thing that I noticed living here, I don't know how it's for you guys, but I feel like it's very colorful, actually, especially the subway stations.”

Rather than depicting famous tourist destinations, her generative postcards feature subway stations, street signs and ordinary urban landscapes. Kamil noted that postcards in Korea often focus on palaces and historic landmarks, while the daily scenery that gives the city its unique character is often overlooked. To her, these ordinary scenes feel especially meaningful and worthy of preservation. Each printed postcard is unique, and no design will be printed twice.

To Niklas Kleemann, the skies over central Germany are vast. With no mountains or tall buildings blocking the view, the sun is always visible. After a year in Seoul, spending many days inside or surrounded by skyscrapers, one can lose track of the sun. His art piece, "Argus Disc," was conceived from that feeling.

The technologically driven disc is a work centered on humanity's relationship with the sun. The installation uses mathematical calculations based on time, location and orientation to track the sun's position continuously. The disc with self-programmed software is a generative installation of six microcontrollers, each rendering an eye that follows the position of the sun in real time, computed onboard from celestial mechanics. The pupils track the sun across the celestial sphere, above the horizon and below.

The exhibition also explores the emotional experience of adapting to a new country. University of Augsburg student Ava Korte described arriving in Korea with certain expectations and uncertainties, particularly regarding how locals might perceive her appearance. She has often noticed curious looks from strangers and found them difficult to interpret. Over time, however, her understanding has changed dramatically. Rather than judgment, she discovered curiosity and friendliness, especially among older Koreans. She described what once made her feel alien, gradually transformed into being visibly different but gently welcomed.

This realization became an important element in a collaborative photography project created by her and Amalia Ekshenger, a Russian architect, photographer and art director. During photo shoots around Seoul, the artists frequently encountered older locals who showed genuine interest in their work. Some even spontaneously joined the photo sessions, interacting with props and becoming part of the artwork itself. What began as carefully planned artistic projects often evolved into unexpected moments of cultural exchange.

Her work came to embody her experience of Korean culture with intense precision. She offers 10 photographs and a sculpture, titled "Bamti" (Korean for ugly or tacky), a word balancing between sweetness and distortion, between overwhelming cuteness and underlying toxicity.

“For me, it reflects a culture that can appear soft, playful and aesthetically comforting on the surface, while simultaneously carrying invisible pressures of conformity, perfection and emotional suppression beneath it,” she said.

For Ekshenger, these similar experiences reflect one of the reasons she chose to move to Korea in the first place. She recalled being impressed by the warmth and openness she encountered during earlier visits to the country.

“What I admire the most about the people that I had a chance to interact with in Korea is that they somehow preserve a sense of childlike curiosity in things, and I haven't seen that in my country or in the places where I lived before.”

In her view, many people she met in Korea displayed a willingness to engage with strangers, exchange ideas and participate in creative conversations. She particularly admired what she described as a "childlike curiosity" that encourages spontaneous interactions and genuine interest in others.

“Very often, you're paranoid about how you're being perceived by the locals because you don't want to stand out too much or you don't want to be disrespectful, just you want to blend naturally, so when you receive this kind of positive interest, I think it's amazing,” she said.

The "Sweet Bread" exhibition runs until June 11 at KOTE. Visit kote.kr or follow @kote.kr on Instagram for more information.

Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He’s also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and a freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.