Intersecting Identities, Lives: Perhaps, All of Us exhibition comes to Washington D.C. courtesy of Korea’s Touring K-Arts Project and the Seoul Museum of Art

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly presents Perhaps, All of Us, a new touring exhibition of acclaimed contemporary art organized by the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) for Korea’s Touring K-Arts Project, on view June 17 to August 11.

Conceived in Seoul and presented as a traveling exhibition in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa, Perhaps, All of Us examines the shared sense of place between these capital cities. It explores key themes of publicness, historicity, and diversity through the lens of contemporary Korean art and the eyes of visionary artists Park Chan-Kyong, Jungwon Phee, Gala Porras-Kim, Im Youngzoo, Young-jun Tak, Lee JeeYang, Jung Yeondoo, Eunu Lee, Ayoung Kim, Jaehun Park, Park Hyesoo, Jisun Shin, and Shin Mi Jung.

Capitals function not only as political, administrative, and cultural centers, but also as spaces where diverse identities, memories, and relationships intersect. They also evolve as urban environments shaped by the accumulation of countless individual lives and experiences. Within this context, Perhaps, All of Us reflects on how we perceive and relate to one another, including which memories and values are preserved or excluded in society.

The 13 participating artists explore the intersection of personal experience and social reality through a wide range of media and perspectives. Their works reveal the norms and boundaries formed within urban spaces, the relationships between communities and others, and the emotions and memories often overlooked in everyday life. In doing so, the exhibition moves beyond individual or regional narratives to raise universal questions that resonate with contemporary audiences.

Perhaps, All of Us is organized into three thematic sections. Part 1, Our Unknown Country, examines publicness through the dynamics of exclusion and hospitality that emerge along the boundaries between “us” and “others.” Part 2, Time Out of Bounds, recalls forgotten or silenced histories to reconsider how the present has been shaped through layers of accumulation and omission. Part 3, Perhaps, All of Us, confronts unfamiliarity and interpersonal difference while also exploring possibilities for coexistence grounded in diversity.

Through the diverse social experiences and sensibilities captured in contemporary Korean art, Perhaps, All of Us invites visitors to empathize with the lives and perspectives of others, and to consider how such empathy may expand into meaningful solidarity.

Perhaps, All of Us launches with an opening reception on Wednesday, June 17, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., including remarks by featured artist Jaehun Park about his artistic practice and the exhibition’s central themes. The opening will also include a guided exhibition tour led by a curator from the Seoul Museum of Art, who will introduce the curatorial framework and key works on view.

Perhaps, All of Us

June 17 – August 11, 2026

Opening Reception & Artist Talk: Wednesday, June 17, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW)

Featuring Park Chan-Kyong, Jungwon Phee, Gala Porras-Kim, Im Youngzoo, Young-jun Tak, Lee JeeYang, Jung Yeondoo, Eunu Lee, Ayoung Kim, Jaehun Park, Park Hyesoo, Jisun Shin, and Shin Mi Jung

RSVP FOR THE OPENING EVENT!

About the Exhibition

Perhaps, All of Us reflects on the ways in which we form relationships and coexist in a world shaped by intersecting, diverse life conditions and experiences. Conceived in Seoul and presented as a traveling exhibition in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa, it focuses on the shared spatial identity of these capital cities, drawing out three thematic axes from this foundation: publicness, historicity, and diversity. As centers of politics and administration, and as sites wherein multiple cultures converge, these cities accumulate collective memory and identity even as their boundaries are continually drawn and redrawn.

The exhibition examines these themes in both a Korean context and through the eyes of visionary Korean & Korean-heritage artists Park Chan-Kyong, Jungwon Phee, Gala Porras-Kim, Im Youngzoo, Young-jun Tak, Lee JeeYang, Jung Yeondoo, Eunu Lee, Ayoung Kim, Jaehun Park, Park Hyesoo, Jisun Shin, and Shin Mi Jung.

Part 1: Our Unknown Country examines publicness by exploring how we perceive and relate to one another. It looks closely at the subtle thresholds where “us” and “not us” are defined, and where exclusion and hospitality intersect.

Part 2: Time Out of Bounds calls forth times that have been forgotten or silenced, querying how the present has been shaped through layers of accumulation and omission. In doing so, it both invites a renewed understanding of the present and encourages us to view the future through a historical lens.

Part 3: Perhaps, All of Us confronts the unfamiliarity and differences that arise within the layers of publicness and historicity, seeking possibilities for coexistence grounded in the diversity each of us carries.

Through contemporary Korean art, this exhibition illuminates the intersection of individual experiences and social contexts, prompting a reconsideration of the norms and boundaries we often take for granted. The narratives explored in the works extend beyond any single region, resonating with the situations we all face in the contemporary era. As we strive to measure and understand one another’s lives and temporalities, we begin to empathize with the experiences of others. That empathy, in turn, has the potential to expand into solidarity, bringing us, perhaps, closer to what it truly means to be “us.”

For more on the featured artists and their individual practices, see below. 

Part 1: Our Unknown Country

Jaehun Park

Ritual for the Iceberg

2022, 3D simulation video on square LED display, sound, 4 min. 16 sec., ed. 3/3, Courtesy of the artist, commissioned by LG Display and Ulsan Art Museum

Park Chan-Kyong

Folkism_Rock Man 

2010, digital pigment print, 76 × 70 cm, Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Ayoung Kim

PH Express

2011, two-channel video, color, sound (stereo), 31 min. 57 sec., ed. 2/3 (3+A.P.1), Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Park Hyesoo

A place for anybody and somebody, Audience No. 43

2020, steel chair, variable paper chair, polaroid film, text, single-channel video, color, sound, 15 min. 33 sec., dimensions variable

Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Part 2: Time Out of Bounds

Ayoung Kim

PH Express

2011, two-channel video, color, sound (stereo), 31 min. 57 sec., ed. 2/3 (3+A.P.1), Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Im Youngzoo

Generally Fair

2017, single-channel video, color, sound (stereo), 7 min. 30 sec., ed. 1/3, Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Shin Mi Jung

Bam Island

2020, single-channel video, color, sound, 19 min. 41 sec., ed. 1/5 (5+A.P.1), Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Jisun Shin

The White Fox’s Spellbook

2021, single-channel video, color, sound, 10 min. 12 sec., ed. 1/5, Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Part 3: Perhaps, All of Us

Gala Porras-Kim

Muscle Memory

2017, single-channel video, black-and-white, silent, 6 min. 10 sec., Seoul Museum of Art Collection, gift of Gala Porras-Kim and Commonwealth and Council

Eunu Lee

Rusty Bronze

2016, urethane paint on Styrofoam, 52.5 × 125.6 × 17.5 cm, Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Lee JeeYang

figure#0

2019, archival pigment print, 70 × 70 cm, ed. 1/5 (5+A.P.2), Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Jung Yeondoo

Six Points

2010, single-channel video, color, sound, 28 min. 44 sec., A.P.1, Seoul Museum of Art Collection

Young-jun Tak

Love Your Clean Feet on Thursday

2023, single-channel 4K video, color, 5.1 sound, 18 min. 53 sec., ed. 2/5 (5+A.P.2), Seoul Museum of Art Collection, supported by Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Burger Collection, Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Stiftung Kunstfonds, and NEUSTARTplus-Stipendium

Jungwon Phee

Untitled: The Black Path CDVIII

2025, oil on canvas, 162.2 × 130.3 cm, Courtesy of the artist