Has anybody ever seen “WAVE” on a large COEX electronic display? Media art, which seems to have actual waves moving on a large screen in the middle of Seoul, even prevents passers-by from taking their eyes off the screen. This not only surprised domestic spectators but also viewers from all over the world. In addition, based on this technology, the Arte Museum, a permanent exhibition hall for immersive media art, was created in Jeju Island. Visitors can experience immersive content in the space itself without additional equipment such as VR and AR. In addition, the sensuous sound and elegant scent make the place more vivid. The Arte Museum presents nature beyond time and space to people under the theme of “eternal nature”, and CBT reporters can truly experience a sense of nature in there.



  The Arte Museum Valley was first opened in Jeju Island in September 2020 to reveal the feelings of ‘rest’, and ‘comfort’ through the subject of nature. Subsequently, on August 1, 2021, the Arte Museum Yeosu, with the theme of Yeosu sea and marine life, was opened. In December 2021, the ‘Arte Museum Valley Gangneung’ was opened under the concept of Valley with the motif of Eight Scenic Views of Gwandong, including mountain ranges and valleys. Jeju will operate until June 30, 2022, and the others will operate until December 31, 2022. Additionly, all three places are open all year round, but it is essential to check the website before going in advance, through the website. Operating hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and admission is not available after 7 p.m. (Only Jeju is open until 7 p.m. and cannot enter after 6 p.m.) Finally, the CBT reporter recommends booking tickets on the Internet in advance to save time. There is no limit on the viewing time, and fixed. Therefore, visitors can freely watch as much as they want after entering.
  The Arte Museum Valley Gangeung consists of 11 exhibition spaces and a tea bar. Works include WATERFALL, WAVE, SUN, GARDEN, FLOWER, CAVE, STAR, FOREST, BEACH, LIVE SKETCHBOOK, THUNDER, etc. Also, there is a tea bar where people can rest. Lee Sung-ho, CEO of 'District', which represents K-realistic content, said he used nature as an exhibition material that gives us comfort and planned to have an immersive experience that combines sight, smell, and hearing within nature. When the CBT reporter entered the space, the majestic nature caught the eyes, and the sound of the background was so vivid that it resembled real nature. Although the CBT reporter couldn't smell the scent of nature properly because of a mask, the intensity of the visual and sound effects was great. This article will cover five representative works in detail.

[FOREST]



  Visitors can encounter a mysterious spirit in a sacred “forest” that has not been touched by anyone. Spirits symbolize water, wind, land, and a firewalk through the forest and provide healing and recovery energy. The appearance of a spirit that seems touchable but cannot be touched makes it feel more mysterious. This contrasts the real forest that turned into grasslands due to industrialization. Wild species living in the forest suffer from various diseases and weather events, and become extinct. The energy and freshness experienced in the actual forest seems to be contained in the work.

[FLOWER]

  It is an open space for work, but be careful not to hit the wall when viewing this place. This is an optical illusion, and it seems to be a scene from the night cherry blossom festival or the cosmos festival. The petals on the floor look like cherry blossoms scattered in the spring breeze, and when getting closer, the cosmos shakes, and fireflies wander between them. Flower wanted to show that the cosmos, which symbolizes harmony and the universe, meets the wind and is born into a new life. It is a work that conveys the vitality of flowers and contains the cycle of nature by adding wind which represents a constant circulation.

[BEACH]



  The beach is beautiful at any time, but especially at the “Golden Time”, the beauty of the beach is maximized because of the sunset. Here, there are clouds colored with sunset light, emerald-colored seas reflected by light, and dynamic waves. When the sun completely disappears over the horizon, darkness soon falls, but bright moonlight from the clouds creates another gradient. CBT reporters were impressed by the mysterious colors that only nature can create. The water is swaying on the horizon. After that, the seafoam expands right to where the CBT reporter stands and then exits.

[LIVE SKETCHBOOK]

  If there’s a place in a fairy tale, wouldn’t it be here? The full moon is shining through the steep mountains. As if a god had performed magic, a glow-in-the-dark waterfall flows through the mountains. A quiet and wide lake absorbs and reflects the dazzling moonlight and illuminates the surrounding area, mysterious animals pass through the solid pine trees surrounding it. The technology - the ability to put one’s paintings into space- is introduced only in this work. This is the most popular place for families with children, and each child depicts an animal that reflects his or her preference. Participants can even draw and scan animals right into the artwork.

[GARDEN]

  “Garden” is the finale out of 11 works. Two media art shows featuring “Nature” that reflect the characteristics of each region and “Famous Paintings” are shown repeatedly here. Therefore, the Arte museum at Gangneung will feature “Gangwon”, which is centered on mountains and valleys, considering the geographical characteristics of Gangwon Province. In addition, “Garden” is the largest of all virtual spaces, so visitors can walk around the space during the screening and go upstairs to see the works.
  “Gangwon” gives the impression that everyone will become a poet of note. They are not just showing the fragmentary appearance of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The coolness of early spring then drizzles on the pond, the faint rainbow after the rain, the invisible peaks through the fog, the mountains covered with maple leaves, and the sky’s changes with the movement of the sun. The evening sky containing numerous starlights seemed to be a space in the universe, and suddenly shooting stars fell down. In fact, shooting stars fall every day, but most of them are small and cannot be seen by the naked eye. Moreover, these evenings are too bright to notice the existence of shooting stars because of the midnight lighting and high air pollution. As such, visitors were able to encounter some of the natural elements which had forgotten about in this work.



  The environment is everything around us, including ourselves, and the most ideal environment is the cycle of life and death. With the development of science and the improvement of human quality of life, people began to make reckless use of the environment: indiscriminate capture of marine life, destruction of forests, and emmission of air pollution – all in the name of  living  better. As a result, the environment cannot survive and disappears directly from the scene. Visitors to the Arte Museum said that they have had an overwhelming experience with the space. There was no place that was not delicate, such as perspective, shadow, concentration, brightness, and angle of light, and it was a space in nature that stood out in reality by adding sound and scent. In that case, is this really realistic? Based in Gangneung, Anmok Beach is within a 1km radius from the museum. As if boasting of fun of the previous night, the remnants of firecrackers, wrappers and bottles were on full display on that beach. Much of the environment outside the museum is like this, so where is the perfect nature around us? The Arte Museum, which one could not take one’s eyes off for a moment, may make us want to get the best picture of life due to its grandeur and splendor, but as visitors can clearly see now, there was actually a lost nature hidden in all the works. It’s really exciting to have an unusual experience to be sure. However, people should not be misled by the wonderful appearance. How about considering the intentions contained in the works and comparing the works to the reality of our less-than-perfect surroundings.

By Song Chae-i
kelly1526@cbnu.ac.kr
By Kim Ji-soo
sixteen@cbnu.ac.kr