2026 5th Jeju Biennale Heukgok Modakchigok Iyahong : The Art of Transformation

The civilization that blossomed on Jeju, a volcanic island on the Eurasian Plate, not only flowed in from the sea but also arrived from the northern land civilization. All kinds of elements scattered, gathered in Jeju, mixed together, and were transformed, creating today's Jeju's ecology, geography, and shape of life. The 5th Jeju Biennale, now in its 10th year, focuses on Jeju's dynamic process of meeting northern civilization, scattering (heukda), gathering (modakchida), and transforming (iyahong). To this end, the Biennale adopts 'Iyahong', the refrain of the Iyahong Taryeong that flowed in from the mainland and became another indigenous folk song of Jeju, as its theme word and core concept. Through Jeju, imbued with the principles of climate and sustenance, the Jeju Biennale seeks to present the ways of survival and aesthetics shaped together by things and nature, human life and divinity.

Program

- Main programs: Exhibition programs
1. From Chusa's Perspective (Jeju Museum of Art)
- An exhibition that reinterprets the aesthetics of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui from the perspective of Jeju's formative qualities and expands the conditions of exile amid real politics and historical violence with a contemporary gaze
2. Black stones roll and roll (Jeju Stone Culture Park Obaejanggung Gallery)
- An exhibition that explores the intersection of nature, humans, and northern civilization through Jeju's basalt and stone culture and experiences multidimensional temporality
3. Big Grandmother's Navel (Jeju Art Platform/Art Space IA/Gallery Remicon)
- An exhibition that views Jeju's inclusivity and the power of multi-layered life through Jeju's multi-god (minor god) culture in the language of art