By: Leslie Ordinario

Leap into fantasy and wonder, and relive your favorite childhood fairytales with the exhibit Once Upon A Time… Hanbok Fairytale of Wooh Nayoung, hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines. 

The exhibit will run from November 17, 2022 – February 28, 2023, at the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines. From the beautiful Cinderella to the adventurous Alice, you will get to see a whole new world as soon as you step inside the exhibit hall. It is the perfect end-of-the-year and start-of-the-year exhibit for children, families, and the young at heart.

Taking a walk down the exhibit, you’d see that Wooh Nayoung’s art depicts Korean painting in varying degrees, from clothing, hairstyle, and accessories, to sceneries. The fairy godmother will greet you upon your entrance, telling the tale of her adventure here in the Philippines and sprinkling you with some magic before venturing inside. 

Your eyes will then feast on 32 illustrations around the exhibit hall, featuring reinterpreted scenes from the fairytales written by Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm Brothers, Lewis Carroll, and various other authors. As you walk around, you’d feel like the main character of the fairytale as the design and story on the wall are positioned to give that experience.

In her piece entitled Alice, you’d notice that the Hanbok worn by the titular character Alice and the rabbit also bore the traditional accessories that come with it. Moreover, her characters incorporate the traditional Hanbok together with their representative colors. 

If you are curious, look at how the fairy godmother transformed Cinderella with the elegant blue Hanbok to meet the prince! With the marvelous illustrations, your inner child will surely be brought up in this wondrous world of fairytales with a Korean twist, wishing for a happy ever after.

But that’s not all as Wooh Nayoung will also unveil her new work for the first time in the Philippines! The famous Filipino legend characters Malakas and Maganda from The Legend of Malakas and Maganda will be drawn by the artist in a traditional Korean painting style. 

The piece will be available only here in the Korean Cultural Center, so you can’t miss it!

Her colorful history of majoring in Korean painting, working as an art director for a game company, and having an experience in Hollywood gave Korean artist Wooh Nayoung a new source for Korean aesthetics. 

Wooh Nayoung’s art does not simply add Korean elements to the fairytales. Instead, it creates a new piece by combining the elements and characteristics of Western fairytales and Korean art and culture.

The exhibit Once Upon A Time, Hanbok Fairytale of Wooh Nayoung will be available from November 17, 2022, to February 28, 2023, at the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, 59 Bayani Rd, Fort Bonifacio Taguig City Monday – Friday, 9 AM – 4 PM and every Saturdays 10 AM – 4 PM, excluding Sundays and Holidays. 

The display is free to view however, visitors are asked to bring their immunization card to show when entering. For reasons of health and safety, only 60 persons at a time are permitted inside the building.