Hello! A museum for kids By Jean Oh
Publisher:The Korea Herald - Publication Date: 17-04-2008

Thirteen little toddlers sit in a row. Dressed up in matching navy uniforms with shiny gold buttons, they look like they came fresh out of 'Mary Poppins'.

Each tiny tot wears a little crown-shaped name tag, making it easier on the teacher, who is there to enlighten them about art.

No, it is not just another day at school.

This group of kids is here to see an exhibition at the first registered children's art museum in Korea. And they are very excited.

The teacher asks, "Does anyone know where we are?"

One child yells out, "I know! Hello!"

That's right. They are at the Hello Museum in Yeoksam-dong to look at Korean landscape paintings.

But these aren't just any paintings. Many of these works were specially created for children.

"The artists come and watch children taking classes. Then they make their works," said Kim Ysaac, 33, the director of Hello Museum.

Not only is the art custom-made for kids; it is also hung low on the wall, making it the perfect height for children to look at.

In fact, everything is designed for kids. Low archways, a little cave made out of hanji (traditional Korean paper) for kids to sit and chat in, and little portable desks decorate this bright and clean space.

But there is nothing tacky or overly commercialized about this museum. The walls are a nice cream color, serving as a decent backdrop for the works themselves. Everything is sleek and simple.

The works themselves are sophisticated.

Seo Eun-ae, who recently got attention at the Basel Art Fair in Switzerland, presents her version of a modern Asian landscape painting in Long Afternoon (2006), while Yim Tae-Kyu uses a double-layered technique to create quirky yet distinctly native art in I Can Fly (2007).

But, before the kids get to enjoy the works, the teacher, officially called an educator, tells them to make three promises.

No yelling. No running around. And no hitting the paintings.

She encourages them to touch the paintings with their eyes.

One puzzled child raises his hand, "When you touch a painting with your eyes, how do you do it?"

How, indeed? It seems like a difficult task. But a series of interactive exercises, including learning how to grind ink, soon has the children involved.

Yi Jeong-yeol's multimedia landscape painting, Whistle (2008), in particular, really gets the kids going.

An animated landscape painting with a man on a boat framed by bamboo leaves, Yi's work comes to life when you blow on a pinwheel placed in front it. One puff sends a breeze along the water, propelling the boat forward and making the leaves flutter.

With all the huffing and puffing and exercises going on, a trip through the exhibition usually lasts as long as an hour. And that's not all the museum has to offer.

For those who want their children to get even closer to art, Hello Museum also offers art classes on the second and fourth Saturday of every month.

The sessions take place on the second floor. Clean white bubble lights adorn a white brick wall, and the smooth black floor is perfect for laying down large pieces of paper to draw on.

The two-hour programme enables kids to create art. From learning how to paint like Jackson Pollock with their feet and cotton ball-tipped sticks, to running through Keith Haring cutouts, kids really get to become a part of the world of contemporary art.

In one class, the kids played with shadows. They jumped up and down in front of the white wall, creating their own shadows before tracing them out and pasting them down. But, after all that, they ended up leaving their works behind.

"It's about the process," explained Director Kim. She would know. Having worked at the Smithsonian in America and as a museum educator at the National Museum of Korea for two years, she knows a thing or two about teaching and art.

As the driving force behind Hello Museum, which opened on Nov 14 in 2007, Kim hopes to show original art works and to help children develop a sense of visual literacy.

"It was named 'Hello, museum!' because children these days are more individualised," she said. "And we wanted to teach them, 'Let's say hello to the world first!'"

Looking at the adorable group of 13 kids happily trekking around this museum's second exhibition, it looks like Hello Museum is well on its way to doing just that.

Hello Museum's current exhibition, Hello. Into. Ink. Paper runs through May 10.

I saw the Turn and Widen exhibit at Seoul Museum of Art. Similar to the article, however aimed at a little older demographic. Essentially it is an Media Art Exhibit, and parts are interactive. Very cool.