A promotional image for "Night of Swimming Mermaids," part of the Cheonggyecheon Soul Ocean media art exhibition [Seoul Tourism Foundation]
A promotional image for "Night of Swimming Mermaids," part of the Cheonggyecheon Soul Ocean media art exhibition [Seoul Tourism Foundation]

The Cheonggyecheon waterfront is expanding into an interactive digital cultural space that transforms in real time through direct audience participation.

The Seoul Tourism Foundation announced Thursday that it will unveil "Night of Swimming Mermaids," a new addition to its ongoing media art exhibition "Cheonggyecheon Soul Ocean," on Friday night. The new content goes beyond passive viewing — it is an interactive digital exhibition in which visitors help complete the artwork itself.

The piece blends an underwater landscape inspired by coral reefs and the deep sea with a cast of individually designed mermaids. Visitors scan a QR code at the venue to access a website where they can design their own mermaid. Once finished, the creation appears above the Cheonggyecheon waterway and swims alongside mermaids made by other visitors.

To mark the launch, a social media-linked participation event will run from Saturday through Aug. 30. Prizes will be distributed on-site based on participation level, and the event continues until supplies run out.

"Cheonggyecheon Soul Ocean" is a media art exhibition weaving together stories of Seoul and Cheonggyecheon spanning the seasons, ecology and history of the stream, with new content added each month. The exhibition runs through Dec. 31 in the area beneath Gwanggyo Bridge and around Gwanggyo Gallery along Cheonggyecheon, open every day of the year. During June through August, it operates daily from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; from September, hours shift one hour earlier to 6 p.m. The exhibition is about 300 meters on foot from Exit 5 of Jonggak Station on subway Line 1, and will be temporarily suspended if access to Cheonggyecheon is restricted due to rain or other conditions.

"Cheonggyecheon — one of Seoul's most iconic nighttime destinations and a space that has witnessed profound transformation — is now set to reinvent itself moment by moment through audience participation," said Jeong Byeong-ho, head of the tourism festival and events team at the Seoul Tourism Foundation. "We hope to offer a joyful experience as a living cultural space completed together by residents and tourists alike."


terry@heraldcorp.com