Roof tiles and norigae reimagined as media art on HiKR Ground's 32-meter wall

Korea Tourism Organization's HiKR competition seeks new content for its giant media wall, rediscovering Korea's tourism appeal in the heart of the city

The grand prize-winning work "Moyeo, Hangyeol" [Korea Tourism Organization]

Eight media art works that visualize Korea's identity by blending traditional materials with 3D graphics technology are set to go on public display. Selected from a pool of 123 entries, the eight works will present Korea's landscapes in three dimensions across a 32-meter screen.

The Korea Tourism Organization held an awards ceremony for the 2026 HiKR Media Art competition Monday at the large conference room on the sixth floor of its Seoul center.

A commemorative photo taken at the 2026 HiKR Media Art competition awards ceremony [Korea Tourism Organization]

The competition was conceived to discover media art works suited to the large media wall on the first floor of HiKR Ground, the organization's Korea tourism promotion center. A total of 123 entries were submitted between May and July, covering a wide range of themes including Korean emotions, landscapes, culture and nature.

The organization selected eight winning works through a blind scoring and joint review process conducted by expert judges from various fields. The eight winning pieces will be shown on a permanent basis to domestic and international visitors through the 32-meter media wall on the first floor of HiKR Ground.

A commemorative photo in front of the large media wall at HiKR Ground [Korea Tourism Organization]

The grand prize went to Lee Jun-seo for "Moyeo, Hangyeol," a work that uses traditional materials — roof tiles, norigae (traditional Korean ornaments) and mother-of-pearl inlay — to express Korea's inherent dynamism and identity through 3D graphics. Judges particularly noted that the piece reflects the scale and spatial depth of the 32-meter media wall. The excellence prizes went to Jeong Woo-chan's "SEOUL 2026" and Kim Ria's "Han-guk-eul Piuda." Five works received merit prizes: "Changbakkeuro Heureuneun Han-guk" by Team Try (Cha Dong-min and Hwang In-jae), "Paan" by Son Eun-seong, "The Breath of Taepyeong: Sagye-ui Gwejuk" by Jeong Ji-hye, "Eum" by Park Seong-geon, and "Yuyeong" by Paeng Ji-hyeon.

Min Byeong-seon, head of the Korea Tourism Organization's tourism industry division, said the competition had uncovered a wealth of highly immersive media art content befitting the scale of HiKR Ground's large media wall. "We hope visitors to HiKR will experience the beauty of Korea in a new way through the large media wall," he said.

terry@heraldcorp.com