Have You Been There?
A ‘Yangpyeong Outing’ for Both Museum Vacations and Summer Health Boosts

[비즈한국]  “Should we head to Dumulmeori and grab a hot dog?” It’s something I often say to my neighborhood friends. For those living in the eastern part of Seoul, Gyeonggi-do’s Yangpyeong is a frequent destination for a change of pace. After all, it’s hard to find a more cost-effective way to find happiness than feeling the breeze at Dumulmeori while taking a bite of its famous hot dog. Moreover, Yangpyeong guarantees both the pleasure of eating and the pleasure of viewing at the same time. This is because it is home to many sophisticated spaces that excel in both their collections and architectural beauty. 

The first space I want to introduce is ‘Koo House,’ which opened in July 2016 and has contributed to elevating the culture and arts of Yangpyeong. You can appreciate over 500 artworks collected by the first-generation Korean graphic designer, CEO Koo Chung-soon. The space is filled with works by famous artists—too many to list—such as David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, James Turrell, Jeff Koons, Picasso, Nam June Paik, Do Ho Suh, and Choi Jeong-hwa. Perhaps because it is based on the concept of a ‘museum like a home,’ the comfortable atmosphere, which feels like visiting an artist’s house, is truly exceptional.

In particular, David Hockney’s ‘Picture at an Exhibition,’ who passed away on June 11, is well worth a long look. It is a massive piece that fills an entire wall, drawing the viewer's gaze with its unique perspective of people admiring his own paintings hanging in a museum. 

In addition to the two-story main building, you can find works in the garden and the annex. The rainbow-colored neon sculpture ‘Big Mind Sky’ by Ugo Rondinone on the exterior wall of Koo House will naturally make you want to take a photo, while James Turrell’s ‘Atlantis, Medium Rectangle Glass’ in the annex will make you put your camera down and meditate—so make sure to take your time. For reference, the 10th-anniversary special exhibition, ‘Joana Vasconcelos - Connecting and Weaving Coexistence,’ is running from July 1st to January 31st of next year. It’s an opportunity to meet the work of the Portuguese master who has sublimated traditional handicraft techniques into overwhelming large-scale installation art.

I also highly recommend ‘Leeham Campus,’ located in Gangha-myeon, Yangpyeong. Opened in July 2022 by the Dooyang Cultural Foundation, which previously drew attention for opening ‘Kunmyungwon,’ a free educational institution for young people, this is a 10,000-pyeong complex cultural space consisting of a museum, a garden, a cafe, and a multipurpose hall. It is a pleasure to walk through the courtyards between the exposed concrete buildings and, while viewing art inside, gaze out through the windows strategically placed in the gaps.

The current exhibition is a furniture showcase by Gaetano Pesce, an Italian artist often called a ‘maverick of the design world.’ As this is his first solo exhibition in Korea, don’t miss it if you enjoy unique furniture design; it runs until September 27th. After viewing the exhibition, enjoying a cup of coffee while looking out at the pond at the bakery cafe Comma is a must.

When visiting Leeham Campus, you naturally wonder, “Who on earth created a place like this?” (Or is it just me?). Looking through articles, I found that the foundation, Kunmyungwon, and Leeham Campus were born through the process of Oh Hwang-taek, the board chair who built his fortune in button manufacturing, donating 60 billion won of his private wealth to practice social contribution through art. In an interview, he reportedly told his son, “Listen carefully. The money father earned, father will spend as he pleases.” I couldn't help but envy his bold spirit—being able to earn money and spend it in such a magnificent way.

Besides Koo House and Leeham Campus, Yangpyeong is full of high-quality museums, galleries, and gallery cafes, making it a great place to “check off” spots that pique your interest. There’s the Lee Jae-hyo Gallery, famous for being visited by RM, and the Yangpyeong Art Museum, a small but mighty institution that has recorded 1.6 million cumulative visitors. Of course, this quest should also include a culinary exploration.

For this time of year, with the Jungbok (mid-summer) and Malbok (end of summer) periods approaching, I recommend ‘Yesarang,’ a place that makes incredible scorched-rice chicken soup (nurungji baeksuk). Located in Okcheon-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, it’s a famous chicken soup spot that locals already know well. The interior, with its rustic, mountain-cabin-like decor, is lovely, but in the summer, try to reserve an outdoor seat where you can enjoy the sound of the nearby stream while tearing into a chicken leg.

The main menu consists of scorched-rice chicken soup, scorched-rice duck soup, and spicy braised chicken. You can also order kimchi pancakes, shiitake mushroom pancakes, and acorn jelly. The chicken soup, topped with crispy scorched rice and sprinkled with finely sliced carrots and chives, whets your appetite just by looking at it. Eating the glutinous rice—which boasts a much chewier texture and deeper savory flavor than regular scorched rice—along with the well-stewed chicken, makes you feel like you’re replenishing the energy drained by the midsummer heat. Afterward, grab a drink at a scenic cafe like ‘Gubyeoul,’ located on high ground overlooking the Namhan River, and finish off with a hot dog at Dumulmeori, and your satisfying summer health-boosting outing is complete.