Episode 23: Opening
The entrance from Anguk Station to Insadong.
Red and blue traditional Korean lanterns swaying in the wind.
Buskers performing, people appreciating them, others buying souvenirs while eating thread candy…
There were many Koreans, but there were also many foreigners.
Especially on Wednesday afternoons, Insadong is crowded with people coming to see exhibitions.
This is because the galleries here coordinate their opening events at the same time.
Since they are clustered together, the idea is to encourage visitors to see multiple exhibitions in one visit.
“Hah– Even back then, there were a lot of people wandering around on Wednesdays just to eat.”
During exhibition openings, catering is prepared.
Fresh fruits and sandwiches, neatly arranged muffins and crackers, and drinks to wash them down…
The bigger the gallery, the more effort they put into treating people.
“Later on, Insadong will decline, and this culture will disappear, but for now, it’s lively and nice to see.”
Kang Lim turned around to look at the gallery where the paintings were hanging.
The curator was explaining the works, and most people were gathered around Kang Lim’s piece, finding it interesting.
Really… I wondered how it would feel to exhibit a painstakingly drawn piece.
It feels so moving that I think it would be a pity to sell it.
After working on it for over a month, it’s such a shame that it will only be displayed for a week.
“Hey. Congratulations.”
“Oh, you’re here.”
“Wow. But what’s that? They even give out food?”
Sure enough, as soon as Lee Hyunseong entered, he headed straight for the refreshment table.
“Pfft. I knew he’d do that.”
Kang Lim shook his head watching Lee Hyunseong picking out food.
He definitely came for the food.
“Congratulations. Your work is great.”
Next, Shin Taemin arrived, surprising Kang Lim.
“Whoa, you startled me. Why did you come? You said you wouldn’t.”
“I’m always curious when you change things last minute.”
“Was it because of someone else this time?”
“Anyway.”
In the middle of the conversation, a round bouquet of flowers appeared in front of Kang Lim.
“Tada! Congratulations!”
As expected, Seoyeon is the best.
“Why did you bring this? You’re prettier.”
“…How can you be so cheesy?”
“You become like this after living a long time.”
Seeing Seoyeon’s hand hesitating to give the bouquet made Kang Lim smile.
“Aww. Just take it. It’s your first exhibition after all.”
“Haha– Thanks.”
As Kang Lim hugged the small bouquet, a fresh fragrance filled his nose.
The flower language of the fully bloomed freesia is ‘I support your beginning.’
Seoyeon, visible between the swaying flowers, looked like a chick.
When I was younger, I used to say buying flowers for graduation or entrance ceremonies was a waste of money.
Receiving them feels quite nice.
“Wow… Kang Lim, you have many friends? Well, the friends you make at this time last for a lifetime.”
It was an artist who was also exhibiting.
A portrait painter depicting pro-Japanese collaborators from the Japanese colonial period.
“Oh! I really love your work, sir.”
Although it was a heartfelt comment, the artist scratched his head shyly.
To be that humble even at that age…
Kang Lim smiled at the artist.
“Oh, it’s not that great. On the contrary, I feel like I’ve learned from a young student. A portrait without a face… The idea is good, and the expression is excellent. The crowd gathered because your work is the main attraction. Even an Art Magazine reporter took photos!”
“No, no. Your work is truly amazing. I didn’t realize you mixed newspaper with the paint when I saw it in photos. But seeing it in person, the texture is so unique; I was really surprised. They say you need to see real artworks in person…”
“Haha. Really? That’s a relief. My works don’t photograph well. A good photographer is essential.”
While listening to the artist, Kang Lim looked at Seoyeon with satisfaction.
When he pulled her shoulder with his right hand, Seoyeon flinched.
“I have a good photographer.”
“What, me?”
“Hehe.”
Thinking about seeing her often while entrusting her with photography made him feel good.
“Kang Lim!”
Just then, the curator hurriedly approached and spoke.
“It’s sold. The painting.”
“What? How long has it been since the opening? Who…”
“Quickly, come and see.”
With his wrist grabbed, Kang Lim was led through the crowd.
Murmurs. Amongst the people, he heard, ‘Wow, they say a young student painted it. The atmosphere is unique. I’ve never seen a painting like this. It looked like it would sell.’
When he got closer to the painting, a red sticker was attached to the name tag of the work.
“Oh? But where did they go? They were here just a moment ago…”
The curator looked around amidst the crowd.
A foreigner with blonde hair wearing sunglasses.
They stood out, but no matter how much they looked, they couldn’t find them.
The first thing Kang Lim bought with the money from selling his painting was a computer.
He originally wanted a laptop with an apple on it, but in terms of cost-effectiveness, nothing beats a desktop.
“Oh, the graphics card isn’t yet the highest compatible one…”
In the future, not just 2D but 3D work will become important.
Since many sculptural works are designed on a computer and then produced in large scale at factories, handling various program tools is fundamental.
The most crucial component for speeding up this work is the graphics card.
A fast graphics card, a stable motherboard with a good CPU.
He matched it with the best setup to handle multiple programs on dual monitors.
There are many computer companies that sell much worse components thrown haphazardly into acrylic boxes.
In the past life, how regretful he was after being ripped off.
Not this time.
He bought and assembled it himself.
“Maybe I should’ve gotten a higher power supply. This is a bit lacking…”
Still, setting it up with the highest specs, including a cooler, made him feel good.
His mother, seeing the LED lights on the computer upon entering, was surprised at how flashy it was.
But a computer technician would have been impressed by something else.
How could he have managed the cables so neatly?
“Should I get a job in Yongsan? Haha–”
He turned on the creative apps and connected the tablet he bought along with the computer.
Even though he wanted a tablet where he could draw directly on the screen, the good models haven’t been released yet and cost over a few million won.
“Still, this is good enough… As it’s a professional tablet, the pressure sensitivity is different…”
When he drew a line on the tablet, the same line appeared on the computer screen.
It adjusted delicately, as if drawing a real line on paper.
Worth every penny.
“Now, let’s start saving money again…”
He entered his email and downloaded the photos sent by the anatomy professor.
The first batch was ten sheets.
He said he would give more if these were done well.
At 150,000 won per sheet… ten sheets would be 1.5 million.
Indeed, having expertise and skills is the best way to make money.
Where else could you find such a part-time job?
“First, a woman looking up to the sky… A woman’s cartilage is much smaller than a man’s and is covered by the thyroid gland. I have to draw it without the thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage protruding.”
The thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage are bones attached to the airway.
In men, this part protrudes, making the Adam’s apple prominent.
Kang Lim divided the computer screen into three parts.
This is because muscles also have multiple layers.
Surface muscles, intermediate muscles, deep muscles!
Swish swish.
The lines of the intermediate muscles, which firmly hold the bones, were drawn boldly and sharply, while the surface muscles covering them were drawn softly and densely.
With the new tablet, he skillfully drew the picture.
“Ah. Seriously. It’s so damn hot.”
The kids were lying on the communal desk in the practice room with their cheeks pressing against it.
They were waiting for the professor while enjoying the air conditioner breeze from the ceiling.
‘I heard global warming is severe… But coming back to the past doesn’t make the summer any cooler.’
Although it seems the weather anomalies are less severe.
Summer is still summer.
Kang Lim listened to the cicadas crying outside the window.
Cicadas, which prepare for a long time underground and then come out to announce their existence to the world.
‘They kind of remind me of myself.’
For the first semester, did I also live as diligently as them? Looking back…
Buzz–
[I’m very satisfied. It seems good to continue like this. -New attached files 10]
Checking the email from the anatomy professor, it seemed so.
I had done a lot of assignments, exhibitions, part-time jobs, and various other things.
I should work even harder during the vacation.
“Everyone, it’s not vacation yet. Get your heads straight.”
Professor Han Jungpil from the design department poured cold water on the slumped kids as soon as he entered.
It was the final hurdle of the common practical class.
A person with square, rimless glasses and damp-looking grass-like hair…
A person with an angular face and firm lips that left a strong impression.
Kang Lim already knew the designer.
Graduated from Cranbrook Academy in the U.S. and worked in advertising design in France.
He was really famous when he was young.
Since it wasn’t the smartphone generation, he was more famous abroad than in Korea.
“Hey. Grass hair and checkered shirt. We’re screwed. Seriously.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know people like that give a lot of assignments? He must be the final boss. Remember the architecture professor who looked like that? It was no joke.”
Han Jungpil answered Lee Hyunseong’s low whisper.
“I don’t give a lot of assignments.”
Startled, Lee Hyunseong lowered his voice even more.
“What’s with his hearing… Scary.”
Again, Han Jungpil responded.
“My hearing is good. So please be quiet and look at the screen in front.”
“…Yes.”
Han Jungpil checked the class roster that the assistant had pre-checked and displayed a PPT on the screen.
These were the window design projects he had directed.
Window design projects are visual advertisements conducted monthly with a concept.
If you go to a department store, you’ll see displays in front of the brand stores showcasing the new season’s products.
Since it’s the first thing that conveys the brand’s image, it easily catches the attention of various fashion magazines and isn’t entrusted to just anyone.
If done poorly, the month’s sales might hit rock bottom.
“The displays I directed are here, but this Chanel main store display was designed by the chief designer, Karl Lagerfeld. I mainly worked with Hermès.”
“Wow…”
Mannequins dressed in Chanel’s signature classic patterned clothes floating above clouds.
Around them, light feathers wrapped around the products as if swans were swimming.
“It looked just expensive before, but seeing this makes it seem very lovely.”
The store display capturing a fluffy visual touch.
The kids admired and watched.
Like this, the environment in which the products are placed can change the brand’s image.
Seeing the students’ intrigued expressions, Han Jungpil smiled slightly.
“If Hamlet had uttered the line ‘To be or not to be, that is the question’ in a flower garden, how would it have been?”
“Hamlet’s anguish wouldn’t be conveyed!”
“Correct. Product displays serve a role similar to stage art. They show the brand’s motto, product functionality, and expected effects through the surrounding environment.”
“Oh… That’s cool.”
“I’ll show you a project I think is good.”
Han Jungpil opened and showed a display design for the main store of Louis Vuitton.
“This project was done when Louis Vuitton launched the Speedy Bag. The Speedy Bag is a rounded travel bag that became famous after Audrey Hepburn carried it, and it became known as the 3-second bag because it sold out in 3 seconds.”
A male mannequin in a sleek three-piece suit was fleeing with the Speedy Bag.
Through the fluttering jacket, the stylish inner lining design was visible, and CCTV cameras were densely attached around him.
But they weren’t just any CCTV cameras.
If you look closely, they were designed sharply in silver to look like guns.
“Isn’t it witty?”
“Wow, that’s so cool. Look at the suit.”
“It looks like he’s being chased by reporters on the red carpet.”
“After this, Louis Vuitton moved away from the classic atmosphere and introduced a free and trendy feel. They also saw a significant increase in sales among the younger crowd.”
Looking at the excited students, Han Jungpil chuckled slightly.
“You all can do well too, right? This assignment will be combined with a contest. Since practicality is important in design, we need to see if it works in the market.”
“…?”
The students’ expressions darkened a bit.
“Oh, of course. It’s not a luxury display. Your assignment is this.”
Interesting. This person.
Kang Lim’s expression brightened.
