Memories Etched in the Golden Rain Tree Petals: A Webtoon Embraces a Woman’s Story

Jeong Mugu’s Solo Exhibition, August 10–28 in Gyeongju

The Oral Life Story of a Pohang Fisherwoman

Expanded Through Installation Art and AI Video

An exhibition that unravels the memories left in the nature of North Gyeongsang Province and the life of a coastal woman through webtoons, installation art, and artificial intelligence (AI) video will be held in Gyeongju.

The Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus, operated by the Gyeongbuk Cultural Foundation Content Promotion Institute, announced on the 9th that writer Jeong Mugu’s solo exhibition, "As the Mo Gamju Blossom Falls – Stories Told by Mo Gamju Flowers," will be held at the Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus Exhibition Hall on Hwangridan-gil in Gyeongju from August 10 to August 28.

A Woman's Life Etched on a Vitex Flower: A Poster Reviving Local Memories through Webtoon
Photo by Gyeongbuk Cultural Foundation Content Promotion Institute

This exhibition is characterized by weaving together the Pohang Donghae-myeon Balsan-ri Mo Gamju tree, which is a designated Natural Monument, and the oral life history of a woman who lived in the fishing village of Pohang into a single narrative.

Rather than simply displaying original webtoon artwork, the exhibition integrates spatial installations, sculptures, interview videos, and AI-based video content to three-dimensionally show the process by which an individual's memory expands into the historical and cultural records of the region.

At the center of the exhibition sits the short-form webtoon "As the Mo Gamju Blossom Falls." The work was created based on the oral life story directly told by Im Bokdeuk, a Pohang fisherman’s wife.

It traces the life of a woman who lost her two sons in the season when the Mo Gamju flowers bloom, depicting her journey through loss, grief, endurance of time, and eventual recovery as she returns to everyday life.

Notably, the artist did not use personal pain as mere dramatic material, but calmly manifested the passage of time and memory by relating them to the Mo Gamju flower, a part of the region’s natural environment.

The Mo Gamju flower, which blooms and falls each year, functions in the work as a symbolic device that permeates the woman’s entire life. The exhibition is meaningful in that it demonstrates, through the popular genre of webtoon, how individual memory and local community history are connected and accumulated within the flow of natural time.

The presentation of the exhibition also goes a step further than the flat appreciation typical of webtoons. Original webtoon artwork is displayed alongside a space installation piece, "Under the Golden Rain," which recreates falling Mo Gamju flowers, as well as character sculptures. Interview recordings featuring the oral narrator's real voice and webtoon videos produced using AI technology will also be released.

Visitors do more than just read drawings—they listen to voices and walk through the space, following the life and memories of the character in the work. The story that begins as a webtoon expands into installation art and video, and is intertwined with the real voice of the narrator, creating a unified narrative across different media.

This exhibition demonstrates that even the memories of an ordinary individual living in the region can serve as valuable sources for cultural content. Instead of focusing on major historical events or famous people, it documents the life of a coastal woman and connects it to the natural heritage of Pohang, encouraging exploration of both personal and regional histories.

Jeong Mugu is a creator who has recorded local stories and daily life through writing and illustration. From the character "Short-Bobbed Girl," inspired by his daughter, to the Natural Monument Mo Gamju tree, he produces content across various genres including webtoons, picture books, and fairy tales.

Jeong Mugu received the Excellence Award for Outstanding IP Pitch at the 2024 K-Story Festival and was selected as an outstanding IP at the Andong Story School. He continues to transform local nature, figures, and lifestyles into creative content.

Lee Jongsu, Director of the Content Promotion Institute, said, "The region's nature, history, and the lives of its people are excellent sources for cultural content," adding, "I hope this exhibition serves as an opportunity to encounter and empathize with precious local stories through the familiar medium of webtoons."

He further stated, "Going forward, we will actively support the creative activities of regional artists with the Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus at the center, and continue to discover and expand outstanding content utilizing regional cultural resources."

The exhibition runs through August 28 at the Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus Exhibition Hall and is open free of charge to all local residents and tourists.

This exhibition shows that webtoons can become not only simple entertainment content but also a new form of record that preserves regional memory. It is particularly noteworthy that, as the story originating from an individual’s oral history is expanded through drawings, space, voices and AI video, fleeting personal memories are transformed into cultural assets for the local community to share.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.