2026 5th Jeju Biennale 《Heokeokgok Modakchigok Yahong: The Art of Transformation》

About the Exhibition

The 2026 5th Jeju Biennale focuses on the process by which Jeju's indigenous culture has met, mixed (heokkeugok), merged (modakchigok), and transformed (iyahong) with northern civilizations. Taking 'Iyahong,' the refrain of a Jeju folk song, as its core concept, the biennale represents a process of transformation that flows, mingles, and is reborn. As a bridgehead and platform where southern maritime culture and northern continental culture intersect, Jeju has formed a unique culture of fusion. While the 4th Jeju Biennale took 'drift' as its theme and spotlighted Jeju as the center of maritime civilization history, the 5th Biennale examines Jeju's multilayered structure — as a site where history (politics), nature (geology), and polytheistic culture (faith and belief) intersect to form a fusion of civilizations — through the lenses of 'exile,' 'stone culture,' and 'myth.'