Rose of Sharon and Taegukgi media art brings message of remembrance to everyday lakeside walks
Seoul's Songpa-gu is marking Patriots and Veterans Month this June with special content at "The Sphere," a spherical media art installation at Seokchon Lake, bringing messages of remembrance into residents' everyday lives.
The district designed the programming so that the meaning of national sacrifice can be felt naturally along a casual walking path — not only at formal ceremonies or memorial events. Four commemorative pieces ran through Sunday, the day after Memorial Day, and four additional videos honoring Patriots and Veterans Month will follow for the rest of June.
The videos feature the Korean national flag unfurling amid blooming rose of Sharon flowers, carrying the message "We will not forget you," along with three other pieces. Together they quietly convey that the peace of today's daily life rests on the sacrifice of countless individuals.
The special content will air alongside the installation's regular programming throughout June. Residents strolling past will encounter the remembrance messages woven naturally among 27 everyday pieces — including a series on traditional Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware, famous paintings, and works by emerging artists.
The Sphere operates daily from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Beyond Patriots and Veterans Month, the district uses The Sphere to present themed content tied to Family Month, Liberation Day, chuseok, Christmas and other occasions throughout the year, keeping the installation in step with the seasons and holidays. Even weighty subjects like national remembrance are rendered through media art, making values that once surfaced only on designated holidays a familiar part of daily life.
The Sphere is a 7-meter-diameter spherical media art structure built on the western side of Seokchon Lake in late April 2025. It uses 3,096 LED panels to display a wide range of content, offering residents and tourists a striking new attraction. Since its opening, 19 local governments and public institutions across the country have visited to benchmark its operating model, establishing it as a leading example of public media art.
"I hope that whenever people visit Seokchon Lake this June, they will take a moment to think of those who devoted themselves to the country," Songpa-gu District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "We will continue to develop content on diverse themes so that The Sphere becomes a space where residents can come together in their everyday lives."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
