The wings of an angel, the blossoming of poppies, a heart on a rainbow...
all are symbols of hope for Ihwa Mural Village.
On the boundaries of downtown Seoul, and set apart by a steep climb up from Dongdaemun, Ihwa has struggled in recent years with urban decline. It has been terminally on the peripheries of city life, and blighted by poverty and under-investment.
That is, until the 2006 ‘Art in the City’ campaign. Local residents, students and artists came together in the village to decorate the streets of Ihwa.
With its winding stairways and dramatic drops into city panoramas, it is a village that naturally lends itself to the visual arts. The hopeful murals only enhance the village’s great natural beauty, and ever since their creation, Ihwa has become a must-visit location for anyone on a visual pilgrimage through Seoul.
