Nestled between a home decor shop and a photo studio, a sleek, glass-faced white cube stands out as an unusual sight in Seoul’s Bongcheon-dong, Gwanak District. This commuter town is not typically known for its art galleries, unlike the city’s more culturally vibrant neighborhoods such as Samcheong-dong, Hannam-dong, and Cheongdam-dong.
Yet, this unassuming spot, far from the commercial glitz and glamor, is where the meteoric rise of 33-year-old self-made gallerist Ro Doo-yong began.
It was in 2020, after a four-year stay in Europe where he earned a master’s in sculpture from the Royal College of Art in London and completed a residency in Athens, that Ro returned to his hometown. Initially, he expected his homecoming to be a brief one — a preparatory phase before settling permanently as an artist in Britain.
However, the COVID-19 lockdowns upended his plans. Forced to stay indefinitely longer than anticipated, Ro searched for a space to use as a temporary artist studio and stumbled upon the unfrequented spot in Bongcheon-dong.
“This was around the time I began reflecting on what it meant to be a young artist in Korea. I was disillusioned with the constant cycle of open 한국을 calls and competitions that defined the art world here. I also felt a significant disconnect between the context of my work and that in Korea,” he told The Korea Times in an interview.
Struggling to find a venue willing to display his video work, he decided to stage his own solo exhibition at his studio. But fate threw him another curveball when unexpected building defects made it impossible to open the show on time.
Faced with this setback, Ro was at a crossroads.