Ihyangjeong: Carving with Memories

The housing market in South Korea is tight, and animator Sunghwan Lee moves from one semi-basement to another temporary home. This situation, combined with his difficult childhood, got him thinking. What is a home? What makes a house a home?

In colorful animations, he explores the concept through his memories of his father’s childhood home, a 300-year-old traditional Korean residential complex that has been declared a cultural heritage site. This safe place is a vehicle for the countless memories of many people.

In this VR experience, the smooth and beautifully animated journey through time and space goes from the carefully preserved objects on his father’s desk to the few things Lee himself cherishes: the things that make a place feel like home for him. Ultimately, he wants nothing more than to himself build a house to store all his memories.