[Hwangto Hanwoo Museum] 2013
Samga Brand Beef Town in Hapcheon, Gyeongsamnam-do, South Korea
Museum design and production
commissioned by Hapcheon County Office / 165.2cubic meters
a media table, a media installation, sculptures, wood, steel, and other interior materials

The Hwangto Hanwoo Museum is an exhibition hall built to promote locally raised cattle in Hapcheon of Gyeongsamnam-do. This area has been the heart of beef production and distribution in Korea for a long time. However, cheap imported beef has lowered the price of beef, putting Hapcheon’s local economy at stake. At the request of Hapcheon citizens, the Korean government built this exhibition hall to promote local beef. More specifically, it promotes the taste and benefits of beef taken from cattle raised on traditional yellow soil. Most of the content exhibited here were arranged at the request of the local citizens. Consequently, the exhibition minimized technical or specialized content, and instead aimed to provide information that could easily interest everyone, by way of clear visualization and interactive elements. Producing an exhibition for a declining local economy meant a great deal to me. With this project, I took charge of all aspects of production from designing to building. The animation and video content were made by a separate company.

Media Table – Raising a Cow

h 4500 x 3200 x 3200 mm / steel, a projector, an infrared mouse, computer
This central piece was built with bent and welded steel. It is an interactive media table with which the viewer can learn about what to feed a cow, or what activities a cow should do for it to be healthy. Using an infrared mouse and a beam projector, four people can play the game at the same time.

Media Installation – Choosing a Cow

each h 1200 x 300 x 300 mm / steel, screen, computer
Next, to the media table, there is a media installation that tells you how to pick the healthy cow for purchase. There are four cows on the video screen with a short description of each, and you must choose one of them. It tells you more about the cow you’ve chosen. Through the screen on the other side, you can watch video interviews of people at the cattle auctions and a documentary about the current state of the market. This work was made possible with the active participation of the local citizens.

Transparent Screen Installation – Different Parts of Cow

each h 450 x 650 x 40 mm / transparent screen, computer, glass
Initially during planning, this was meant to be a transparent touch screen superimposed on a sculptural of a cow. But following an advice from the district office, we decided to use a transparent screen on regular glass, without the background structure. Such technology was not common at the time, so I laid the glass behind the screen with rows of high luminosity LED lights between them. Then a semi-transparent film was used make the screen visible only in parts of the screen where image was being drawn.

Farmer and His Cow Tilling the Soil

h 2300 x 1200 x 4000 mm (including pedestal) / soil, fiber reinforced plastic, wood

I had sculpted cows many times before, but in order to make this feel more real, I found a farmer who raises cattle to help me with the shaping of the cow. Later the sculpture of the farmer behind the cow was modelled after this man.

Farmer Leading a Cow (Outdoor Sculpture)

h 2100 x 1200 x 3600 mm / fiber reinforced plastic, stainless steel

This is an outdoor sculpture place by the entrance of the museum. I had to model the farmer after myself, due to being chased by time.

Different Grades of Beef and Floor Diorama

floor diorama – h 450 x 650 x 40 mm / transparent screen, comptuer, glass

I built panels with descriptions of the different grades of beef on the wall, and the diorama of cows on a ranch embedded in the floor.

Screen Installation – Information About Yellow Soil and Cattle

I installed touchscreens as kiosks on which you can view various documents and videos about yellow soil and the cattle of Hapcheon. Here, you could also access the district website where you could search for events and cattle auctions.

Other Installations

I made other audio visual pieces throughout the exhibition space, such as a glass vitrine filled with yellow soil designed to test the quality of soil and replicas of local ceramic vessels with cow motifs.

Construction of the Space

While building the structural frame for this space, I left a small space between the walls and the floor to later turn into a room for digital device management.