SOUTH KOREA: Busan - Gallery Square - Creative Space & Art Education - BYEONG YONG JEONG

The DESIGN SQUARE art academy is located in the Beon-gil neighborhood in the Seo-gu district of Busan and offers courses for art enthusiasts and aspiring artists, and above all supports students in their entrance exams for art university. Classes are held in the building on the fourth floor, but there is also a very interesting creative space in the basement, the GALLERY SQUARE, where students can paint freely and exhibitions are held regularly.

We came across this great place by accident during our journey, when we were actually visiting the ENIGMA13 graffiti store. The manga illustrations at the entrance immediately drew us in and invited to take a closer look. It’s a wonderful and colorful place where people of all ages can paint, workshops are offered and paint and equipment are provided free of charge. The place is supervised by several teachers from the art academy DESIGN SQUARE, which is located in the same building. We talked to the artist and art teacher BYEONG YONG JEONG about the concept of this great place and took a look at the numerous fantastic artworks, which were made by students, workshop participants or just passing by creatives.

In the podcast you can listen to part of the interview in audio format, if you prefer to read, you can read the full interview below. In between you will find lots of photos of the SQUARE GALLERY and the numerous works, including introductory painting tutorials and making-of videos especially by the artists and teachers S.B. YOUN (sections: oil paintings, color pencil, watercolor paintings & acrylic paintings), B.Y. JEONG (pen & pencil drawings section) and YEJIN (animation section).

Listen to <a href="https://hearthis.at/radio-x-interviews/gallery-square/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BJONG YONG CHONG – Art Teacher – Gallery Square – Design Square Art Academy – Busan – [ SOUTH KOREA ]</a> by<a href="https://hearthis.at/radio-x-interviews/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radio X Interviews</a> on <a href="https://hearthis.at/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hearthis.at</a>

Hello listeners, we have another interview for you from Korea and from the city of Busan. By accident we just passed a gallery with the name GALLERY SQUARE. We thought it’s an art gallery because there were some anime, manga and comic signs in the front. But this place is much more than just a gallery. It’s an art space where young creative people can learn how to draw, how to paint, and they also have exhibitions. I’m talking now to the art teacher who is running this space, and his name is BYEONG YONG JEONG. So tell us more about this place, when did you start this project?

Hello and thank you for your visit and for doing this interview about the GALLERY SQUARE. The art academy above exists since a long time, but this space here is quite new. About six months ago, so in beginning of 2025, we opened this place for students and adults interested about art and reading. It’s a creative space where our students can be creative, but actually everybody can come and do art, it is open for all people.

I saw on the flyer that you have offers for all different ages, like you have workshops for little children, but also for teenagers, for pupils, for college students and as well for adults, so for everybody.

Yeah, that’s right. All people can come here, no matter what age. They just have to be interested in art. And here they can be creative. They can be by themselves, but we also do workshops of various types. We even have classes for very small children, called the bambini workshops.

Do you have special opening hours when people can come here? Or how does it work?

I work on the fourth floor and above this space GALLERY SQUARE there is the art academy DESIGN SQUARE. It’s a study place for students and to prepare them for the entrance at the art college. So I basically work there as an art teacher and this space here is an addition. We are usually open every day during the week at the time when the art academy is also open. But it depends on the time the teachers have. Besides the worksshops we try to be open in the afternoons and there is somebody around to give advice.

So the school above is for pupils who finish school and want to go to the art university or to the art college. You help them and support them that they can pass the test to get to university.

Yes, that’s right. And this here is a practicing place. Some teachers stay here for three or four hours in the afternoon. During that time they also teach a little about art, they give some advice or they do some play. But mostly the people and the students are using this place for their own creative time.

Like a free creative space and you give some support and advice but they can be creative by their own.

Yes, exactly. Here are tables where you can sit, also you can listen in the background, there is nice relaxing music. So it’s a place for calming down and where you can just start drawing or reading. We have books about art and if people need help, they can just ask the teachers for help and for support.

You are also an artist yourself, so what do you draw?

Yes, I also create artworks. I studied visual arts at the Busan National University. Nowadays when I do art myself, I just want to draw abstract art, but it’s difficult with the time management. Because there is not much free time for that. I have to teach students so I have no time for doing art myself. But when I draw, then I do abstract art.

So your art is abstract, but when you teach, you teach all kind of art? Not only abstract, you teach manga, comic, portray, everything?

Yes, of course. I teach all kind of art and all categories. It’s important to know about the different types and styles of art.

When people come here do they have to bring their own equipment or do you have pencils and colors?

We have everything here and provide it for the visitors. We support all the equipment. There in the back you can see the tools and colors. So we have colored pencils or watercolor and other needed things. And we support all of that for free so that everybody who comes here can use them.

That’s great! So also children or people who don’t have so much money to buy their own colors, pencils and brushes, they can come here and you provide everything. Also this space here. Before you said time by time you also have exhibitions here. So these shown artworks all got drawn here?

Some of them, others are from the art academy above. So these works on that wall are from our students. The drawings from visiting people are on this wall and here we also have special exhibition works which are also from our students. Or let’s say from our pre-students, because they are preparing for college and university. At our academy they learn and practice to pass the entrance examinations.

How many students do you have in your classes at the academy?

Altogether there are 50 students. And they all do different styles and techniques. That’s also a very important point to try different styles to their way. So I have to teach them how to find their own individual style. And sure, they have to practice a lot to figure out what their own style actually is. With that process I try to teach and support them. Maybe in the beginning you start with copying. You copy something, but after time you develop your own style, techniques and motifs.

You said this place opened around six months ago and since then other people can come and paint. But you also have already a lot of artworks on the walls, so I think there are around 150 artworks. Each of them different and they inspire the visitors, so it’s a space to be creative, but it’s also a small exhibition with artworks from your students.

Yes, we have here art education and art exhibition at one place. And during the time a lot of artworks got created. We present them on our walls to show what kind of art you can do. There are portraits of people, also animals, abstract paintings, comic heroes or manga drawings. Everybody is welcome and when you are in Busan come by and have a look at our creative space.