Exhibition at the Korean Cultural Center: Migrant Art and New Perspectives on Women

Women in Motion , the exhibition that just opened at the Korean Cultural Center in Buenos Aires and features works by three migrant artists , seeks to deconstruct the term " ajumma ," which in South Korea is associated with middle-aged women, usually married with children. For many young women, the word carries a negative connotation , as it reduces women to their family role and erases other dimensions of their identity .

The imaginary even associates it with certain stereotypes, including permed hairstyles and floral clothing . However, for the exhibition's curator, Hwang Sukyung , it's a word that can be redefined and also an identity that can be proudly inhabited. That idea is what shaped this exhibition.

"I wanted to showcase a new generation of Korean women who, even though married and living in other countries, continue to produce work and break down prejudices ," said Hwang, who was visiting Argentina for the exhibition's opening.

The exhibition brings together three artists who left Korea to join their partners and build lives in other countries : Kang Bora lives in Mexico, Kang Youjeong in India, and Yuna Chun in Australia. "I met all three of them ten years ago, when they were just graduating and starting their artistic careers," Hwang recalled. "I was worried about whether they would be able to continue working and wondered how I could support them from my place in Seoul."

From this connection emerged a project that transcended traditional formats . For a year, the four met once a month via Zoom to share processes and experiences. Each meeting also served as a mission statement: to record their daily experiences in their new countries on paper, in drawings, or in text. Thus was born the series of zines—short for fanzines, homemade, free, and non-hierarchical publications —that became the core of this exhibition.

Far from being a minor medium, the zine functions here as an intimate and visual cartography : its pages contain recipes, medical records, sensory notes, prints, and watercolors. For the curator, these fragments are "as powerful as, or more powerful than, painting or engraving, because they convey the direct voice of each artist."

This intimacy also extends to the audience's experience : a long platform in the center of the room allows one to approach each fanzine, hold it in their hands, and flip through it, requiring a gesture of closeness that contrasts with the usual distance of the work hanging on the wall. There, the artists tell short anecdotes about domesticity, motherhood, migration, and life changes from a personal perspective.

All of them, in some way, invite us to reflect on being an "ajumma" , transforming it into a symbol of power, resistance, and solidarity in multicultural contexts. Artist Kang Bora imprints the color, texture, and space of the Mexican air in her prints, while Kang Youjeong translates India into symbols, animals, and food . She confesses that migration forced her to change materials and scales: from oil on canvas to small drawings on paper, easy to transport and send to Korea.

Yuna Chun, on the other hand, chronicles motherhood and adaptation to the vast Australian landscape from the small town of Castlemaine, highlighting the experiences and emotions of a woman who has lived through childbirth and parenting.

Artist Kang Youjeong, who also traveled to Buenos Aires specifically for the opening, said that participating in the project provided emotional support : "There were no other expat wives who were artists around me in Bombay, so I had no one to share my worries with. The group and the gatherings were a great comfort ."

Showing these works in Argentina, he says, has special meaning: "It's a way to expand our work beyond Korea, Mexico, India, or Australia, and to build bridges with new audiences."

The opening featured an open dialogue between the curator, the guest artist, and local representatives , addressing topics such as identity in motion, solidarity among women, and community building through art.

Organized by the Korean Cultural Center, along with Arts Council Korea (ARKO), Espacio Illi, and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), the exhibition "Women in Motion" is part of the Touring K–Arts program and can be visited until September 26 at Maipú 972, with free admission.