The Illustration and Visual Design programs at our university’s Graduate School of Design participated in “The Seoul Illustration Fair V.21,” held at COEX Hall C in Samseong-dong, Seoul, from Thursday, July 30, to Sunday, August 2.

The Seoul Illustration Fair is Korea’s premier illustration event, bringing together creators and visitors from various fields of visual arts, including illustration, painting, picture books, independent publishing, character design, and graphic design. Approximately 900 artist teams participated in this year’s event, which concluded successfully after four days of high attendance.

At the U31 booth, students participating under the name “Kookmin University Department of Illustration and Department of Visual Design” consisted of current master’s students and alumni from the Graduate School of Design. They collaboratively planned and managed the booth’s visual concept, artwork layout, and exhibition design, introducing the creative achievements of their respective majors to visitors. Adjunct Professor Shin Hyun-jung was in charge of the overall planning and on-site direction for the booth, organizing the exhibition so that works from both majors could be effectively showcased within a unified narrative flow.

Participants from the Illustration major (Graduate School of Design: Buituan, Kim Yu-nae, Seong Hye-jin, Park Ju-seong, Chae Se-hee, Ki Jun-ho, Hwang Dae-yun, Seo Ji-yang, Jeong Oh-seong, Kim Ha-eun) presented works of high artistic quality, drawing on the experience they had accumulated while working as professional artists in the industry. Through a diverse range of illustrations that revealed their individual personalities and unique artistic worlds, they demonstrated the major’s professional creative capabilities and actively engaged with visitors regarding the themes and production processes of their works.

The Visual Design major (Park Jin-seon, Lee Da-bin, Heo Young-jin, Shin Hae-in, Kim Tae-hyung, Lee Yoon-seo) formed teams to exhibit graphic design works and merchandise that they planned and produced independently.

Professor Han Jiyon, Chair of the Illustration Department, and Professor Myung Yoonkyung, Chair of the Visual Design Department, stated, “It is highly significant that current students and alumni directly planned their works and design outputs based on their respective expertise and presented them to a large audience.” They added, “We hope this event served as a practical experience for participants to engage with the public and confirm their potential as creators.”