Hechyeomoyeo opens 18th mass exhibition at KOTE featuring over 500 artists

The Hechyeomoyeo (HCMY) opened its 18th mass exhibition at KOTE in central Seoul’s Insa-dong on Wednesday. The opening party featured music, live drawing, face painting, clowns and flash tattoos, as art lovers from Korea and all around the world crowded into all five floors plus the roof and basement of the aging building that houses KOTE.

“My approach is straightforward: If someone tells me they have a creative skill to share, I try to find a place for them in the event,” Neil Wheelock Deforest Smith, the American artist who started HCMY, told The Korea Times.

HCMY is an independent art initiative that began in Korea as an effort to make exhibition opportunities more accessible to Korea-based artists. It has grown into an international community, connecting hundreds of creators across continents.

Despite its global reach, HCMY maintains a strong connection to its Korean roots. Smith estimates that approximately 65 percent of the participants at HCMY’s Korean exhibitions are Korean nationals, while around 20 to 30 percent are foreign residents, and the rest are international artists who submit their work from abroad.

The initiative grew out of Smith’s observations about the difficulties artists face when trying to exhibit their work. “When we started Hechyeomoyeo, I had noticed that many artists shared a common frustration: Organizing an exhibition required considerable effort, while applications for exhibition opportunities were frequently rejected or access to suitable spaces remained limited,” he said.

His response was to create a platform that welcomed as many artists as possible, making exhibition opportunities accessible. “I was like, ‘What if we just accepted everybody we could?'” he recalled.

Through exhibitions in different countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the U.S., Mexico and Ireland, he discovered that these barriers were not unique to Korea but were common across art scenes around the world. The next ones are planned for Newark, New Jersey, and Quezon City, Philippines.

Smith also challenges the romanticized image of the artist as someone who simply follows inspiration and enjoys an unconventional lifestyle. In reality, he said, sustaining an artistic career requires significant effort, resources and opportunities.

For him, HCMY is an attempt to address some of those structural difficulties by creating an accessible space where artists can present their work and meet others.

Participation fees are deliberately kept low. For the latest exhibition, the fee was approximately $30, but he said artists who cannot afford it are welcome to contribute in other ways, such as helping install artwork, distributing flyers or promoting the event. Each artist is allocated roughly 60 centimeters by 60 centimeters of surface space to display their art.

“I don’t know who’s going to get the experience they need from this thing. You don’t know who’s going to connect you to other people,” he said.

The initiative’s philosophy extends beyond the exhibition walls. Smith wants artists to meet one another, exchange ideas and establish relationships that may continue long after.

“We do it for the artists,” he said. “I want the artists to come and to meet other artists.”

At openings, he often introduces participants to others who share their language or interests, creating opportunities for connections that might not otherwise happen.

For the latest exhibition, approximately 30 artists mailed in their work from outside Korea, including from the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Thailand and Vietnam. Smith also personally carried art back from Ireland in his bags.

“Everywhere we go, it’s always the majority local,” he said, explaining that the HCMY international network provides a foundation while local participation gives each exhibition its own character.

For Jin Joy, a Korean university student majoring in English at Chung-Ang University, the exhibition is part of a journey toward discovering her own artistic identity as a poet and visual artist. She first connected with the international art community through Instagram and participated in HCMY’s Dublin exhibition after discovering an open invitation for artists.

At the time, she was taking a semester away from university to concentrate on her artistic interests. The opportunity offered her a chance to combine her first solo international trip with her first experience exhibiting abroad.

“I just thought it’d be great to participate in this exhibition for the first time and also travel for the first time,” she recalled. The experience turned out to be particularly meaningful. She met artists from different backgrounds, established new connections and even performed a song during the exhibition’s opening night.

For Singaporean artist Chiang Jun Han, who goes by the artist name Tensei, digital art offers a practical way to transform imagination into something visible. He is currently studying at Hanyang University as an exchange student from Nanyang Technological University, where he studies information engineering and media. His academic background combines technology and creative interests, but his relationship with art began much earlier.

“I actually started drawing when I was a kid,” he said. Today, he primarily works digitally, using an iPad to develop and share his ideas. For him, digital tools provide both creative flexibility and practical advantages.

“I feel like it’s the fastest way to get my idea down, to visualize it,” he explained.

Limited space at home also influenced his decision to embrace digital art, allowing him to create freely without needing to store or display physical paintings. Social media subsequently became a natural platform for sharing his work.

His sculpture displayed for HCMY, however, demonstrates how his digital and design interests can extend beyond the screen. Working with a toy manufacturer, he designed a sculpture that was subsequently produced in vinyl and hand-painted to resemble marble.

This exhibition is his first. He discovered the opportunity through Instagram and decided to apply while staying in Korea for an exchange semester.

“It’s a very supportive community. I’m glad to be a part of it,” he said.

Italian artist Michela Maurizi, known professionally as Miky, came to Korea for this exhibition. She has transformed a childhood passion for Japanese animation into an established creative profession; she describes herself as Italy’s first manga portrait artist, having developed a professional practice around creating personalized portraits inspired by Japanese manga aesthetics.

Entirely self-taught, she gradually developed her skills and eventually turned her passion into a profession. Today, she works at corporate and wedding events throughout Italy, creating manga-style portraits for clients. Her participation also fulfills a personal dream. During earlier visits to Insa-dong, she often imagined exhibiting her work in the neighborhood one day.

There are several events scheduled throughout HCMY’s run. On Saturday, there will be a photowalk starting 3 p.m., and a showcase from Liquid Arts Network from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

On Nov. 8, there will be film screenings from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

On Nov. 13, Seoul Morning Coffee Club will host an event starting at 10 a.m., and HCMY Radio Station will take over at 7 p.m.

On Nov. 14, there will be more film screenings from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., HCMY Radio Station from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and Seoul Creator Club from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Visit hcmy.org or follow @thehechyeomoyeo on Instagram for more information.

Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He’s also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and a freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.