Grand Forest
2019-2021

 South Korea has long been characterized as a nation-state and a non-immigrant society. However, Chinese immigrants have come to play a significant role within the country’s relatively underdeveloped immigrant culture.
This process began with overseas Chinese, followed by ethnic Korean Chinese, and later non-Korean Han Chinese who entered South Korea under new immigration statuses and formed their own communities. As these communities are largely non-permanent and centered on labor, they inevitably contain elements of instability.

 As the multicultural population has continued to grow and immigrants’ needs have become increasingly diverse, these communities have developed gradually, giving rise to a wide range of spaces designed to accommodate daily life, work, and social interaction. Amid this state of tension and fragmentation, there is an ongoing effort to establish new forms of order, although such attempts often generate further friction.

 The name Daelim means “grand forest,” yet no such forest exists in Daelim-dong. Situated between Daebang-dong and Sindorim, Daelim-dong derives its name from the syllables “Dae” and “Lim,” forming an imagined forest that has never physically existed. Within this constructed space, people with differing aesthetic sensibilities and value systems converge, giving rise to a complex and layered community.