Bart van Genugten stands next to his 2-meter-tall map of Seoul, on display at Domansa in eastern Seoul's Seongsu-dong, Sept. 6. Courtesy of iGoBart

Bart van Genugten poses on a wall while filming a video for his "Welcome to My Dong" series in western Seoul's Hongdae area, Jan. 28. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Bart van Genugten, the popular YouTuber from the Netherlands who goes by iGoBart, is more than a fifth of the way through his quest to explore Seoul's 467 neighborhoods, known in Korean as — don't giggle — dongs.

Having covered 94 dongs already in 50 videos for his "Welcome to My Dong" series, he's offering fans an opportunity to come out and meet him and explore some of the artifacts of his city explorations in person.

He's setting up a comprehensive showcase of his ongoing work at Domansa, a small architectural space in eastern Seoul's Seongsu-dong, from Monday until Sept. 23.

When asked what message he hopes to present through the exhibition, he answered simply, "Follow curiosity."

"The city has so much more to offer than we often realize. But with the rapid pace of development and redevelopment, things change fast," he told The Korea Times. "Before you know it, certain places might be gone, lost to time and progress. That's why I hope this exhibition encourages people to not only be curious but also to take action. I want them to explore the unknown corners of the city with the help of my videos — before it's too late."

For the exhibition, Bart said he is expecting to display around 600 photos of the neighborhoods he has documented so far. They will be displayed along with QR codes leading to the corresponding videos. Also on display will be dong-themed posters made in collaboration with designers, examples of media coverage of his project (if you're reading this article on the wall at Domansa, hi!) and a large guestbook for visitors to leave their impressions.

The centerpiece of the exhibition will be Bart's customized map of Seoul's dongs, measuring 2 meters by 2 meters, which is 3 centimeters taller than Bart, who is a hulking 197 centimeters tall.

Bart van Genugten's exhibition is ready for its Monday opening at Domansa in eastern Seoul's Seongsu-dong, Sept. 6. Courtesy of iGoBart

"The journey of creating my map of Seoul's dongs has been quite an adventure, full of challenges and changes," Bart admitted.

His first map was a simple sketch on paper, but he said it "quickly felt too limited for what I wanted to achieve."

So he decided to paint an administrative map of the city onto the wall of his rented basement office in Hapjeong-dong. He used a projector to trace the lines of each district and dong onto the wall, but this turned out to be tougher than he expected.

"Downtown Seoul is full of tiny neighborhoods, and they weren't clearly visible on the projection," he said. "That's when I made my first big mistake — I accidentally mixed up different administrative divisions, using some beopjeongdong (legal) maps and some haengjeongdong (administrative) maps, which wasn't what I wanted at all. Realizing this mistake, I had to repaint the entire map, a process that took several days and almost made me give up right at the start."

So, with help from his wife, he tried again, and this time, they got it perfect. "However, the basement office soon turned out to be a nightmare," he said. "The summer heat and high humidity levels led to mold growth, and the map started to fade. On top of that, the extra rent was becoming too much to handle. I eventually had to give up the office and, with a heavy heart, paint over the map."

After they moved, he decided this time to make a new map on more durable — and portable — material.

"So I went to the iron and steel workers' area in Euljiro to see if someone could customize it for me," Bart said. "After many rejections, one artisan finally agreed to take on the job."

The metalworker molded two aluminum plates together, creating the map that's over four square meters in area and weighs about 55 kilograms.

"Afterward, the artisan complained that it was an incredibly difficult request — so much so that he regretted accepting it," Bart said. "He admitted that, in hindsight, the over 2 million won I paid him was just barely enough for the effort it took."

His latest map-related headache is over how to transport the thing to Domansa. He figured he'll have to rent a pickup truck or possibly a moving truck.

"There's a risk the map could break since it's heavy and the plates are molded together, but I'm determined to show it to the world," Bart said. "After all, this map represents a costly and stressful journey, one that even led us to move to a bigger home just to accommodate it. But now, I finally have something tangible to showcase, and I'm excited to share it with everyone."

Bart admitted recently that he almost gave up on the "Welcome to My Dong" series and added that "it wasn't an easy decision to keep going."

"My mission is to explore all 467 neighborhoods, and the reality is that some of these neighborhoods are simply less 'attractive' or interesting to a broader audience, no matter how well the video is made," he said. "I do my best to make each one as engaging as possible. However, when you put so much effort into a video, spending two weeks preparing for it, only to have it get less than 10,000 views, it can be really demotivating. This lack of views also directly impacts my income — better performance leads to more sponsors and vice versa. So when there's a streak of lower-viewed videos, it hits my self-confidence hard."

This led him to step back and take a break for a couple of months, during which he focused on his health.

Bart places hundreds of photos on the wall at Domansa in eastern Seoul's Seongsu-dong, Sept. 6. Courtesy of iGoBart

"Taking that time off helped me reset, and I realized that this project means more to me than just the numbers. It's about curiosity, exploration, and uncovering stories that might otherwise be lost. The journey has been difficult, but I'm committed to seeing it through, no matter how challenging it gets," he said.

Now, fortunately, he's back in full swing, with more videos to share of Seoul's dongs.

"Through this journey, I've come to appreciate Seoul on a much deeper level. My passion for understanding how the city has grown and the stories it holds has only intensified. And honestly, it's just really fun to explore on a micro level, to peel back the layers and go beyond the superficial experience of the city."

These days, it's hard for Bart to go anywhere without bumping into a few of his followers. He's always gracious whenever he's spotted, and ready to pose for a selfie together.

"It's the interactions with subscribers that really keep me going," he said. "YouTube can be a pretty lonely job, and it's easy to forget that the numbers on the screen represent real people who genuinely care about my videos. Meeting them on the street and hearing how much they appreciate my work is both heartwarming and uplifting — it's like a necessary dose of energy that helps me push forward. I always encourage people to stop and say hi if they see me. Those moments mean a lot to me, and they remind me why I started this journey in the first place."

Bart van Genugten stands in the entryway of Domansa in eastern Seoul's Seongsu-dong, Sept. 6. Courtesy of iGoBart

Bart will be at Domansa on opening day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Tuesday at the same time as well.

Visit @iGoBart on YouTube to see Bart's videos, or follow @domansa_ on Instagram for details about the venue.