Art enthusiasts fill every available space during the opening party of the previous Hechyeomoyeo, held at KOTE in central Seoul, June 16. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The Hechyeomoyeo, a group exhibition series featuring both Korean and international artists, is back for its seventh major showcase, making its debut this time in the southeastern coastal city of Busan.

"I am not sure what will happen in Busan, but that's why we are doing it," Neil Wheelock Deforest Smith, founder of The Hechyeomoyeo, told The Korea Times. "We have had artists sending us artwork from Busan since the third Hechyeomoyeo. It made sense that we bring the project there so that Busan-based artists could get a better taste of our project. And we are all hoping it helps to expand our creative community."

The Hechyeomoyeo, named after a military command meaning "assemble," is an art exhibition that invites artists from all backgrounds to participate. Emphasizing quantity and diversity, a Hechyeomoyeo exhibition offers a sensory overload of various types of artwork presented all at once. The last one, held in Insa-dong's KOTE in June and July, gathered at least 250 artists, to say nothing of the various other participants, including musicians and participants in the fashion show.

"Hechyeomoyeo has become a kind of software we can put in different places to simply provide platform for people making art to be seen," Smith said.

Earlier this year, Smith took The Hechyeomoyeo abroad, holding the fifth such exhibition in Thailand. "When we did the Bangkok exhibition, a lot of Korean artists were excited to send their work to another country," he said.

Busan may not be as far away, but the logistics are still pretty complicated.

"It's a lot of work!" Smith said. "We are trying to coordinate with artists sending artworks together and ship simultaneously. There will be a major shipment moving from Southeast Asia and truck taking works from Seoul directly to Busan. Other than that, artists from all over are shipping things themselves."

A scene from a Hechyeomoyeo fashion show held at KOTE in central Seoul, June 29. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

This exhibition will be held at Aither, an art gallery just up the street from Busan Station.

"Aither gallery is so cool," Smith said. "It looks like a house in a Resident Evil game. Many rooms, wood-finished walls, turquoise tiles in the bathroom and an elongated kitchen space with an abandoned vibe. We are gonna cover everywhere with artworks. The people that run the gallery are very supportive to our main cause of cultivating a larger community of creatives."

He added that they are getting a lot of help from the people at Naughty Muse Studio in Busan. "They are setting up a Hechyeomoyeo artist from Seoul to do a residency down there and letting us use their equipment and space to make art too," he said.

Smith himself is somewhat of a newcomer to Korea's second-biggest city.

"I went once for about 36 hours to see the gallery and meet some people," he said. "So I actually don't know much. I will explore the scene while I am down there and invite local gallery owners and artists to come see the exhibition."

As usual with Hechyeomoyeo, there will be various events offered throughout the exhibition's run. Liquid Arts Network will host poetry readings, and there will be live music performances, including by John Given and Fat Hamster & Kang New. "We are still accepting suggestions for any creative performances," Smith added.

Fat Hamster and Kang New perform in a packed room during the Hechyeomoyeo opening party at KOTE in central Seoul, June 16. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Meanwhile, Smith is also working on other looming events through The Hechyeomoyeo. During the Block Party festival in central Seoul's Haebangchon and Gyeongnidan on Sept. 21 and 22, there will be a mini-Hechyeomoyeo exhibition, with art displayed at the participating venues.

"I admire the hard work Jamie (Finn) does to organize Block Party," Smith said of the involvement. "And the project shares the spirit of Hechyeomoyeo, bringing together all the artists working their ass off to make independent culture. So we are really happy to be a part of Block Party. This will open up our community to the music scene and the local bands to our art community."

Also, he said the exhibition series will return to Bangkok in November, this time in collaboration with the French Embassy.

"The culture scene there is developing rapidly," Smith said. "Although Hechyeomoyeo was created in Korea, I believe it can function as a bridge and get Korean artists more audience on a global scale. At the same time, we have been inspiring other artists and communities in different locations to follow in the footsteps of Hechyeomoyeo. That is a huge accomplishment and honor for me and all the artists dedicated to our cause; more platform for independent culture."

Following Bangkok, Smith said he plans to land the next Hechyeomoyeo event in Vietnam.

The opening party will be on Sept. 14, and The Hechyeomoyeo will run until Sept. 28.

Follow @thehechyeomoyeo on Instagram for more information.