Seoul-based visual artist Hyangmok Baik is known for his vivid Pop Art-inspired paintings.

Baik celebrates ideas of togetherness and connection through images that have a touch of the absurd and unexpected. This is done through a bright colour palette that’s combined with religious motifs and cartoonish figures; the latter is based on friends, family and encounters with strangers in his own life. In Baik's parallel universes, reality is turned upside down; characters are painted blue and brown unicorns exist. Colours are typically subversive and mirror Baik’s use of humour and irony.

For the artist, one of the best experiences you can have in Seoul is to enjoy a cold beer by the Han River, surrounded by friends. During the pandemic, these trips and moments of connection were lost, but found themselves reimagined through Baik’s canvases. Restrictions have since been lifted, and Baik has been rediscovering this sense of paradise in Seoul.

Head to Avant Arte for Baik's travel journal, and scroll down for his list of must-visit spots in the South Korean capital.