The exhibition 《The Bunker: A Passage to Light》, organized as part of the 《MMCA×CMOA Cheongju Project 2025》, co-hosted by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), Chungcheongbuk-do, and the Cheongju Museum of Art, is on view at Dangsan Bunker through November 16.

Since 2020, MMCA Cheongju has consistently presented the MMCA Cheongju Project, a series of exhibitions that utilize outdoor and public spaces to explore the themes of the “city” and “everyday life.” This year’s project, the fifth in the series, is co-organized by Chungcheongbuk-do Province and the Cheongju Museum of Art (CMOA), with the aim of broadening the foundations of art and culture and enhancing regional collaboration in the arts.

This year’s exhibition unfolds across two venues: MMCA Cheongju at Chungcheongbuk-do’s Dangsan Bunker, and CMOA at its main building. The bunker, built in 1973 as a Cold War air raid shelter, was recently reopened to the public as a cultural space after years of closure.

Similarly, MMCA Cheongju and CMOA occupy renovated spaces—a former tobacco factory and a former broadcasting station, respectively. These transformed spaces resonate with the exhibition’s theme of “regeneration.”

“Regeneration” refers to the revival of something lost or damaged. Ten artist teams interpret this concept across four levels: memory, material, sensation, and relation.

“Reawakened Memories” recalls forgotten places and narratives, reconfiguring them within a contemporary context. “Material Regeneration” examines discarded matter through a renewed perspective, revealing possibilities for circulation and vitality.

“Sensory Revival” stimulates multiple senses, enriching and expanding the depth and range of the viewer’s experience. “Healing and Recovery” soothes the anxiety and loneliness of individuals living in uncertain times, while exploring possibilities for inner reflection and reconnection with the community.

Like a light shining in the darkness, the art permeating the bunker awakens the accumulated sensations and meanings of the city and everyday life, proposing new relationships with presences that have remained hidden and still. In this space, reopened after a long period of extinction and silence, art recalls forgotten memories, places, and communities, opening new thought horizons. We hope this exhibition will not merely restore the past but become a light of hope, breathing new life into what has long remained dormant.

Participating Artists: KIM Kiseong, PARK Kijin, SILO Lab, SHIN Hyungsub, YEOM Jihye, YOO Hwasoo, LEE Byungchan, JANG Minseung + JUNG Jaeil, JHEON Soocheon, CHOE U-ram

“The Bunker: A Passage to Light”
2025.08.20 - 2025.11.16
Tue-Sun 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Dangsan Bunker
55, Yongdam-ro 31beon-gil, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea