Jeju City family media art exhibit with orange juice: Nohyeong

What is Nohyeong Supermarket in Jeju City?

Nohyeong Supermarket (노형수퍼마켙) is an indoor media art exhibition space on Nohyeong-ro in Jeju City, where you can see shows built from light, color and video. On our family trip to Jeju we had eaten plenty of good food and seen lots of pretty scenery, so this time I wanted to try something a little different and went to Nohyeong Supermarket with my family.

When I first heard the name, I honestly wondered, is this an old supermarket in Jeju? But it's actually a media art space using light, color and video. Travel in Jeju depends a lot on the weather since so many sights are outdoors, so an indoor place like this is a decent pick for a rainy or gloomy day.

• Address: 89 Nohyeong-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, 1F, Nohyeong Supermarket
• Hours: daily 9:00-19:00

Why we picked Nohyeong Supermarket for our Jeju family trip

The exhibition is easy to enjoy for everyone from small kids to the parents' generation, so it fit a family trip well. Above all, I came with my family this time instead of alone, and I felt we had made the right choice for a family itinerary.

Nohyeong Supermarket gift shop and café orange juice

Next to the ticket booth there is a gift shop and a café. The gift shop has a nice variety of small items worth buying as Jeju souvenirs, and it was fun to browse them one by one with the family. Looking around the shop at the end, instead of just leaving after the exhibition, made it feel more like a real trip.

We also rested for a bit at the café next door and had orange juice, and it was way tastier than I expected! 🍊 Fresh and sweet, it was perfect as a cold drink after the exhibition, and my family said it was delicious too.

What are Nohyeong Supermarket's entrance and black-and-white space like?

The entrance is decorated with retro touches that recall an old neighborhood grocery store, so the mood is clearly different from an ordinary art museum or exhibition hall. It matches the name "Nohyeong Supermarket," so there was something fun to look at even before going in.

Once inside, a very unique atmosphere opens up right away. A black-and-white space where the color seems to have vanished continues ahead, and it feels nothing like the scenery we normally see, so you naturally focus. It's a little strange and fascinating at first, but as you move through the space you sink deeper and deeper into the world of Nohyeong Supermarket!

For the younger generation the mood feels fresh, while for our parents' generation it brings back old memories, so it was fun that each of us noticed different things when visiting as a family. It's less an exhibition where you quietly admire works and more one where you step into the space, look, listen and take photos.

When black and white turns into colorful media art

The most memorable moment at Nohyeong Supermarket was when, after passing through the black-and-white space, a space full of vivid color and light appeared. Maybe because the early part keeps color to a minimum, the contrast when you cross into the colorful media art space felt much bigger.

Video, music and light fill a huge space all at once, and the scale was bigger than I expected, which was quite overwhelming. Not just the walls but the whole space feels like one artwork, and the scenes keep changing even if you just stand still. The sense of immersion once you are actually inside was far better than in photos.

Because the video keeps changing, whenever a scene we liked came up, we took photos of each other and got a group photo too.

Gopeullak, the hands-on space under the stage

If you go down under the media art stage at Nohyeong Supermarket, it connects to a space called "Gopeullak" (곱을락)! The name, which has a strong Jeju dialect feel, was cute already, and since it's not just a place to look at exhibits but one you can enjoy hands-on, everyone in the family had fun.

Who is Nohyeong Supermarket best for?

I'd recommend Nohyeong Supermarket to anyone on a family trip with parents, traveling in Jeju with kids, or looking for somewhere to go on a rainy day. I went without big expectations, just thinking we'd casually look around as a family, but there was more to see than I expected and each space had a different mood, so I really enjoyed it.

Jeju's natural scenery is great of course, but I also recommend spending one day of the trip on a different kind of indoor exhibition like this. Worth a visit!