The wind has never ceased to shape islands, nor have the waves stopped etching their stories onto the shores. For centuries, the 1,004 islands of Shinan, located at Korea’s southwestern edge, have harboured tales carried by the breeze and carved by the sea. These stories—both human and elemental—lay dormant, obscured by time and the relentless pace of modernity. But today, these quiet islands are transforming into epicentres of global art, where the forgotten legends of the sun, land, sea and wind are brought to life.

The One Island, One Museum initiative, envisioned by Mayor Park Woo-Ryang of Shinan County and executed by General Director Kang Hyoung-kee, is a bold reimagining of the county’s 1,004 islands as cultural sanctuaries. Mayor Park’s ambition transcends economic revitalisation; it seeks to instill a profound sense of pride among residents, making Shinan not just a place to live, but a place to belong. In a region once shadowed by the spectre of depopulation, this vision is turning the tide—transforming Shinan into a haven where people choose to stay, drawn by the promise of community and renewal. At its core is art, woven seamlessly into the fabric of the islands, breathing life into their landscapes and forging a future where culture, nature and human aspiration converge in harmony.

Docho Island’s Museum of the Earth

At the summit of the hydrangea-covered hill of Docho Island, Breathing earth sphere, a masterpiece by Olafur Eliasson, commands both awe and introspection. This 8-metre spherical hollow, carved into the ground, is crafted from radiant red and green lava tiles that reflect sunlight with a mesmerising, almost otherworldly brilliance. The sphere sits as a permanent, silent homage to the volcanic past of Docho, embodying the ebb and flow of natural energy.

Visitors enter the massive spherical structure through a dimly lit tunnel, stepping into a meditative space where the tactile surface of volcanic stone evokes a sense of geological time and planetary fragility. Inside, the boundaries between floor and wall dissolve into a kaleidoscopic expanse of geometric patterns, collapsing spatial divisions into a dynamic field of colour and form. Despite this flattening effect, an unsettling depth emerges, challenging perception and drawing the viewer into an optical immersive experience. The carefully arranged tiles ripple with reflected light, evoking the molten core of the Earth and the interconnectedness of all living things. Overhead, the patterns converge at a large oculus that opens directly to the sky, allowing natural light to filter through, shifting with time and atmospheric conditions.

The Museum of the Sun on Anjwa Island

Anjwa Island, the birthplace of Korea’s renowned painter Kim Whanki, is home to one of the project’s most ambitious undertakings—the Floating Museum by Yanagi Yukinori. Set for completion in 2025, this striking structure will consist of seven interconnected cubes on pontoon platforms set in a reservoir. Their mirrored exteriors will reflect the surrounding landscapes, seamlessly blending the museum structure, the water’s surface and the sky. As the cubes echo the ever-changing beauty of Anjwa’s natural scenery, the museum itself will become part of the island’s visual and ecological changes.

Inside, the Floating Museum will showcase major works by the artist, including his celebrated The World Flag Ant Farm series, where ants tunnel through sand-made flags, symbolising the deconstruction of national boundaries and critiquing nationalism, along with the monumental installation Icarus. These pieces, rich with themes of cultural memory and human ambition, will resonate within the museum’s unique environment, inviting visitors to reflect on humanity’s relationship with nature and history. Beyond a space for art, the Floating Museum reimagines the reservoir, once vital to the island’s agriculture, as a hub of renewal where community and creativity converge, offering an immersive sanctuary that bridges past and present, land and imagination.

The Infinito Museum on Jaeun Island

Scheduled for completion in 2026, the Infinito Museum on Jaeun Island will be a collaboration between Korean sculptor Park Eun Sun, celebrated for his precise and geometric works and renowned Swiss architect Mario Botta, known for his monumental designs. The museum is expected to feature a bold, linear structure that integrates seamlessly into the island’s natural contours. Its design will likely use strong, angular forms to frame views of the expansive horizon, creating a dramatic interplay between the building and its surrounding seascape. The structure’s materials and layout are imagined to reflect the island’s untamed beauty while emphasising both its connection to the land and its openness to the endless sky and water.

Inside, the museum will house Park Eun Sun’s signature sculptures, meticulously crafted from a fusion of Earth and white marble, symbolising the harmonious balance of yin and yang. These pieces, positioned within Botta’s architectural spaces, will echo the natural rhythms outside, fostering a dialogue between the man-made and the organic. Visitors will be able to engage closely with the artworks while experiencing how light and shadow interact with the interiors throughout the day.

The beach is a liminal realm between land, sea and air and the work engages with its constant change. – Antony Gormley’s Elemental on Bigeum Island

By 2026, the shores of Bigeum Island will transform into a living dialogue between art and nature through Antony Gormley’s largest installation, Elemental. Envisioned as what Gormley calls, ‘square space frames’, interconnected metal structures create a vast drawing in space evoking a reclining human form, the work will emerge from the tidal flats as though rising organically from the sand. Gormley imagines a piece that resonates with the rhythms of its surroundings—its geometric forms rooted deeply in the landscape yet touched by the sea’s ebb and flow.

At low tide, visitors will be able to walk among the sculpture, experiencing the architectural intricacy and the sense of stillness it exudes. From the hills, the sculpture will appear as an open reclining body as in the Parinirvana of the Buddha, its form blending seamlessly into the expansive shoreline, amplifying the natural serenity of the landscape.

Gormley foresees the sculpture responding dynamically to the sea’s movements. As the tide rises, water will gently kiss the lower sections, partially submerging the form and creating a visual dialogue between land and ocean. This interplay is central to Gormley’s vision, emphasising a delicate balance of permanence and fluidity. “This work is not separate from the place,” he explains. “It is the place.” In Gormley’s vision, this will be a place where art does not merely occupy space but amplifies the eternal stories whispered by the sun, wind, sea, land and people.

Shinan’s call to the world

In an age dominated by speed and disconnection, the Shinan Art Islands Project offers a rare opportunity to pause and reflect. It reminds us of the importance of listening—to the whispers of the wind, the rhythms of the sea and the stories embedded in the land. These museums are not just repositories of art but vessels for rediscovering the intangible values we have neglected: the spiritual ties to nature, the resilience of human communities and the enduring power of storytelling.

The islands of Shinan are no longer isolated points adrift in the sea—they are voices in a growing conversation about humanity’s place in the natural world. In Docho’s meditative sphere, Anjwa’s luminous reservoir and Bigeum’s tidal sculptures, we find echoes of what we have forgotten and glimpses of what we might yet become. The story of Shinan is still unfolding, with milestones in 2024, 2025 and 2026 marking the arrival of each new chapter. But even now, its message is clear: there is wisdom in the islands and art can help us hear it again.

(The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position of STIR or its Editors.)