A Spaceship Lands in Naju — Brought to Life by a World-Renowned Digital Creator.

UZU DREAM, conceived by global media artist Cho Hong-rai, introduces an original digital art platform blending artistry with public experience.

“The UZU DREAM exhibition combines my originality as an artist with a broader public encounter of media art,” says Cho Hong-rai, CEO of Beam Interactive and known artistically as Paul C.. Based in Naju’s Joongheung Gold Spa & Resort, Cho is recognized as one of Asia’s leading digital creators with a global reputation.

In an interview with the Herald Economy on August 3, Cho emphasized what distinguishes his work from others. He describes his originality as lying in “aesthetic and narrative qualities drawn from the stark contrasts of light and shadow, and the use of time as a narrative device.”

In UZU DREAM, Cho applies this vision to express the flow of time—from sunrise to sunset—through a fusion of analog form and digital technology. At the Chronotera planet, visitors experience human civilization represented through shifting light and shadow. At Cosmo Eye, a monumental AI structure communicates through light. Across the exhibition, critics note, Cho’s artistic perspective interweaves seamlessly with the public’s immersive, otherworldly encounters.

Cho also stresses that UZU DREAM differs from conventional media art: “It is not only video, but an integrated experience combining the storytelling motif of boarding a spaceship with sculptural objects and technology.”

A decorated artist, Cho has achieved the rare feat of winning all three of the world’s top design awards—iF, Red Dot, and IDEA—with a single project, a “grand slam” he has accomplished three times. He is also a two-time Grand Prix (top prize) recipient of the Korea Design Award, and twice won the Next-Generation IT Convergence Technology Award. Such achievements are unprecedented in Korea.

Beyond being an active media artist, Cho is also a CEO providing large-scale commercial art projects for global brands. For over 20 years, he has successfully balanced personal artistic practice with leading creative enterprises, earning industry-wide recognition.

He is the founder and former CEO of Vinyl-I, Korea’s leading new media design company, which was acquired in 2016 by WPP, the world’s largest advertising group (via its Grey subsidiary). After two decades at Vinyl-I, he founded Beam Interactive to focus on media art and the development of intellectual property in content.

Cho’s influence extends to some of Korea’s most iconic cultural spaces. He directed the concept and design of Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang, Asia’s largest automotive cultural theme park, which showcases both the process of car manufacturing and visions of future mobility. His portfolio also includes digital sculptures and media platforms at Starfield Hanam and Goyang, new media systems for Korea’s three largest department stores (Lotte, Hyundai, Shinsegae), the renewal of 18 media poles in Seoul’s Gangnam district, and the design and installation of all media platforms inside COEX Convention Center.

He also served as the overall director of last year’s exhibition for Royal Copenhagen, Denmark’s 240-year-old royal porcelain brand. The space, which unfolded as a media art interpretation of the Danish seascape, was praised for conveying the brand’s artistry with greater subtlety. The project earned him the iF Design Award, among other honors. In addition, he created Korea’s first interactive public art installation above the waterfront of the Village de Ananti Hotel & Resort in Busan.

Cho is currently planning NEWance, an offline gallery and museum platform. The name derives from the theme of an exhibition he directed at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in 2022, and reflects his vision for revitalizing and advancing the media art market. NEWance emphasizes the nuanced tones, impressions, and subtle differences that emerge from new digital combinations.

He explained that his aim is to move beyond the fleeting, overly stimulating media content that dominates today’s landscape, and instead build a platform that gathers only works of media art defined by the originality of the artist.

“Today, media art is often misunderstood by the public as merely a genre of ‘stimulating technical devices.’ I want to correct this misconception and help create fertile ground where authentic, essential works in digital art—works that can truly be respected—can flourish,” he added.

Writer | 김지헌