On Duty in Brussels

Meet a School of Film, TV & Multimedia Student Intern at the Korean Cultural Center in Belgium

Hello, my name is Sooyoung Ha, a student majoring in Theatre Studies at the Korea National University of Arts. I am currently serving as an intern at the Korean Cultural Center to the European Union and Belgium.

Among the projects I have worked on, the most memorable has been the 2026 “Hanbok Re:Imagine” project—a collaboration between the Korean Cultural Center and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, one of the world’s top fashion schools, renowned for the “Antwerp Six.” The project explores Hanbok from the perspective of contemporary fashion. It began with an open lecture and workshop led by Ha Eun Chang, founder and director of OUWR, and has continued with students designing jackets inspired by Hanbok’s forms and aesthetics. The project will culminate in a final exhibition this year.

My role involved developing the lecture leaflet, promoting the program, and assisting on-site during the lecture and workshop. What fascinated me most was seeing Hanbok reinterpreted through the eyes of students from completely different cultural backgrounds.

As a Korean, Hanbok is a familiar and deeply rooted part of my heritage. For the students, however, its aesthetics served as a novel source of creative inspiration. During the workshop, I was struck by how differently the same cultural heritage can be perceived and reshaped depending on the viewer’s perspective.

Through this experience, I realized that cultural exchange is not merely about introducing Korean culture abroad, but about creating opportunities for it to be reinterpreted and given new meaning. I hope these new perspectives on Hanbok will eventually reach audiences in Korea, inviting them to rediscover their own cultural heritage from a fresh standpoint.