Installation view of Typojanchi 2021 《A Turtle and a Crane》 (Culture Station Seoul 284, 2021) ©Daseul Song

Letters are alive. And to be alive is to move slowly, at length, lightly, and high. Under the poetic title 《A Turtle and a Crane》, the 7th Typojanchi revisited the vitality of type and the liveliness of visual language under the theme “Letters and Life.”

Spanning the entire Culture Station Seoul 284, this exhibition traversed a wide range of visual art genres—including typography, video media, illustration, craft, contemporary art, and photography—going beyond typography to explore new relationships forged between letters and life.

Daseul Song, Riverside_Panorama & Zoom, 2020-2021, 5 channel video, sound, color, 34min 18sec. ©Typojanchi

Comprising 53 teams from 12 countries (34 domestic and 19 international), the exhibition actively introduced streaming, pre-produced content, and online programs in response to the conditions of the pandemic, attempting an exhibition experience that extended beyond the offline. Under the direction of General Director Jaemin Lee, the curatorial vision expanded beyond traditional forms of typography to embrace Asian letter cultures and the rhythms of life.

Diversity in nationality, race, and gender was also considered throughout both planning and participation, signaling Typojanchi’s transition beyond a designers’ event into a broader and more diverse ecosystem. Despite pandemic restrictions, the exhibition recorded 26,961 offline visitors and over 1.05 million online visitors, while its exhibition identity design received international recognition with an award at the “29th International Posters Competition Chaumont.” 《A Turtle and a Crane》 was a story that rewrote the vitality of type. Walking slowly and flying lightly, letters breathed again.

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