Installation view of 《The Autobiography of Hilton Seoul》 © piknic

Opened in 1983 at the foot of Namsan, Hilton Seoul became both a key milestone in Korean modernist architecture and an enduring symbol of hospitality in Seoul. Designed by architect Kim Jong-sung, the structure featured an exterior harmonizing with the mountain’s slope, green marble and travertine interiors, oak wood, bronze details, and a soaring eighteen-meter atrium—elements remembered differently but vividly by visitors over four decades. As the building now undergoes demolition,

Installation view of 《The Autobiography of Hilton Seoul》 © piknic

《The Autobiography of Hilton Seoul》 reflects on its history and re-examines memories embedded in the site. Letters, architectural drawings, archival photographs, and salvaged structural elements reveal the full lifespan of the building—from its conceptualization and construction to its operation and dismantling.

Works by Im Jung-ui, Jung Ji-hyun, Choi Yong-joon, Songhee Noh, Baek Yun-seok, Tech Capsule, Seo Ji-woo, and Graphicabulary reinterpret fragments of the building into new artistic forms.

The exhibition concludes with the return of the iconic Christmas charity train—reviving a collective memory with warmth and farewell. Through this encounter with an architecture in transition, visitors are invited to reflect on presence, time, and the traces a place leaves behind.

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