ALL PHOTOS BY DH
Not ‘Flea Market,’ but ‘Free Market’
Have you ever heard of a free market? If you only think of a flea market which sells and buys cheap used goods, you are wrong. Then what is a free market? The free market is an ‘open market’ where various artists meet and exchange ideas with visitors to create real works of art in an open public space. It is held every Saturday on the playground in front of Hongik University. It is literally a ‘free market.’ There are no barriers between artists and visitors. You don’t need to worry about being an artist or a stranger. People in the free market welcome any visitior who wants to participate in it. That’s why it is a free place where everyday life and art meet.
Be Not Only a Visitor But an Artist
These days, we just consume things others create and make. But if you go to the free market, you can have an opportunity to be a visitor who shares creative expressions with others and an artist who produces your art. Many people think art is only a difficult thing for artists. I was also one of them before going there, but when I went there, my concern was gone. Art there is everyday life. If you pay only 3,000 won, you can easily be an artist and create ‘art’ by yourself such as sewing, making a flower, painting, by participating in this program. Also, if you want to exchange your art and interact with other people regularly in the free market, you only apply for artist registration with your art through a website.
Afternoon Stage
You can also meet various and creative performances, music and dance that you have never experienced. Although there is a small place to perform, it is big enough to enjoy the performances regardless of genre. You don’t have to pay for the afternoon stage separately, but there is a tip box where you could give a tip for enjoying them. It’s free. To enjoy them, you only need an open mind to feel the performances in the free environment. Some people think it is so trivial, but you could get a big thing more than you think because it can help you relax and can give you inspiration by providing a break from monotonous life for a moment. If you know performance information through its website in advance, it helps you to lose yourself in them.
Happiness Gained from Small Things
While enjoying the market, I also found that trivial things there made other people happy, too. For example, if you pay only 10 won, an artist paints your portrait in just 10 seconds. Also, you can meet various books from new, popular books to recollect and limited books, and buy the book you want for cheap. In addition, it helps people there feel freedom and excitement since there are unique and fresh things people don’t usually see. However, the most important thing is the happiness in itself through a trivial thing that is easily disregarded in everyday life. So, if you are tired of something, why don’t you enjoy the free market? It will always wait for you and welcome you every Saturday.
On Saturday, from 1 PM to 6 PM
In the play ground in front of Hongik University
http://www.freemarket.or.kr
