This gallery wasn’t even on my radar until monsoon level rains caused me to reevaluate my itinerary on my last day on Jeju Island. Originally I was going to hike the famous Sunrise Peak, but with such bad weather and no hopes for scenic views, what was the point? A quick google search for alternate ideas led me to the Bunker de Lumières. 

I’m not sure how I had missed this place in my previous research about Jeju, because it was exactly the kind of thing I’m into. And, it was the perfect thing to do on a rainy day.  It was just a quick cab ride from where I was staying, and it offered up a different type of scenic view that l didn’t even know existed.

This place was an actual bunker built in 1990 that was used by the local government for “in case of war” stuff until the early 2000’s. Then it sat abandoned until 2012 when it was then auctioned off. In 2017 reconstruction took place to create the digital art space that it is today. The total lack of light in this underground bunker space was perfect for the sound and light projections that make up these exhibits. 

Once you enter the space, you are enveloped in light and sound. The artworks are projected on every surface—floor, walls, ceilings, and even YOU. The animations are synchronized to the music. It’s loud enough that you can feel the beats reverberating throughout your body making you feel, much like the lights shining over you, that ‘you’ are a part of this exhibit.

My visit to the Bunker de Lumières was my first experience of a digital immersive artwork, so it remains very impressive in my memories. I had never seen anything like it before. I have since been to other exhibits that also use similar multi media digital projections, such as the TeamLab Borderless exhibit I saw in Tokyo. Both exhibits are awesome, but only one features classical artists’ work and takes place in an old underground bunker….that makes the Bunker de Lumières truly one of kind!