[Well-curated] DIY accessories at Dongdaemun, special Fellini screenings and Austin Lee exhibition

DIY accessories at Dongdaemun Shopping Complex

The Dongdaemun Shopping Complex, a six-story wholesale shopping center where you'll find everything you need for jewelry- and craft making, is enjoying new-found fame among young people.

The shops on the fifth floor specialize in beading and jewelry-making supplies, from wires, plastic chains, gems, buttons to plush balls and even cartoon character keyrings.

The price is the mall's main draw. With a single 10,000 won bill, you can buy all the materials needed to make a bracelet, including wires, pendants and charms. For beginners, the vendors at the mall also offer consultations and share crafting tips.

If you get hungry mid shopping, head to the sixth-floor cafes and snack bars for perennial favorites such as gimbap, tteokbokki, sandwiches and noodles.

The shops on the fifth floor of Dongdaemun Shopping Complex are open Monday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed on Sunday and national holidays. The Dongdaemun Shopping Complex is within walking distance of Exit Nos. 8 and 9 of Dongdaemun Station on Subway Line Nos. 1 and 2.

Federico Fellini's classics at CGV Arthouse

Fifteen CGV Arthouse branches across Korea are screening the movies of renowned Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The screenings started Wednesday and will run through Oct. 17.

CGV, the country’s largest multiplex operator, is showing some of Fellini's globally acclaimed projects, including “Vitelloni” (1953), “La Dolce Vita” (1960), “8 1/2” (1963), “Juliet of the Spirits” (1965) and a 83-minute documentary film, featuring the journey of creating “La Dolce Vita,” “The Truth About La Dolce Vita” (2020).

The satirical comedy drama film “La Dolce Vita” won Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960.

Meanwhile, “8 1/2" won best foreign language film and best costume design in the 36th edition of the Academy Awards in 1964.

CGV will release the 4K remastered version of “8 1/2” in the CGV Yongsan multiplex in Seoul. Viewers can get a copy of the film’s original poster for free after bringing their tickets to the ticket counter.

Posters for “La Dolce Vita” will also be given out to those who watch “La Dolce Vita."

Separate A3 posters for those who attended the Fellini screenings at CGV Arthouse branches are available on a first-come, first-served basis as well.

Tickets cost 14,000 won.

Six CGV Arthouses, theaters dedicated to art and independent films, are located in Seoul, while nine others can be found in Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, Gwangju, Seongnam (Gyeonggi Province), Chuncheon (Gangwon Province), Cheonan (South Chungcheong Province) and Cheongju (North Chungcheong Province).

Both online reservations and offline ticket sales are available.

Austin Lee's first Seoul show touches one's emotions

New York-based artist Austin Lee traverses the boundaries of art utilizing various mediums and techniques, tearing down the border between the digital and real worlds.

His ideas are embodied through airbrush paintings, sculptures that are created with 3D printing and animation, all of which create Lee’s own art world. At a glance, Lee’s works look childlike, but in person, you may find the works bring out the fundamental emotions of sadness, comfort and joy hidden deep inside of our mind.

The artist’s first solo exhibition “Austin Lee: Passing Time” at the Lotte Museum of Art in Seoul includes the museum-commissioned work “Fountain” that features a figure lying lethargically in the middle of a deep blue colored space, looking up with eyes glazed over and spewing water out of its mouth.

Visitors can sit on a chair that the artist made with a 3D printer as part of the installation, contemplating the meaning of the work. A quote next to the work reads: “There is always a deep sadness around the corner.”

Educing humans’ fundamental emotions through his works is how he comforts people through art. Many of the works at the exhibition were created during the pandemic that put people through an emotional roller-coaster. At the end of the exhibition is the animation “Flower Hill,” a piece about the sadness of passing time and anticipation of the coming new year.

The exhibition, running through Dec. 31, is best visited with friends and kids.