The Way Home (집으로 가는 길)

Hyun Jung Jung

August 2 - 31, 2025

In The Way Home (집으로 가는 길), Hyun Jung Jung reflects on how she is learning to embrace the grey areas of becoming an immigrant by visualizing the uncertain belongings and blurred memories. 

While living in America, Jung was often in denial of the interwoven self that she was becoming, because it felt like she was giving up on the Korean identity. But over time, she has learned the fluidity of how these cultures merge and coexist to inform one another in her.

Living far from her motherland, Jung often ponders what Korean-ness means to her. In this search, she has been continuously revisiting her childhood moments, the years she lived in Korea. One example includes learning about her past through looking at old photographs from her childhood. Although she does not have memories from some of these early days, the images bring emotional reactions, reminding her that these moments are still at her core, grounding her.

The Way Home (집으로 가는 길) is a reflection of this process: embracing her family roots and childhood in Korea and adulthood in America. Shown in various mediums, the morphing and transitioning of images and colors evoke emotions that are abstract and nostalgic, yet familiar. Although this may feel obscure and faint, Jung continues to soak them in for them to become part of her journey.

The Way Home (집으로 가는 길) is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Office of Arts & Culture.