Beyond the Classroom: Jongha Kim (CFA’27)
In summer 2025, BU undergraduate sculpture major Jongha "Roki" Kim (CFA'27) took his talents to Seoul, South Korea, to showcase his work at the 2025 Preview Seongsu Art Fair
Creating opportunities: My experience at the Preview Seongsu Art Fair in South Korea
In CFA’s Beyond the Classroom Series, music, theatre, and visual arts students at BU share their professional work experiences and how, through these opportunities, feel equipped to succeed beyond the classroom.
Beyond the Classroom: Jongha Kim (CFA’27)
In summer 2025, Boston University undergraduate sculpture major Jongha “Roki” Kim (CFA’27) took his talents to Seoul, South Korea, to showcase his work at the 2025 Preview Seongsu Art Fair.
Originally from Seoul, Jongha was among the first batch of students invited to participate in the festival, which debuted in 2021 and focuses on introducing new and emerging artists to the art world. This year’s festival featured over 80 artists. As part of the fair, Jongha curated three exhibitions, working on a mix of media, including his clothing brand’s first pop-up store, where he collaborated with various DJs and musicians.
This is one of many recent accomplishments for Jongha, who, in addition to sculpting, is passionate about poetry, music, fashion, and entrepreneurship. He has two poetry books published by a major bookselling company in Korea, worked as an engineer and producer intern at the record label AYEL Music, and created his own art organization, Oxxy444, which held its first three-month exhibition in Seoul titled If Not Now, When?
The show explored the idea of hesitation and the human desire to make an idea into reality, explains Jongha, and brought together students from the Rhode Island School of Design, The University of Chicago, University of California, Santa Barbara, and other major Korean arts institutions to bring forth innovation and experimentation to the next generation of Korean artists.
Q&A
WITH JONGHA KIM (CFA’27)
CFA: Tell us more about your artwork that was on view at the Preview Seongsu Art Fair.
Jongha: I worked on a total of three exhibitions, curating these three different spaces with my artistic endeavors and practices, while also documenting the entire process.
The first space was at Inner Space Gallery, where I exhibited my brand/movement summer exhibition that I have been doing for three months, with seven different artists coming from all over the world. The show went on to the Seongsu Art Fair. In this space, I created multiple sculpture pieces. The exhibition was called Human Series.
The second space was called Rediscovery of the Endangered, where I worked with a Korean traditional artist named Haran on five different paintings. And the final exhibition was where I displayed my clothing brand, graphic designs, and paintings.
Human Series
Human Series
Rediscovery of the Endangered
Rediscovery of the Endangered
Jongha’s clothing brand, designs, and paintings exhibition
Jongha’s clothing brand, designs, and paintings exhibition
Jongha’s clothing brand, designs, and paintings exhibition
CFA: How did you learn about the Preview Seongsu Art Fair?
Jongha: It’s a pretty famous art fair, and through my summer endeavors, and getting a lot of traction with my three-month exhibition, I got the chance to display my work as well as my brand’s works in these spaces.
CFA: What are some notable highlights from this experience?
Jongha: I have quite a few, from meeting the Minister of Culture and Arts of Korea to working with LG Electronics, Cass Beer, Busan International Film Festival, as well as the government of Seongsu.
This was an unforgettable summer, doing eight different exhibitions, working with 80+ artists, connecting, collaborating, and preparing for the future! I was also featured in a few media outlets throughout my time there, including Dazed Magazine Korea.
CFA: In what ways do you think this opportunity has helped you prepare for your work beyond BU? What did you learn about yourself?
Jongha: I am actively creating opportunities and connections for myself. I’ve learned I can work harder, and I have the will to see things through.
CFA: What’s next for you, Jongha?
Jongha: I want to be able to give and provide more opportunities than those I’ve gotten or were born with. I want to create more opportunities for the youth. For younger generations of all nations to have the facility to create and have the luxury to think. I am desperate for dreams to be pursued.
At the moment, I’m working towards collaborating with CFA for a BU student exhibition in Seoul, South Korea.
CAREER & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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