Page 2. On User Wayfinding - 2
Page 3. Instance Dungeons of Seoul, Kang Jeongseok
The article linked above contains an analysis by artist Kang Jeongseok from 2015, in which he examines the phenomenon of emerging art spaces (sinseang gonggan) in the art world through the lens of the "instance dungeon" concept from video games. While the piece primarily addresses the circumstances facing artists as players in the art world and the activities they engage in within that context, it also offers a meaningful analysis of how changes in wayfinding methods have enabled new forms of spatial experience, which is why I have linked it here.
The following passages are all excerpted from the article above.
Starting from the audience's perspective, the biggest change came from map apps, decent built-in cameras, and social media timelines. ... In the past, you would sit in front of a monitor, check schedules on Neolook or individual art space websites, ask acquaintances to help prioritize, go to Naver to use the route-finding feature, write down each route in a notebook, and only then head out the door (and still sometimes get lost). But now the same process can be done "on the move" through the smartphone in your pocket. ... People are influenced just as much by exhibition photos and short comments appearing on SNS timelines as by recommendations from acquaintances. Upon arriving at an exhibition space, they photograph the scene with the camera built into their smartphone and share it on their timeline.
There have been significant changes from the space operators' perspective as well. Through SNS timelines, relatively easy and effective promotion became possible. As long as you have a decent logo, you can set up shop in the most unlikely places. You can promote whenever you want, for as long as you need, slipping naturally into users' individual timelines. The time and cost involved have decreased dramatically. Thanks to people who now enjoy navigating through the graphics of map apps, audiences have started visiting even the most out-of-the-way locations. It was in this environment that the "sinseang gonggan" (emerging spaces) began their activities. In truth, most of these emerging spaces could be described as spaces built on SNS and map apps. Take "Space 413" as an example. Located in Mullae-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, "Space 413" sits in an alley amid countless metalworking shops, and until you arrive at its door, there is not a single sign or hint of atmosphere suggesting it is an "art space." Without a map app, you would probably have wandered through the bleak factory district and gone home feeling rejected.
Moreover, because spaces now exist simultaneously entangled in both SNS timelines and the offline world, even if the actual number of visiting audiences is small, a space can thrive on SNS timelines. You do not need hundreds of people to make something look like it is thriving. If just ten people make noise about it, it begins to look like an intriguing event on individual timelines. If that draws people in, they visit at least once and may share a proof-of-visit photo.