[Insta Walk] Mullae Banggu - Shall We Enter the Door That Opens Both Past and Future at the Same Time?

An Area Once Clustered with Small and Medium Ironworks
Now Transformed into Workshops, Resting Places, and Cafes

Lee Jonghwan Seeks Scenery Similar to the Netherlands
After Over 5 Years Utilizing a 3-Story Building
Creates a Leather and Painting Mixed Art Space
With the Charm of Coexistence Between Life and Art

Leather workshop and cafe 'Mullae Banggu' located in Mullae Creative Village, Mullae-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul / Photo by Mullae Banggu

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] What is art? Conventionally, we tend to think of art as paintings or sculptures neatly displayed in exhibition halls or art galleries. We perceive artworks as delicate samples placed in a bleached space completely separated from real life. However, in reality, the place where art is 'created' is deeply rooted in life. The studios where artists make their works are not very different from the spaces where we eat, sleep, and work, at least broadly speaking.

Located in Mullae-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 'Mullae Creative Village' is a space for artists harmonized with their living environment. Once a cluster of small and medium-sized ironworks, this area has now transformed into workshops, resting places, and cafes for artists pursuing unique art.

On the outer edge of Mullae Creative Village, across the main road leading to Sindorim Station, stands 'Mullae Banggu,' a cafe and leathercraft workshop that also serves as a representative facade of Mullae Creative Village. How do the ironworks that hammer and carve iron and the leather workshop that cuts leather and paints colors harmonize?

Lee Junhwan, owner of Mullae Banggu (29), who opened his workshop in Mullae Creative Village in 2015, had just returned from a European trip at the time. He was especially captivated by the Dutch scene where art studios and general industrial areas blended seamlessly. With that impression still fresh, he established this place.

Exterior view of the cafe on the first floor of Mullae Banggu. / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@asiae.co.kr

Lee recalled, "I found this space while looking for a place similar to what I saw in the Netherlands," adding, "I thought it resembled the relaxed industrial complex I saw there," when he first settled in Mullae Creative Village. After noticing a three-story building, he decided to utilize the empty first and third floors and made it his personal workspace.

Soon, he brought in tables and a commercial coffee machine, transforming it into a cafe with a unique flavor. He then started running leathercraft classes for customers who liked the products he made, and recently, a colleague majoring in painting joined to offer alternating leathercraft and painting classes. In just five years, it has transformed into a 'complex art space' filled with leather goods, paintings, and the aroma of coffee.

The expansion of Mullae Banggu parallels the growth story of Mullae Creative Village. When Mullae Banggu first opened in 2015, young artists like Lee began settling in, and the area gradually expanded. Lee explained, "The charm of this area is how naturally living spaces and art workshops coexist," adding, "Everyone who settled here seems to be attracted by that unique charm."

According to Yeongdeungpo-gu’s explanation, art studios began to appear in Mullae Creative Village, which was formerly an industrial complex of small ironworks, starting in 2003. Currently, there are about 100 workspaces and around 170 artists active throughout the complex, including Mullae Banggu.

Leather products personally crafted by President Lee Jun-hwan. Displayed in front of the cafe. / Photo by Lim Ju-hyung skepped@asiae.co.kr

After the 1997 IMF crisis, which dealt a heavy blow to the entire industrial complex, many ironworks withdrew their businesses. However, as empty spaces were filled by art workshops, Mullae Creative Village regained vitality once again.

Savoring coffee and admiring leathercraft products at Mullae Banggu cafe, located beneath Lee’s workshop, one can feel a peculiar charm. The surrounding ironworks produce lively noise from morning. Sparks fly as steel clashes, and the sound of metal pipes tumbling down fills the air, almost making you taste the 'metal flavor' in the atmosphere. Yet, this intense noise might be the true attraction of Mullae Banggu. The workshop and cafe in the heart of a rugged heavy industry complex exude an unparalleled presence and magnetism that draws customers. It is a place where dark metal parts and colorful leather wallets are displayed together without any sense of incongruity?just as Lee said, it is the charm of Mullae Creative Village where "living spaces and art coexist."

Showing his personal workspace on the second floor surrounded by various devices, computers, and finished leather products, Lee expressed his hope to continue staying in Mullae Creative Village and use Mullae Banggu as a complex art space. He said, "I don’t have any particular business ambitions or grand goals," but added, "I think doing what I’m good at here, running a cafe and classes, contributes to this space."