Beyond Time: Seoul, A Jewel in My Heart
Gen AI Media Art
A one-minute media art film exploring Korea through the movement of space, memory, and light — freely crossing between city and nature, past and present.
Seoul, the Jewel I Carry Within
Having left Korea over two decades ago, my memory of Seoul has never remained fixed in time. The city I remember continues to overlap with the city of today—constantly changing, evolving, yet always remaining a precious part of who I am.
Beyond Time explores the movement of space through memory. Rather than depicting Korea as a destination, the film reimagines Seoul as a living memory—where urban landscapes, nature, and different moments in time continuously merge through light. The journey culminates as the entire city compresses into a single contemporary artifact, representing the idea that Seoul itself is the jewel.
INSPIRATION — Light, Space & Memory
Light / Movement / Seoul / Nature / Memory / Iridescence / Time
The traditional jewelry box communicated Korean heritage clearly, but felt too literal and nostalgic for the contemporary world I wanted to create.
Jewelry Box
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Onyx Stone
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Abstract Artifact
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Compressed Seoul
Seoul itself was the jewel.
Project Description
Beyond Time explores the movement of space through memory. Inspired by the journey between city and nature, past and present, the film reimagines Seoul as a living landscape shaped by light and transformation. As memories, places, and time converge, the city gradually condenses into a single contemporary artifact—revealing the central idea that Seoul itself is the jewel.
Storyboard Exploration
I used ChatGPT to rapidly generate storyboard mockups, enabling me to visualize ideas and test multiple narrative directions at an early stage. Through an iterative dialogue, I refined the sequence, pacing, visual language, and transitions—using AI not as the creator, but as a collaborative prototyping tool to accelerate the creative process.
Production Workflow
To rapidly prototype the film, I developed high-fidelity key frames in Midjourney, using them to define the visual identity of each scene. These stills were then transformed into animated sequences with Magnific, allowing me to explore motion and transitions while preserving visual consistency. The final edit—including pacing, music, color adjustments, and sequencing—was completed in CapCut to create a cohesive cinematic narrative.