AsiaLink Sketch Walk was held in Suwon, Korea

(I drew two pictures in Ji-dong Market (Pond- Village Market) with other sketchers.)

I spent a few days nervous after the Korean Thanksgiving Day. It’s because I decided to do a ‘Crane Dance’ at the opening ceremony of Suwon AsiaLink on October 4.

The Symposium is great. However, most Symposiums were held in Europe or in the Americas, and Asian sketchers were not able to participate in them easily due to distance or cost issues. So the AsiaLink Sketch Walk was created from the idea of making a small Symposium where Asian sketchers gather. In my opinion, the relationship between the Olympics and the Asian Games is the same as that of the Symposium and the AsiaLink. Asia Link was first held in Bangkok in 2016.

Urban Sketchers Suwon, the second oldest chapter after the Seoul chapter in Korea, has young and passionate admins, and has active exchanges with overseas sketchers, making it the most suitable chapter for such an event, which was held at the Suwon Convention Center and the Suwon Hwaseong Museum on Oct. 4-7.

Day 1 (October 4)

(The above photo is the check-in desk and the below is the ‘Crane Dance’ which I performed.)

On the first day, the opening ceremony was held in the auditorium of the Suwon Convention Center, after receiving sketch passes applied in advance for each sketcher. Four teams performed a celebration of the opening, and my team was in the second order, with five dancers performing the ‘Crane Dance’.

I still get nervous on stage. How many more performances do I have to do to keep calm? Moreover, it is more nerve-racking when much of the audience knows me. The point is to pretend I am not nervous. We finished the 10-minute performance. I was happy to see the cheers and applause of the audience. From then, until the end of the event, I received countless praise from domestic and foreign sketchers that it was a great performance.

Suwon Mayor’s congratulatory speech was followed, and there was also an introduction of programs and workshop instructors. It was a large-scale event held by about 450 sketchers, with 200 foreign and  250 domestic sketchers. I heard that the organizers had a lot of trouble because the preparation process such as interpretation and ticketing was very complicated because it was an international event.

Day 2 (October 5)

(I drew some people in Marina’s Workshop.) 

Fifteen domestic and foreign instructors participated in the event to hold workshops and sketch demonstrations. I participated in my favorite artist Marina Grechanik’s workshop. The reason and method of drawing people living their real lives on the street were touching, and her wonderful style was also something that I had never seen. I deeply realized the need for an international network of sketchers.

In the afternoon, I drew Ji-dong Market (Pond- Village Market) with other sketchers.

Day 3 (October 6)

On the third day, I joined Evi Shelvia’s workshop. I could see her amazing work notes and learned how to develop a story, starting with a small idea.

In the afternoon, a book talk was scheduled at the Suwon Convention Center. I gave a speech about my book on the subject of ‘Urban Sketch journalism’. At first, there were few audiences, so I tried to ease away it, but the number of audiences gradually increased, and about 50 people gathered. After finishing the course, I was sorry because there were some things I missed to say.

Day 4 (October 7)

On the last day, there was a Big Sketch where sketchers from all over Asia gathered, and I settled down around Yongyeon(Dragon Lake) near Hwahongmun Gate.

(I set up around Yongyeon near Hwahongmun Gate. I drew three friends who came out on a picnic with permission.)

I learned something from Marina’s workshop, that when you draw people on the street, you can ask permission to draw them. It seems like a simple story, but I’ve never thought about it. I asked three women on the lawn on a picnic if I could draw them, and they gave me permission willingly, so I was able to draw them happily.

I went to Hwaseomun Gate at 2 o’clock to take commemorative photos. The sketchers greeted each other, took pictures together, and sketched.  They became really excited and enthusiastic. I thought it was what a festival was like.

(I drew Subhash from India, whose hat and beard were nice, and a Singapore sketcher because his expression and posture were fun.)

The closing ceremony was held at the Suwon Convention Center. They introduced the admins, task force team, and volunteers who prepared for the event and held a prize lottery.

One of the most important parts of the closing ceremony is to announce the next AsiaLink city. Penang, Malaysia, is the 2024 AsiaLink host city.

It’s a place I’ve never been to but it’s said to be a wonderful place and I am planning to go. There is one more Urban Sketcher in my dance team besides me. If possible, the two of us go together and perform a ‘Crane Dance’ in Penang.

(Big Sketch at Hwaseomun. This is what a festival is like.)