How do you know that you want a baby?
Miyeokguk Project
multi sensory installation and performance
centering Korean women diaspora’s voices/stories on reproduction.
‘Miyeokguk (미역국)’ is a seaweed soup that you need to eat on your birthday.
Korean women usually eat this soup for about a month when they give birth to a child. That means, on your birthday, you eat the same soup that your mother ate after the labor.
For the women in their childbearing age, or those who have experienced childbirth, the meaning of Miyeokguk changes dramatically from a ‘delicious birthday soup’ to something else.
Come join to explore the Korean women diaspora's heartfelt connection to their mothers and tradition
or the overwhelming burden of their reproductive duties with a bowl of seaweed soup.
Live Performances
nueBOX, Studio/LAB Artist in Residence, Phoenix, AZ 2021 (Work in Progress version)
First studio, Phoenix, AZ 2022 (Premiere)
Navarang performance festival, produced by Dansense, ASU Kerr Center, AZ 2023
Mesa Artspace Loft, Mesa, AZ 2023
Vision Gallery, Chandler, AZ 2024
What audience says…
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"I loved how this experience made me feel aware, prompting and inviting me to use all of my senses....
And feel connected, in a very short time bonding me with the 7 other people that were there as we shared space, food, reactions to stories, and slowly learned how to be together over the span of 45 minutes. And remarkably, we didn't need to speak to one another at all in order to do this. “
- Jessica
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"The experience is one of profound invitations into a difficult and sometimes taboo subject - who gets to decide if I have children? Me? Me and my partner? Me, my partner, and our entire family? "
“In the Miyeokguk project, Jisun shows off not only her incredible ability to draw out beautiful and personal stories from her community, but also her artistry in showing how those stories connect with her. The experience is one of profound invitations into a difficult and sometimes taboo subject - who gets to decide if I have children? Me? Me and my partner? Me, my partner, and our entire family?
Jisun's work, as always, includes a rich food experience, community stories, and her joyful, electric performance presence. Miyeokguk project is an emotional feast.”
- Phil
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"This was an immersive experience like no other. I was fully in the moment where the art engaged all my senses and I let it because of the subtle but powerful message being conveyed. "
“This is not an easy conversation or an easy dilemma to overcome. Artist Jisun Miyung waded through these waters exceptionally well and showed us what young women go through due to this conflict between thoughts and loved ones ( between her mother and herself). This entire piece left me thinking even after I came back from the performance.“
- Kowshik
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" I really connected to the personal narratives that were played between each step of creating the soup.
The first person speaking resonated with me, because she was seriously considering the cost of raising a child and who ever told her that you can't think of it in economic analysis was so right. I was very afraid when I became pregnant due to my lack of financial stability. Everything the women said is so real.”
-Melissa
Installation
Vision Gallery, Chandler, AZ 2024
Snake Bite Gallery, Tucson, AZ 2024
Short Film Version
Miyeokguk Project, 30mn, 2022
Press/Publication
Jisun Myung: Living Histories, written by Joshua Ware, March 2024, Southwest Contemporary Vol. 9: Living Histories, guest juror Kalyn Fay Barnoski reflects on the ten featured artists and how they engage with cultural, community, or familial histories.
Snakebite Creation Space: An Artist-Run Haven for Experimental Exhibitions, February 2024, Southwest Contemporary
Arizona arts commission gave grants to 30 artists. Here’s how they’re using them, written by Troy Hill and Monserrat Apud de la Fuente, April 2022, Cronkite News