South Korean Pavilion at Expo 2020

This spellbinding pavilion is a brilliant testament to South Korea’s artistic innovation authority.

The stadium-like landmark, Mobile MASS_ITY, was set on a 4,651 square-metre site and ranked in the top five among all participant countries at the World Expo four years ago.

Moon Hoon, a prominent Seoul-based architect, and Mooyuki Studio, teamed up to design with the intention to exhibit the concept of mobility from South Korea’s forward-thinking perspective and evolution.

From the pioneering smartphones to the globalisation of culinary flavours and the multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry, South Korea has reshaped the global economic landscape with the union of leading-edge technology and vibrant popular culture. This future-oriented coherence is ingeniously translated through the final architectural details of the pavilion.

Not only did the structure wow the crowd because of its massive size and dazzling design, but it also proved to be a successful identity showcase with 1,597 rotating colourful cubes that personify the perpetual movement and the dynamic mobility of the whole country.

The Mobile MASS_ITY, without question, serves as another national pride and masterwork on a global scale.

A pavilion like this only works because the concept—mobility, movement, identity—shows up consistently in every detail, down to the smallest cube. Consistency at that scale takes a team working from the same picture, not just the same brief.