Exchange residency | 2025 | Bucheon Residency | Project

2025 City-to-City Exchange Residency

The City-to-City Exchange Residency is an international collaborative initiative that connects Bucheon with fellow UNESCO Cities of Literature through reciprocal residency partnerships. As part of the program, Bucheon sends local literary artists to partner cities while welcoming residents from those cities to Bucheon.
The residency provides dedicated time and space for creative work, alongside cultural programs designed to foster meaningful connections between Bucheon and its partner cities through literary and artistic exchange.
As one of Bucheon's flagship international initiatives within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), the program supports the creative development of literary artists, encourages collaboration between participating cities, and promotes international cultural dialogue.

In 2025, Oslo Davis and Kyungmu Noh participated in the Parallel Panels Residency, undertaking reciprocal residencies in Bucheon and Melbourne as part of the one-to-one exchange partnership between the two cities.

2025 Exchange Residents

Oslo Davis (Melbourne → Bucheon)

Oslo Davis is an artist, illustrator, and cartoonist known for his witty and distinctive work created for both personal projects and publications around the world. His clients and collaborations include The New York Times, The Saturday Paper, The Age, a 29-metre illustrated Melbourne tram, and merchandise designs for the Tokyo Olympics. In addition to his illustration practice, Oslo regularly speaks at festivals, teaches drawing workshops, and publishes books, including This Annoying Life: A Mindless Colouring Book for the Highly Stressed (Chronicle Books and Black Inc.). His self-published illustrated newspaper, Raised Eyebrows, is released periodically, and his most recent publication is Oslo's Melbourne. He has previously received a Creative Fellowship from the State Library Victoria and has been a finalist for both the Walkley Awards and the American Illustration Awards.

During his residency in Bucheon, Oslo created a sketchbook documenting the city's people, streets, and everyday moments. He also led Let's Have Fun Drawing, a workshop for second-year students in the Department of Comics at Gyeonggi Arts High School, where he shared his creative approach and encouraged participants to discover drawing as a joyful part of everyday life.

Kyungmu Noh (Bucheon → Melbourne)

Kyungmu Noh is an animation director and comics artist whose work examines patriarchy, migration, and the margins of everyday life through metaphor, humour, and satire. Her films include Wake Up (2017), A Blue Giant (2021), and the mid-length animated feature How to Get Your Man Pregnant (2023), a provocative comedy that critiques lineage-centred family structures in contemporary Korea. She also directed Tiger's Third Leg (2023), a music video combining imagery from Korea's first feature-length animated film with music by LEENALCHI. Her current project, I Am a Cat-in-Law, is a comic depicting the life of a Vietnamese woman who migrates to Korea through marriage.

During her residency in Melbourne, Kyungmu connected with local artists, facilitated a public workshop, and developed the concept for a short comic inspired by a memorable week spent in Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula. The residency provided an opportunity to deepen cross-cultural dialogue while exploring new creative perspectives through place, community, and exchange.

About the experience of Bucheon Residency

Oslo Davis

“I had the pleasure of spending a couple of weeks in Bucheon in September 2025 as part of the UNSECO Cities of Literature residency program. I used my time to draw, write, film and take hundreds of photos, all of which will be used one day in future art projects. Central to my activities was the completion of a sketchbook of drawings of the people and places around Bucheon. I spent a lot of time on the trains, in the shady parks and cafes of the city, and it was there I drew local faces, people packed on trains, curious signage, food, streetscapes; anything that piqued my interest.

I hadn’t been in South Korea before, so I was intrigued by all aspects of the culture, everything from the BBQ to negotiating regional bus services (one day I took local transport to Gapyeong) to finding places to run around Gulpocheon park. Reflecting on my short time in Bucheon, I felt welcome, relaxed and safe in the city. People were helpful and full of humour. In my experience residencies like mine go beyond the simply development of one artist’s art practice. They create international cultural connections that reverberate out to artists' and hosts’ friends, families and business associations. For example: already my family is planning a trip back too Bucheon and Seoul soon, and I hope to continue the creative connections I made with South Korean artists I got to know during and after my residency.
In short, my residency in Bucheon was a fulfilling and productive success, one that I hope many more get the opportunity to experience.”