Wender·Vista
Chuncheon
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSouth Korea
in the lake country east of Seoul

Chuncheon

— — the city the water folded itself around.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A small Korean city circled by reservoir lakes: Soyangho to the north, Uiamho cupping the old centre. The Bukhan River was dammed mid-century and the valleys filled, leaving Chuncheon ringed in water. Trains from Seoul arrive in just over an hour. The dakgalbi shops on Myeongdong Street still cook chicken on tabletop iron pans, the way they did before the rail came through.

from the studio
Chuncheon
— bring it home

Chuncheon, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Chuncheon

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Chuncheon is the capital of Gangwon Province in northeastern South Korea, about 75 kilometres northeast of Seoul. The city sits in a basin ringed by three reservoirs: Soyang, Uiam, and Chuncheon, formed when the Bukhan River was dammed between 1965 and 1973. Population is roughly 280,000. Two rail lines, the Gyeongchun and the faster ITX-Cheongchun, run from Seoul Yongsan Station to Chuncheon in about an hour. Nami Island, the small crescent in the Bukhan downstream of the city, draws several million visitors a year.

— the water

The three reservoirs that surround Chuncheon are working dams. Soyang Dam, completed in 1973, is among the tallest rockfill dams in Asia at 123 metres and still generates power for the Seoul corridor. The water of Uiamho holds the city centre on its north shore, with a long footbridge over to Jungdo Island. In autumn the maples along the lake road on the Bukhan turn the colour of the bridge railings, a thin oxide red.

— informed by Wikipedia — Soyang Dam
— the visit

Trains from Seoul Yongsan run frequent service on both the Gyeongchun and ITX-Cheongchun lines; the express reaches Chuncheon Station in roughly 70 minutes. From there the Myeongdong dakgalbi alley is a short walk, a block of restaurants serving the city's signature dish, spicy chicken stir-fried at the table with cabbage, rice cakes, and sweet potato. A ferry leaves Gapyeong for Nami Island every half hour. The Soyang Dam observation deck is reached by a short bus from the centre.

— where
South Korea · Chuncheon, Gangwon
— elevation
75 m · 246 ft
— position
37.8813° N · 127.7300° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
17 km SW
Nami Island
river island
12 km NE
Soyang Dam
dam and reservoir
10 km W
Gangchon
rail-line river town
N
Chuncheon
Nami Island
Soyang Dam
Gangchon
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Chuncheon — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Chuncheon is in northeastern South Korea, capital of Gangwon Province, about 75 kilometres northeast of Seoul. It sits in a basin ringed by three reservoirs on the Bukhan River.

The ITX-Cheongchun express from Seoul Yongsan reaches Chuncheon Station in about 70 minutes. The slower Gyeongchun subway line covers the same route in roughly 80 minutes.

Dakgalbi: chicken stir-fried at the table with gochujang, cabbage, rice cakes, and sweet potato. Myeongdong Street is the alley of restaurants where the dish first became famous in the 1960s.

Three dams on the Bukhan River, Soyang and Uiam and Chuncheon, were completed between 1965 and 1973 for power and flood control. Their reservoirs flooded the valleys and left the city circled by water.

Yes. Nami Island sits in the Bukhan River downstream of the city, reached by a short ferry from Gapyeong on the Seoul side. The river-island became famous as a filming location in the early 2000s.

Late October into early November, when the maples along the lake roads and on Nami Island turn. Winter is dry and very cold; summer brings the monsoon and the warmest lake swimming.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for people who grew up in Gangwon or who studied at Kangwon National University. The lakes are part of how locals describe the city. A Small or Medium with a short note from the studio travels well.

The blues and stone-tones of the reservoirs sit naturally in Japandi, modern Korean minimalist, and coastal-modern rooms. The Voynich treatment adds enough texture to hold a mostly neutral wall.

Yes. The matte and jewel-tone palette pairs with the warm woods and paper-screen light that defines the new Seoul apartment aesthetic. Mounted single, the Medium reads as a quiet focal piece.

A single Large above a console, a four-tile Mural above a standard sofa, a nine-tile Mural for a long sectional wall. The Medium suits a narrow entry or a bedroom over the dresser.

Yes. Order Dura Satin or Matte for those rooms. The colour is infused into the ceramic surface and the finish is scratch-resistant; humidity and steam do not affect it.

A microfibre cloth and clean water. No solvents, no abrasive scrub. The colour lives in the surface; nothing on the outside is doing the work that needs maintaining.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house in Knoxville by Reid Wender and hand-finished in the studio. We do not license images and we do not reprint other artists' work.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.