The Trickeye Museum: Augmented Reality
[TRICKEYE in Hongdae is CLOSED] The Trickeye Museum in Hongdae, Seoul recently updated their already 3D fun space with augmented reality that literally brings the awesome paintings to life and I just had to see it for myself. While the paintings on the walls are the same as they were when I visited at the end of 2015 with my daughter who was just 1, they’ve been given new life with a new app that shows off the augmented reality of the paintings. For more pictures of the paintings, check out that older post about Trickeye revamped.
Basic Info
Address: 357-1 Seogyo-dong Mapo-gu, Seoul (서울 마포구 홍익로3길 20)
Directions: Go to Hongik University Subway Station, exit 9. Walk straight until you come to an intersection with a crosswalk and a light. Cross the crosswalk still walking straight from the station and after crossing, turn left. Walk straight and turn right onto the second alley and the TrickEye Museum will be past the first alley on your right.
Hours: 9:00am ~ 9:00pm (last admission at 8:00pm)
Admission: Adults: W18,000, Children/Seniors: W12,000
Amenities: Parking lot (VERY FEW SPOTS AVAILABLE), bathrooms, caricature artists, cafe with drinks
What To See & Do
Users will see the dragons, sharks and more that already stood out due the 3 dimensional “trick of the eye” techniques leap off the wall. Now, not only are photos awesome, but visitors can make some amazing videos. Floors and ceilings of all of the spaces have been painted with vibrant colors and arrows provide direction for where to stand to make the photos come out just right. The app is even better because it automatically knows how to bring the paintings to life without any clicks or info from the user. Can I repeat how super user friendly it is? Point and shoot and just let that magic happen.
Not all of the paintings come to life, so it does take a bit of moving around to figure out which ones do, but the ones that do are fun, quirky and some are even a bit romantic in the way they suddenly begin to move. In the first room, the dragons blow fire and smoke and the sharks have steamy smiles. While these paintings were just fine for my one year old, now that she’s two, she was a bit frightened of these toothy scary beings so we quickly went into the next rooms with more friendly paintings.
The ballerinas shine with falling glitter in the video and fireworks brighten the dancers. Rain seems to fall all around the umbrella holders and flower petals drop from the sky on the lotus flower. If you’re looking to go make a scary video, there are scenes that will help with that, but if you wanted to stick to the more romantic and two year old friendly scenes, there are plenty of those too. There are augmented reality scenes for any one that visits it seems.
To really see the AR in action, you need to check out Arielle’s video and you’ll see what I’m talking about. If you like places like this, don’t miss the Alive Museum in Insadong too.
How super fun does that look? Seriously! Am I right?
The entire building is really chalk full of fun spaces. Get a combined ticket to some of the other quirky museums in the building including the Ice Museum and the Love Museum. And if that’s not enough, even getting a latte will be fun here. Just a few months ago CaFace, the fun cafe that allows you to get a lifelike photo of your face right on the latte foam moved into the building. If you schedule allows, the Trick Eye Museum is a great spot in Hongdae to spend a couple hours taking photos and having a different kind of fun with friends or family.
Interested in experiences in Hongdae? There is a ton to do there. Here are some other great things to try while you’re hanging out in this hopping district of Seoul, Korea.
- Have you ever wanted to make your own neon light? You can in Hongdae! Check out this awesome experience.
- Check out the Virtual Reality Arcade inside of L7 Lotte Hotel. It’s fun for all ages. Get your tickets with Klook for discounted rates.
- Did you know you can go fishing in Hongdae? You sure can. Check out this very unique experience.
- See the Nanta Show at the Hongdae theater. Get your tickets online for a great discount with Klook.
- Escape rooms are awesome and there’s one in Hongdae too. Head there with some friends or your kids and have fun trying to BREAK OUT!
- Join a handmade ring making workshop at Hongdae Rings Village. You can design and makeyour own ring.
- Ever want to experience K-pop photoshoot with K-beauty makeup and hair styling? You can in Hongdae.
