An artist-led initiative opened in 2020 near Hyangnam’s Balan Manse Market offers music, workshops and multimedia activities so foreign residents — especially Nepali migrants — can share everyday experiences and build local ties.
Migration Stories Project uses music, storytelling, photography, sound and print workshops to give migrant workers a public creative space.
Founder Kim Yang-woo developed the project during the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage contact between local residents and migrant communities.
The Yatri band — composed mostly of Nepali migrants — is a core activity, providing rehearsal, performance and cultural continuity for members who work long factory hours.
# What the Migration Stories Project is and where it operates Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, located near Balan Manse Market in Hyangnam. Launched in 2020, it offers migrant residents a place to present memories, music and creative work in their own voices. Activities include music performance, storytelling, photography, sound and video projects, and community-based cultural events.
# Who started it and why Korean artist Kim Yang-woo founded the project under the slogan "World is Our Home." She began the work during the COVID-19 pandemic while constrained to her hometown, which prompted reflection on movement, commuting and migration. Kim says she wants to build relationships between Korean residents and migrant communities through shared artistic practice.
# Core activities and programming The space runs a range of hands-on activities:
The project also occasionally invites Korean artists to collaborate, creating opportunities for exchange between established artists and migrant community members.
# The Yatri band: a practical example of cultural work Yatri, which means "one who journeys," is a five-member band made up mostly of Nepalese migrants who met after arriving in Korea. The band performs older Nepali cover songs while working toward original material. For members such as Rai Prakash, who came to Korea in 2016 and works at a sponge factory, the band provides time and space to create and preserve Nepali music despite demanding work schedules.
# Why the project matters locally Hwaseong is a rapidly developing city with significant manufacturing employment and a growing foreign resident population. In this setting, everyday lives of migrant workers often go unseen. The Migration Stories Project aims to shift that dynamic by producing tangible cultural outputs and creating regular opportunities for cross-cultural contact.
# Practical constraints and approach
# What activity looks like on the ground
# Where this could lead Kim's immediate goals are modest: invite more migrant participants, sustain the space, and continue collaborating with Korean artists. The project's model emphasizes regular, practical interaction — rehearsals, print sessions, shared meals and performances — rather than large-scale institutional programs.
# Bottom line Project converts an artistic impulse about movement and commuting into a neighborhood resource where migrant workers can practice arts, preserve cultural expression and build everyday relationships with local residents. Its value is in creating repeatable activities that fit around participants' work lives and in offering a locally rooted alternative to invisibility.
The gatherings each Sunday offer migrants not only a reminder of home, but also an opportunity to express solidarity and connect with others.
Manoomin Arts Initiative is building a creative hub where White Earth artists can create, teach, exhibit, and grow their careers. The post Creating a Home Base for White Earth Nation Artists appeared first on The Good Men Project .
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