LEE Soyung

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LEE Soyung

Participating Project	Research Residency Program
Activity Based	Seoul
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2026.2 - 2026.3

Purpose of the residency

Participating in this program allows me to advance a long-term project investigating "selective forgetfulness"—the process by which social forces shape or distort what we remember. Building on my previous inquiries into migratory histories and the language of settlement, I am exploring Tokyo as a critical site where rapid societal shifts impact individual memory. My work focuses on the tension between external pressures and personal history, examining how individuals navigate narratives that society may overlook. Through interviews and collaborative workshops, I plan to record the language and gestures of local residents on video, seeking to understand how individual will can resist manufactured forgetfulness and reclaim personal narratives.

Plan during the residency

• Spatial Research: Identify "blank spots" in Tokyo where personal memories of accidents or incidents conflict with the current landscape, using archival juxtaposition to contrast historical records against contemporary sites.
• Narrative Collection: Conduct in-depth interviews with residents and scholars to uncover how social pressures cause individuals to selectively forget or distort personal truths.
• Thematic Synthesis: Distill these findings into "Memory Scripts"—short sentences that capture the tension between private recollection and public erasure.
• Embodied Workshops: Translate these scripts into a vocabulary of micro-gestures and rhythms, exploring what the body remembers when language fails.
• Video Documentation: Create a research archive that captures the process and the physical testimony of participants as the primary residency output.

Activities during the residency

During my time at the TOKAS Research Program, my research focused on the rapid urban redevelopments taking place across Tokyo and how local communities respond to top-down changes. While I explored active construction sites like Tsukiji Market and Tateishi Station, my primary focus was on Kōenji. There, I studied how the activist group Shirōto no Ran (Amateur Riot) and local residents resist redevelopment to preserve the area's independent, bohemian spirit. To document the actual voices that survive before a space is erased, I walked the streets, recorded everyday conversations, and captured a dialogue between key activists Hajime Matsumoto and Nacca. I also consulted scholar Masakazu Ishigure to deepen my historical understanding of Tokyo's black markets. For the open studio, I exhibited these raw records, displayed a video installation excerpt, and created a participatory wall where visitors could contribute their own memories.

Outcome of the residency

My primary achievement during the residency was gathering the words and voices of communities in Tokyo who refuse to forget their local spaces amidst the redevelopment. By talking directly with local residents and activists, I was able to understand the real emotions of communities facing these changes. The open studio also allowed me to share my early findings and create a space where the public could openly discuss these city changes and their own memories.
Moving forward, my next objective is to synthesize these gathered sentiments into a physical artwork. Given the rapid and relentless pace of Tokyo's development, this research represents just the beginning of a larger narrative. I hope to return to Japan after the residency to track the ongoing physical changes in the city and continue developing this body of work.

Creator Information