취중진담 Metamorphosis (Younghui Kim + Sanghwa Hong, Kyungmee Kim, Kwanu Park) ” drinking -responsive wearable ”
Drinking custom varies in different cultures as much as dining manners and etiquettes. Here is an interesting approach toward Korean drinking culture using wearable technology. To express for Korean social drinking, a team of artists has come up with the working wearable that response to alcohol level of the wearer (or should I say drinker here.) During 5 day wearable hackathone event held by Art Center Nabi (Seoul, June 23-27, 2014,) two wearable prototypes; a female dress is about expressing different levels of alcohol consumption with a kinetic and colourful lights with glamour and the male jacket where its collars slide out to cover up the drinker’s face when it senses too much of alcohol in his breath.
Korean drinking culture has a different social aspect than western social drinking. With formality deeply set in society, people are often shy to express what they really think soberly. Often, a friend is inviting another friend for a drink can be interpreted for a serious talk.
The female kinetic wearable, ‘취중진담 Metamorphosis’ expresses how alcohol brings up one’s self-esteem and courage to reveal ones mind by raising the shoulder with lights changing into different colours smoothly. The shoulder opens up as the alcohol level goes up as if the wearer is revealing ones mind and ready to talk frankly. There could be a misinterpret for different manner but, as an expressive art form, this wearable displays the wearer’s alcohol consumption visually and it expresses cultural context of social drinking in Korea.
The Project, ‘취중진담 Metamorphosis’ has been featured online articles at:
Younghui Kim (Marie) 
Awesome!