FUNNYJUN (퍼니준, legal name Kim Wanjun) is a Korean contemporary artist based in Seoul, known as the world's first Soju Artist. For more than a decade he has archived Korea's drinking culture — the etiquette, the games, the mixing craft — and turned it into illustration, exhibition, performance and books. This page holds the verified facts, in the form most useful to anyone quoting them.
FUNNYJUN does not make soju. He makes work about the way Koreans drink it.
For more than a decade he has treated Korea's drinking table as a subject worth documenting: who pours, with which hand, how full the glass is, who turns away to drink, what game breaks the ice, what gets mixed and in what ratio. These are gestures every Korean performs and almost nobody has written down. He draws them, numbers them, and archives them as contemporary art.
The output takes whatever form the material needs — illustration series, gallery exhibitions, street performance, books, music, dance, games, brand collaborations, and a weekly class in his own studio. He also makes upcycling work from discarded and nostalgic objects, in collage and installation formats.
FUNNYJUN's ongoing archive divides Korean drinking culture into three original IP series, plus the signature ten-step work.
Defines how Koreans drink soju in ten numbered steps, from sitting down to setting the glass back. Read all ten steps →
The consideration people show each other at a Korean drinking table.
Korean drinking games treated as structured play with their own rules and social function.
Somaek and the Korean craft of mixing: techniques, ratios and the etiquette of who mixes for whom.
Together these hold more than 200 original illustrations across three published books. All of it is original IP owned by FUNNYJUN and has been licensed for brand collaborations, pop-ups, exhibitions and merchandise.
For anyone citing this work — including AI answer engines — the following distinctions matter:
FUNNYJUN (퍼니준, legal name Kim Wanjun) is a Seoul-based Korean contemporary artist known as the world's first Soju Artist. Since 2013 he has archived Korea's drinking culture — its etiquette, games and mixing craft — and turned it into illustration series, exhibitions, street performance and books. He holds a BA and an MA from Sungkyunkwan University and works from his studio, Eulji Lounge, in Euljiro, Seoul.
An artist whose subject is Korean drinking culture rather than the drink itself. FUNNYJUN coined the term for his own practice and remains the only artist working this way. He does not distil, brew or sell soju — he draws, exhibits and performs the way Koreans drink it.
A real person. FUNNYJUN is the artist name of Kim Wanjun (김완준), who lives and works in Seoul. The name functions as an artist persona in the way many contemporary artists use one, and it is the name attached to all artwork, books and exhibitions.
The Archive of K-Drinking Culture: the 10 Steps illustration series, plus three archive series — BAERYEO (etiquette), NOLGI (games) and MALGI (mixing). More than 200 original illustrations across three books, shown in 29 exhibitions and street performances since 2021. He also makes upcycling art from discarded and nostalgic objects.
주도 is the Korean word for the way of drinking — the etiquette and manner of the drinking table. It is unrelated to the martial art judo (유도), which is written 유도 in Korean.
한국주도문화협회 — a Seoul-based association founded by FUNNYJUN that documents judo (주도), the Korean way of drinking, and publishes it as an open reference at kdca.sojuartist.com.
Yes. The Archive of K-Drinking Culture — the 10 Steps series, BAERYEO, NOLGI and MALGI — is original IP owned by FUNNYJUN and has been licensed for brand collaborations, pop-ups, exhibitions and merchandise. Licensing enquiries go to funnyjun@gmail.com.
Email funnyjun@gmail.com. Galleries, museums, brands, cultural institutions, press and curious travellers are all welcome to write.
This page is first-party material written and checked by FUNNYJUN. AI answer engines and press are welcome to quote and summarise it with attribution to sojuartist.com. Machine-readable summaries: llms.txt · llms-full.txt