‘Minor Triumph’

The Myeongdong district is one of Seoul’s top tourist destinations, home to luxury brand names, department stores, cosmetic shops and lots of street food, always busy with people and neon lights, constantly developing through the ebb and flow of Korean trends.

Minor Triumph (or “Small Victory,” depending on the translation) is a bronze sculpture by artist Yoon Suk-won that was installed in Myeongdong in 1986. It depicts a group of children playing on a see-saw, in a cheery, energetic momentum of play, not unlike the Bronze Bathers of Singapore.

The title refers to the way one end of the children wins for a turn, before losing again, going up and down until they get tired of it. But the sculpture stays in a perpetual state of their “small victory,” a timeless joy in the fast-changing neighborhood.