“It’s just a toy,” they say. That’s when the story begins.

“It’s just a toy.”

It sounds so simple — easy to brush off.

But artist Youn Hoseok quietly pushes back. To him, toys were never just toys. They were a small universe tucked inside a bedroom, and the only source of strength sustained by childhood imagination.

Toys Were My Universe

As an only child, Youn’s room was filled with toys. Comic book heroes, game characters, tiny action figures — they weren’t just characters.

They were his reality, his dreams, and his emotional escape.

“When I played with them, I decided their fate. I was the creator of that little world.” Now, he recreates that world — in glass.

Desire, in the Shape of Glass

Youn works with traditional glassblowing, a technique where molten glass becomes something alive. For him, glass is a transparent language — translating emotion, memory, and desire.

The toys he crafts sparkle like candy, but look closer: hidden inside are loneliness, anxiety, jealousy, pressure, competition, attention, perfectionism — all the feelings we often leave unspoken.

 

His signature series It’s just a toy holds that duality. Dazzling like crystal, yet delicate like glass — one wrong touch and it might shatter. Just like us.

Empowered: The Blade Behind the Shine

His latest series, Empowered, fuses a wine glass with a dagger. Think: something a medieval noble might wear for show. The piece speaks of vanity and addiction —

and with each performance, Youn pours wine using the dagger, turning the object into action, and action into art. This isn’t just a sculpture. It’s a mirror — where glass history, pop culture, and fantasy collide.

Humor, Heroes, and a Twist

Youn once dreamed of being a superhero. Now? He laughs. “I wanted to be a superhero…but I guess I turned into a dark hero.”

At the end of the interview, he left us with his signature humor: “Go YEATU! And YEATU team, fighting!! hehe!!”

That’s who he is — a mix of seriousness and playfulness, always balancing bold ideas with bright, toy-like charm.

Becoming a Mentor Through Glass

Now based in Kansas City, Youn was awarded the SAXE Emerging Artist Award by the Glass Art Society in 2023. His works have been exhibited across the U.S., Italy, and Poland, and he continues to grow as both an artist and educator. One day, he dreams of opening a glass art school in Korea — a place where anyone can learn, regardless of background. “A school where glass is for everyone — that’s my dream.”

 

A Clear Connection with YEATU

To Youn, YEATU is a chance to tell his story in a new way — just as his glass toys open up hidden feelings through familiar forms, YEATU helps create new bridges between artists, audiences, and collectors.

And he asks, once more:

“What story are you carrying with you?” His glass toys are ready to listen.