Interaction - Bachelor
"Under the Rising Sun" is an interactive narrative installation that tells the story of Yu Gwan Soon's resistance during Imperial Japan's colonisation of Korea (1916-1920). Audiences stack up weighted stones on a pressure-sensor-equipped baseboard to unlock five chapters through an illustrated web experience, physically embodying the weight of resistance she carried.
The narrative traces Yu Gwan Soon’s life from 1916 to her death in prison in 1920, structured in five chapters: The Beginning, The Defiance, The Preparation, The Tragedy, and The Last Cry. Through these chapters, audiences witness her transformation from student to revolutionary martyr—a progression from hope to defiance, from preparation to tragic sacrifice, ending with her final cry of resistance.
Five stones, ranging from 505g to 2,728g, represent the progressive burden of resistance. In Christian symbolism, stones signify strength and foundation—fitting for a story of unwavering resolve. The lightest stone begins the story; the heaviest concludes it. A mesh safety gate frames the installation, evoking the prison grilles of Seodaemun Prison where Yu Gwan Soon died. The baseboard houses beam load cells, amplifiers, and a Raspberry Pi Pico that detects the pressure of each stone and triggers the corresponding chapter.
The web-based narrative features hand-illustrated visuals, including backgrounds, characters, and speech bubbles. Custom animations, sound effects, background music, and voice-over narration layer together to create an immersive experience. Yu Gwan Soon’s story was chosen because her resistance wasn’t abstract—it was a teenage girl making conscious political choices under occupation. As audiences place progressively heavier stones, they physically feel the escalating burden that mirrors her intensifying resistance—from quiet defiance to ultimate sacrifice. This format asks: if history is the record of political choices under pressure, what choices are we making now?
This installation reframes historical remembrance as an active, political engagement rather than passive observation. By making audiences physically bear the weight of resistance, the project bridges Yu Gwan Soon’s 1920 struggle with present-day questions about citizenship, courage, and political responsibility. Her story isn’t just history—it’s a blueprint for understanding how individual action shapes collective freedom. The installation asks participants to feel what resistance costs, making the connection between historical sacrifice and contemporary political consciousness unavoidable.
Yoonji Bae is a third-year Bachelor of Interaction Design student at QUT. Her work examines how narrative, interaction, and emotion intersect across digital and physical design. She strives to design experiences that connect history, culture, and empathy.