Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 28 October 2025 – As big as 125 football pitches and home to 13 test circuits: it can be difficult to grasp the magnitude of premium tyre manufacturer Hankook’s state-of-the-art Technoring testing grounds. That’s not the case with the miniature now being presented, a detailed Lego version of the grounds. Artist Wani Kim used 8,000 Lego bricks to build a 1:700 scale replica of the grounds opened in 2022, including the striking control tower, which in reality rises over 37 metres high. And of course, what would a model of the testing grounds in Taean, South Korea, be without any vehicles in it? A time-lapse video shows how Wani Kim immortalises the grounds in his artwork, including miniature vehicles on Hankook tyres.
Complex build process
Skid pad, office building and off-road track – getting everything as accurate as the original requires a tad more than the brief building instructions that come in Lego toy sets. What looks easy is highly complex – something both tyres and the Lego project have in common. Similar to tyres, whose development, design and manufacture are significantly more complex than they appear at first glance, a build project involving more than 5,000 Lego bricks requires a lot more planning and tools. Wani Kim, who was able to turn his passion into a career as one of just 24 certified professionals worldwide, used his programming skills to develop his own programmes, including parts management, to enable him to simulate a model and create a detailed build plan precisely for such complex build processes. To ensure perfection, the Korean Lego pioneer sometimes reaches for a hammer and a bottle of glue; after all, the artworks are meant to last forever.
Hankook X Digital Creator artist collaboration series
Since 2022, Hankook Tire has been collaborating with influential artists as part of its “Hankook X Digital Creator” project. Alongside Wani Kim, who as a Lego Certified Creator has already designed the window display of the Louis Vuitton Store in Seoul among other projects. Hankook is working with the digital artist KAZE PARK (Seungwoo Park) and the illustrator sketch_juny on the collaboration project, presenting unique content that has proven extremely popular with younger audiences.
