Lacquer artist Kim Deok-han finds self through repeated process

Kim Deok-han applies lacquer to his art. It is not just a simple craft, but spiritual work to look into himself. After repeatedly applying lacquer layers mixed with colored powder on an object such as a wood panel or aluminum that he has covered with linen, he rubs the surface with sandpaper. He explains the rubbing process is a spiritual action to look into himself. This artwork also reflects his belief that the current self is from the accumulated times of his past. “The whole proc

July 6, 2020

Colorful face masks gain popularity in Korea

Face masks featuring diverse colors and designs are gaining ground in Korea, as protective equipment is increasingly perceived as a fashion item. A growing number of social media users here are posting photos with fashionable face masks. More than 20,000 posts have been uploaded on Naver, Korea’s biggest portal, and similar mask-related photos are piling up on Instagram as well.  Last month, a fashion show was held in Gangnam, southern Seoul, showcasing various facial protection p

July 5, 2020

Goryeo mother-of-pearl lacquerware purchased from Japanese collector unveiled

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday unveiled the “Goryeo Lacquered Box Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl Chrysanthemum and Scroll Design” previously held in Japan at the National Palace Museum of Korea. The artifact was returned to Korea in December last year. “Mother-of-pearl lacquerware with our 1,000-year history has returned. This artifact is our cultural heritage that contains our DNA,” head of CHA Chung Jae-suk said during a press conference held Thursday.

July 4, 2020

[The Arts and COVID-19] Turning adversity into opportunity

Sometimes a crisis turns into an opportunity. When COVID-19 began to spread across the country, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) quickly moved online in March, grabbing global attention for its digital content. More than 3,000 people viewed the museum‘s first live-streamed exhibition, its first calligraphy-only exhibition in its 51-year history, on the museum’s YouTube channel. “The Modern and Contemporary Korean Writing,” a 80-minute cur

July 1, 2020

[Best Brand] Promising designer Ye Myung-ji inspired by Korean traditional ornaments, birth of universe

JEWELRY YEMYUNGJI Jewelry brand Yemyungji is coming to prominence on the global stage with unique design collections that reflect traditional Korean ornaments and the birth of the universe. Founded by designer Ye Myung-ji in 1998, the jewelry brand has established its uniqueness, showcasing signature design collections such as “Line,” “Space,” “Mineral,” and “Tradition” inspired by the nature, tradition and universe. Ye reinterpreted Korea&r

June 30, 2020

[Museum of One’s Own] Park Soo Keun Museum, place that feels like mother’s warm embrace

The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to the well-known Korean contemporary artists that bear their name. --Ed. Driving through a winding road in Yanggu County in Gangwon Province, the Park Soo Keun Museum slowly comes into sight. Surrounded by granite, the museum lies low to the ground as if representing the humble personality of Korea’s representative modern artist Park Soo-keun. The granite pieces that surround the museum are familiar objects here as the

June 30, 2020

Arario Gallery presents exhibition with two different themes

An artist presents two different ideas through the single exhibition “I Have No Idea, Because I Have No Idea,” which runs through Aug. 15 in Jongno, central Seoul. Insane Park borrowed the title from a popular internet meme. “The phrase is fundamentally ironic, and within that irony there is humor and a sense of vitality which has led to its mass consumption as a meme,” Park said. “I skim through memes and comments (on the internet) before going to bed,”

June 28, 2020

Top court confirms artist not guilty of fraud for selling heavily assisted paintings

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a ruling that cleared a singer-painter of fraud for selling his paintings that were created with the help of assistants. Cho Young-nam, once a popular folk singer, was accused of fraudulently selling 21 pieces of art to 17 people for a total of 153 million won ($126,792) from September 2011 to January 2015. Cho called the paintings his own, but it was later found out that assistants he had hired actually painted them, and he only added some final touche

June 25, 2020

Korean War remembered at MMCA show

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) is hosting a special exhibition to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War by looking at the memories of the war captured through artworks and contemplating the lessons learned from the war. The English title of the exhibition, “Unflattening,” derives from a novel by Nick Sousanis, and suggests that people should look back at the war from diverse perspectives. The Korean title can be translated into Englis

June 24, 2020

Korean artists express support for BLM Korea Arts

Around 200 people working in the art industry signed the BLM Korea Arts online declaration, which calls for racial equality in South Korean art facilities. Titled “Korean art facilities need to reflect and reform regarding the racial discrimination problem,” the online declaration was released June 15 by Korean artist Young-jun Tak, who works in Seoul and Berlin. Tak’s body of work focuses on issues such as discrimination against LGBTQ individuals by Korean Christians, somet

June 24, 2020

Painting album by Joseon master painter to go on block next month

A painting album by Jeong Seon (1676~1759), an artist hailed as the Joseon-period master of landscape paintings, will be put on auction for the first time next month. Designated as Treasure No. 1796, the painting album of Haeak palgyeong and Songyu palhyeondo comprises 16 paintings by Jeong Seon -- eight scenes of Mt. Kumgang (Haeak palgyeong) located in today‘s North Korea and eight paintings depicting the eight Confucian scholars of China’s Song Dynasty (Songyu palhyeondo). The

June 24, 2020

[Museum of One’s Own] Lee Ungno Museum remembers underappreciated Korean modern artist

The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to the well-known Korean contemporary artists that bear their name. --Ed. When Western culture started to flood Korea in the early 1900s, many Korean artists faced a crucial question: how to apply Western art in their paintings without Korea’s painting tradition losing its cultural identity. Born in 1904, Lee Ung-no was one of the artists who agonized over this question and successfully integrated the two different cultu

June 22, 2020

Gallery Hyundai sheds light on Korea’s experimental in 2nd part of 50th anniversary show

Gallery Hyundai, a major gallery in Korea, has unveiled the second part of the special exhibition that celebrates its 50th anniversary with a strong line-up of Korean experimental art. The second part of the exhibition which runs from June 12 to July 19 at the gallery in Jongno, central Seoul, features five artists of Korea’s experimental art -- Lee Seung-taek, Kwak Duck-jun, Park Hyun-ki, Lee Kun-yong and Lee Kang-so – who were active from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, expandi

June 20, 2020

[Eye Interview] Creating universe with small square canvases

The great disruptor. The COVID-19 pandemic has been raging around the world since the beginning of the year, claiming lives, crippling economies and laying bare the great inequalities that divide the world. The new coronavirus has directly or indirectly impacted our lives. For New York-based artist Kang Ik-joong, the lockdown has been a time for contemplation. “We don’t know where we are exactly,” Kang said during an interview with The Korea Herald on June 12 in Seoul. He ha

June 19, 2020

Abstract painter Choi Wook-kyung's pop art influence, experimentation revisited

South Korean painter Choi Wook-kyung (1940-1985) in a sense represented a unique amalgamation of abstract expressionism of her home country and the United States. In an era when the field was dominated by political and populist art, Choi dug deeper into the realm of abstract expressionism after studying the works of Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Robert Motherwell in America, leaving behind a legacy of signaling timely intercultural exchange between South Korea and the US. Choi, whose hal

June 18, 2020

Harry Chun shows how refugees strive to carry on their lives

South Korea is one of the few countries where ordinary people do not encounter refugee issues in their ordinary lives. Many people easily neglect the issues of how refugees around the world are desperately struggling to secure their lives -- although Koreans were once refugees during the Korean War in the early 1950s. Independent photographer Harry Chun, who is now based in Korea, reminds us of how refugees on the other sides of the world are striving during the most devastating moments in

June 17, 2020

'Gwanghwamun Arirang' stands tall in heart of Seoul

The masterpiece “Gwanghwamun Arirang” created by internationally acclaimed artist Kang Ik-joong to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War was unveiled on Monday at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. The opening ceremony was attended by former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo; Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun; Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Park Sam-Duck; Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha; an

June 15, 2020

[Museum of One’s Own] Uijae Museum of Korean Art strives to keep Korean literati paintings intact

The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to Korea’s well-known contemporary artists that bear their name. --Ed. If you walk up Mudeungsan in Gwangju, you will encounter the Uijae Museum of Korean Art, which sits on the mountain slope and blends in harmoniously with the scenery.  The museum is dedicated to Huh Baek-lyun, the master of Korean literati painting who also went by the pseudonym Uijae. Huh is known as Korea’s last modern literati painter.&n

June 15, 2020

'Old Korea': Presumed portrait of Joseon war hero revealed in revised book

A watercolor painting, 77 by 55 centimeters in scale, depicts a bearded man, presumably from the Joseon era, with a dauntless look on his face, wearing a military felt hat. Donning a blue hanbok robe, the man sits on a chair holding a whip. Behind him stands a screen with images of "geobukseon," or turtle ships, sailing in the water, along with smaller vessels. From the geobukseon images, those with even a passing interest in Korean history would assume that the painting is that of Y

June 10, 2020

[Museum of One’s Own] Childlike paintings belie artist’s inner torment

  The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to the well-known Korean contemporary artists that bear their name --Ed. On a hill covered with green grass, a light blue building greets visitors. The Chang Ucchin Museum of Art in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, is composed of triangles and rectangles. Its design reflects the artist’s lifelong philosophy: simplicity. “If my father were alive, he would have loved this place,” Chang Kyeong-soo, t

June 8, 2020