Painters of Modern Korean Life
By Joon Soh
Contributing Writer
The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a tumultuous period of transition for Korea. The so-called ``Hermit Kingdom'' was forced to open its gates to Japanese colonialists and Western powers competing for influence in East Asia. Amidst it all, Koreans were confronted with Western concepts of science and industry that forever changed their worldviews.
The new Seoul exhibition, ``The Modern Korea Rediscovered,'' describes how the changing world had a profound impact on Korean artists. The exhibition, which recently opened at the National Museum of Art in Deoksu Palace, shows that modernity not only transformed how they made art but what they made it about.
Organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea, ``The Modern Korea Rediscovered'' is an ambitious exhibition, comprising 232 paintings, drawings and sculptures from the late to mid-20th century. Together, they present a vivid and comprehensive overview of Korean art and life.
With the introduction of Western art, Korean painters had to come to terms with aesthetic ideas that were very different from what they had known. Oil painting in particular demanded new ways of observing and depicting.
As the works in the exhibit show, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism seem to have left the greatest mark on early Korean oil painters. The styles of such European masters as Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse are clearly felt in their landscapes, nudes and still life paintings.
But beyond artistic styles and motifs, modernity introduced the possibility of new subject matter. In an essay for the exhibition catalog, art historian Shin Ji-young points out that with the end of feudalism, changes in social hierarchy resulted in new opportunities for education and employment.
These opportunities were even available to women, albeit in a limited manner at first. Lee Yoo-tae's 1944 painting ``Research'' shows a young female scientist in her laboratory, while in other paintings, women are depicted with books in hand, absorbed in their reading.
Modern painters also turned to themselves as subject matter. Self-portraits by Lee Kwae-dae, Seo Dong-jin, Moon Shin and others express a self-conscious individualism that was previously rare in Korean art.
However, establishing a modern aesthetic did not come easily to Korean artists, as they had to maneuver through the Japanese colonial period and later, the Korean War. One section of the exhibit features paintings that portray the ravages of war, including Kim Du-whan's ``Field Hospital'' (1953) and Kim Yeong-duk's ``Children on the Battlefield'' (1955).
``The Modern Korea Rediscovered'' includes the works of famous artists of the era, such as Oh Ji-ho, Park Soo-keun and Lee Jung-sup. However, the exhibit's greatest achievement is the inclusion of numerous minor works and incomplete sketches, gathered from various museums, universities and private collections.
Organized with care, the works give testament to the complex transition Korea went through in the first half of the 20th century, and the fascinating and diverse responses made by artists to their changing world.
``The Modern Korea Rediscovered'' is open until March 22. The National Museum of Art is located in Deoksu Palace, downtown Seoul, near City Hall subway station, subway lines No. 1 and 2. The exhibition is free of charge, but there is a 1,000-won entrance fee for the palace. For more information, go to www.moca.go.kr or call (02) 757-1800.