Bong Family to Hold Art Exhibition
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Bong Sang-kyun, the father of renowned film director Bong Jun-ho and chairman of the Korea Design Trend Society, is opening a special exhibition with his son, daughter and granddaughter this month.
``It is my solo exhibition, but my children decided to join as guest artists. It was possible because we all work in similar fields,'' he told The Korea Times.
Bong is holding the exhibition to celebrate his 77th birthday this year, and visitors will have the chance to walk among the artwork of three generations.
He added that when he first proposed the idea he thought it would be meaningful to work with his family.
``Jun-ho didn't major in art, but he enjoyed drawing cartoons when he was young and frequently creates storyboards for his movies,'' he said.
The exhibition will display 30 works of art, 23 by the elder Bong and the rest by his film director son, daughter and textile artist Bong Ji-hee, and six-year-old granddaughter Bong Ju-yeon. Bong will offer graphic design works with traditional elements such as sotdaes, or folk stone pillars, while the son will bring some of his storyboards, and his daughter her textile designs and paintings. The youngest Bong, who enjoys drawing next to her grandfather, will show some of her paintings as well.
Bong graduated from Seoul National University's Applied Fine Arts department and worked as a graphic designer for the National Audio Visual Information Service. He is known as a first generation graphic designer here. An artist and former art professor at Yeungnam University and Seoul National University of Technology, he has held 11 solo exhibitions.
His son Jun-ho gained international recognition with his film ``The Host'' in 2006. He is working on a new thriller, ``Mother,'' which will be released this May.
The Bong family's exhibition will be held at the KEPCO Art Hall Feb. 9-18. For more information, call (02) 2105-8192 or visit www.kepco.co.kr.