If you are seeking a refreshing activity for your free time, how about visiting The San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA) in Balboa Park this weekend? It is showcasing a special exhibition, “Korea in Color: A Legacy of Auspicious Images,” which will run until March 3 next year.

I visited the exhibition last weekend and was amazed to see how people are genuinely interested in Korean paintings. Some were seated in front of the artwork, utterly captivated, while others engaged in serious discussions, closely looking at the paintings.

As the second episode of “K-girl in SD,” I would like to share a story about Korean art, a facet often overshadowed by the frontrunners of Hallyu (Korean wave), such as music, films, and drama.
REINTERPRET THE TRADITIONAL IMAGES

The exhibition revolves around four themes “connected to a traditional household.” The first theme, “Byeoksa,” means “protection against evil spirits,” and the gallery shows artworks depicting “protection offered by animals at the doorstep.” Visitors will first encounter a gigantic lacquer on a panel of a tiger, and several more paintings of animals believed to be protectors from evils at the old times. As they walk inside the gallery, they can enjoy the video performance of a dance inspired by Korean myth.

The second theme is “Gilsang,” meaning “good fortune,” and it features paintings and photo works about “symbols of abundance and longevity in the garden.” Traditional polychrome paintings with symbols of longevity will greet visitors initially. However, as they turn the corner, bright and intensely colored flowers are featured in diverse paintings by modern artists.

“Gyohun” is the third theme, meaning “edification,” and the gallery showcases paintings depicting “scholarly objects and books in the study.” Visitors can view more modernized artworks in the third section. Artists attempt to convey messages about contemporary issues, such as the pandemic, using traditional artistic styles.

In the last theme, “Gamsang,” which means “appreciation,” there are artworks about “the appreciation of majestic mountains beyond the walls of the home.” Visitors can appreciate a panorama view of majestic mountains, palaces, and more.

In each section, traditional paintings aid in understanding the original meanings and intentions of the images. Moreover, the exhibition provides reinterpreted artworks from a modern viewpoint. Modern artists express themselves through exceptional techniques with the same topics from the past or through their thoughts using the same form of art from tradition. This has made the galleries more vibrant than with only the old paintings.

OLDIES + NEWBIES = ART

Not only in paintings but many types of art attract attention through the ‘reinterpretation of tradition.’

You can find videos titled “Feel the Rhythm of Korea” on YouTube, which are promotional videos for Korea. During the pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with the Korea Tourism Organization, released 14 videos introducing cities in the nation, such as Seoul, Busan, Jeonju, and more. These videos garnered attention for how they created storytelling by combining traditions and new trends.

Videos for the first season show the tourist attractions in the cities with Fusion Gukak, a mixture of modern music and Korean classical music, expressing a combination of ‘oldies’ and ‘newbies.’ In the second season, they collaborated with hip-hop labels to present a classy sense while introducing hidden spots in Korea. The reinterpreted hip-hop style music of traditional folk songs such as Minyo and Pansori was inserted. The videos don’t stick to an old-fashioned style and move forward to reveal a new image of Korea.

The Fusion Gukak song “Tiger is Coming” by the band “Leenalchi” has successfully gone viral and hit over 50 million views. With the success of the first ones, videos from the second season also recorded over 130 million views in three weeks of release.

“Squid Game,” which is now a representative work of the Korean drama industry, also incorporates traditional elements. The series addressed the current gap between the rich and the poor; however, it features Korean traditional games such as honeycomb shape cutting, tug of war, marble games, etc. This gives the show a more unique and quaint mood.

THE WINDS OF CHANGE ARE BLOWING IN K-ART

Korea was not a mainstream player in the art field compared to the music, drama, and film industry. According to The New York Times, When Hyunsoo Woo, the deputy director for collections and exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, “arrived in the United States in 1996, ‘Korean art was

nowhere to be found’ in American museums, even encyclopedic ones.” It is also an undelightful part that there is not a noticeable enough number of pieces from Korea in comparison with Japan and China in the Asia section of many museums.

However, the winds of positive change are blowing in Korean art. Museums are showing interest in Korean art and hosting special exhibitions spanning from the ancient era to contemporary art.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) opened the exhibition “Lineages: Korean Art at the MET” this November and showcased 30 pieces of Korean artwork, including well-known artists’ work such as Kim Whanki and Baik Nam-soon. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is also running “The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989” through next February, which is “the first major showing of Korean contemporary art in the US since 2009” according to the museum. Other institutions, such as New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and The Denver Art Museum, also hold Korean art exhibitions.

Moreover, The MET announced that “for the 2024 Façade Commission, South Korean artist Lee Bul will create four new sculptures that combine figurative and abstract elements for The Met Fifth Avenue’s façade niches.” Her sculptures will be installed until May 2025, and this is the first time a Korean artist has been commissioned for artwork by the MET.

“Korea in Color: A Legacy of Auspicious Images” represents one of the gradual steps towards positive changes in the Korean art industry. If you visit, you will appreciate the incredible use of color in traditional paintings and the fascinating recreation of old ideas by modern artists. I am glad that I can share one of the Korean art exhibitions taking place in the U.S. and hope you readers experience a valuable time if visit there.

Kyungmin Min is an international intern from Korea.