Ryu Kyung-chai's "Neighborhood of a Bare Mountain" is the winner of Korea's first National Art Exhibition in 1949. The exhibition drew attention from the art circle as well as general public since it was the first official art event after Korea gained its independence from Japanese colonial rule.

/ Courtesy of National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art



Role of artists in nation-building



Ahead of the 70th anniversary of independence next year, The Korea Times will publish a series of stories on the transformation of various cultural genres — art, music, movies and literature — during Japanese rule (1910-1945) and their roles in a new Korea after reclaiming sovereignty . The first segment looks at the contribution of artists during the founding years the nation. — ED.



By Kwon Mee-yoo

From top, Secondary School Art Textbook 2 (1950), Korea's earliest art schoolbook compiled by artists Ku Pon-ung and Kim Kyoung-won; Secondary School Art Textbook 3 (1950) by Ku and Kim; Secondary School Art Textbook (1953) by Lee Hang-sung

/ Courtesy of Kim Dal-gin Art Research and Consulting

On Aug. 15, 1945, Korea regained independence from a 35-year Japanese rule with the end of World War II. The new country began a long journey toward modernization. Although not many are aware, artists were instrumental in this process.

They helped shaping the new nation by contributing to textbooks to portraits in banknotes and giving direction to the country's future in an artistic way.

"Many artists, who were dormant during the Japanese colonial rule, spilled into the street after the establishment of the Korean government. Their works portrayed utopian state and hopes for the new country," said Liu Jienne, curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA).

A new direction

Artist Ryu Kyung-chai (1920-1995) is the winner of the first National Art Exhibition in 1949. The exhibition drew attention from the art circle as well as general public since it was the first official art event after the claim of Korea's sovereignty. Ryu won the top prize, or the Presidential Award, at the inaugural national competition, which immediately made Ryu a leading figure in the post-independence Korean art scene.

Ryu's award-winning painting "Neighborhood of a Bare Mountain" symbolizes Korean's strong will to survive. According to the MMCA curator Park Su-jin, the painting was inspired by a specific image of nature, but developed into a nonrepresentational one. The scenery is known to be a disafforested site near Wangsimni in Seoul, but the painting looks almost abstract and the devastated field is graced with vitality of trees.

"The piece was praised for its evolution to expressionism in portraying nature from realism. It was a breakthrough in subjectiveness in Korean modern art. The vertical trees confront the earth's horizontal composition, as if Koreans radiate vital force," Park said. "Despite having achieved independence from Japan, Korea was in ruins and the social atmosphere could only be described as chaos. This painting aptly embodies those conditions. Nonetheless, amidst the surrounding devastation and confusion, nature retains a tenacious hold on life, instilling the painting with a melancholy vigor. This work heralded a new style of Korean painting by prominently featuring new aesthetic elements."





The Bank of Korea's first note issued in 1950 has the first Korean president Syngman Rhee's portrait on the front. The portrait is said to be modeled after a photo of Rhee at the Tokyo branch of the bank, but the painter is unknown.

/ Courtesy of Bank of Korea Money Museum



Artists making infrastructure

Artists also contributed in shaping the nation's educational and monetary system.

Kim Dal-gin, director of the Kim Dal-gin Art Research and Consulting, said many of Korea's noted artists contributed in writing schoolbooks.

"Textbook is the first step in understanding art. So it is important for young students to see the finest paintings and imitate them in the beginning and later learn to create their own work," Kim said. "Under the colonial rule, art textbooks reflected war situation through illustrations of soldiers and tanks and images of Mt. Fuji and Japanese holiday Meiji-setsu appeared. After the restoration of independence, Western art education system respecting each student's individuality was introduced to Korea and Korean artists were included in the text to establish identity."

Ku Pon-ung (1906-1953), a Fauvism artist who is also known as the grandfather of ballet dancer Kang Sue-jin, worked for Ministry of Education of the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) and compiled one of the first art schoolbooks in 1950.

Ku co-authored the art textbook for secondary school with Kim Kyoung-won (1901-1967). Ko and Kim wrote texts, compiled artworks and illustrated by themselves, as the staff were shorthanded.

Drawing portraits for the nation's first banknote was another job for artists.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) Money Museum, the oldest paper money of the Republic Korea was printed in 1950 in Daegu. The 1,000 won note had President Rhee's portrait on the front and arabesque pattern on the back.

However, the portraitist is unknown. "First sets of the note were issued in Japan during the Korean War (1950-53) and it is said that the portrait was modeled after a photo of Syngman Rhee hung at the Tokyo branch of the BOK," a researcher of the BOK Money Museum said. "The earliest known artist of Korean currency note is Kim Ki-chang, who drew the standard portraiture of King Sejong, and it appeared on the 10,000 won note in 1973."