Media SK | The Korean Painter Who Paints Naesoong: Kim Hyun Jung
Media SK, SK Group's external media outlet, interviewed Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, who has drawn attention for her "Naesoong" series depicting the dual daily lives of women in hanbok. Kim Hyun Jung revealed how depression and difficulty with relationships in college led her to capture people's duplicity under the keyword "Naesoong," producing self-portrait-style works. She also shared that she commutes to her studio like an office worker to paint every day, continuing "social drawing" activities in which she exchanges views with her audience.
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"Cheeky," "audacious," and "Naesoong" are the keywords that best represent artist Kim Hyun Jung. She has thoroughly shattered the prejudice that Korean painting must be refined and dignified, drawing attention for her fresh ideas and expressive techniques. We met Kim Hyun Jung, the "idol of the art world," who cheerfully paints Korean painting under the keyword "Naesoong."
■ The Naesoong Girl in Hanbok Is the Artist's Self-Portrait
Kim Hyun Jung's paintings speak of "Naesoong" — acting demure while secretly doing otherwise. Though dressed in an elegant, dignified hanbok, she captures scenes that are anything but dignified: hiking her hanbok skirt up to her knees to eat ramyeon under a convenience store parasol, or sitting on a bench absorbed in her smartphone.
These are everyday situations most people have experienced at least once, but seeing them through the figure of a Naesoong girl in hanbok makes viewers burst out laughing.
"Your stomach is growling, but you tell the guy you like that you're not hungry just to look good in front of him — that's the kind of cute 'Naesoong' I mean. My works capture the figure of a Naesoong girl pretending otherwise to look good to others. It's also a confessional self-portrait of myself."
Kim Hyun Jung came up with the idea for the Naesoong story in her sophomore year of college. She was struggling with depression at the time and found it hard to meet people. What was hardest for her, in particular, was people's duplicity — being different in front of others than behind their backs. She decided to express this trait in people through the keyword "Naesoong."
At first, she pictured the people she disliked and portrayed them with a touch of Naesoong. But one day, she discovered herself within the paintings. Kim Hyun Jung realized that the reason she had disliked those people was, ultimately, because they resembled her — and from then on, she began painting confessional self-portraits.
True to its self-portrait nature, the model in her works is Kim Hyun Jung herself. After conceiving a piece, she becomes the model herself, photographing herself in thin clothing that reveals the silhouette of her body. Once the photo is painted onto the canvas in a nude-like form, the underdrawing is complete. On top of that, the hanbok jeogori (jacket) is rendered by layering hand-dyed hanji paper, while the skirt is painted lightly in ink — a new attempt combining Western collage with the East Asian technique of ink-and-light-color painting.
(Photos: <Naesoong: A Perfect Table>, 2013, ink and light color on hanji, collage / <Naesoong: In Seclusion>, 2012, ink and light color on hanji, collage)
"I repeat the process of applying and layering paint more than 30 times, so completing one piece takes anywhere from two to six months. Some works become finished pieces with just a single dot on the canvas, so I've heard people say I'm being needlessly stubborn (laughs). But I believe a good work requires that much time and care."
(Photo: <Naesoong: A Night I Want a Glass of Soju>, 2016, ink and light color on hanji, collage)
■ An Artist Who 'Works Hard' Like an Office Worker — Immersion Is a Joy
Whenever she meets her audience or appears at events, Kim Hyun Jung always dresses elegantly in hanbok, since hanbok has become her trademark. At first, it was embarrassing to go outside in hanbok on a day that wasn't a holiday, but she shook off that embarrassment through her sense of mission as the artist who paints the "Naesoong girl in hanbok."
(Photo: Kim Hyun Jung says hanbok is now more comfortable and natural for her than jeans or a dress.)
Having changed even her fashion style out of devotion to her art, she is also known for approaching her painting work diligently, "like an office worker." Working seven days a week, clocking in at 9 a.m. and even working overtime — this fierce work environment, she says, owes a great deal to a business class she took in college.
"It struck me as ironic that art is expensive while artists are poor, so I double-majored in business administration to understand the art market. On the first day of class, I arrived 10 minutes early, but the only seat left was in the back corner. At the art college, even being three minutes late still got you a seat near the front, but the business school was different. Watching students studying so intensely made me wonder, 'Am I painting this fiercely?'"
Not wanting to become a starving artist, she resolved to paint more diligently and harder than others. No matter what, she commutes to her studio every morning and paints every single day.
"The moment I'm painting, all my worries disappear. Isn't it thrilling to be able to pour all your attention into something you love? That same thrill still holds when I see the audience's 'immersion.' When people genuinely enjoy the work I've painted and tell me it's 'fun' or that they 'relate to it,' I feel proud and happy."
■ 'Social Drawing' — Painting Together with the Audience
Incorporating the concept of "social drawing" into her practice is also about letting her audience enjoy the work more fully. Kim Hyun Jung describes social drawing as "a process in which the public and the artist exchange opinions together and build the work together." Rather than simply expressing one artist's unilateral thoughts, she completes paintings enriched by her audience's opinions, experiences, and perspectives gathered through social media activity.
"The driving force behind my work comes from the audience. I want to keep creating works and exhibitions that make more people happy and joyful. This year, I plan to begin work on '21st-Century Genre Paintings.' I'll be back soon to meet my audience with new paintings."
Just as she herself found healing through painting, Kim Hyun Jung hopes her audience, too, will find joy in her work. We look forward to her witty and cheeky imagination bringing delight into the everyday lives of many.
CREDIT
Text and photos / MEDIA SK