Channel A | Painted in Ink: A Figure in Hanbok from the ‘Sampo Generation’ Working a Delivery Job
A report aired on Channel A's 'News A' on March 19, 2016, introducing Kim Hyun Jung, who painted at the venue of her exhibition <Naesoong Amusement Park> in hanbok.
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What if the protagonist of an ink-and-color painting — a woman in her twenties dressed in hanbok — spoke of the struggles facing today's hard-pressed younger generation, the so-called "Sampo Generation" who have given up on dating, marriage, and childbirth? There is a young woman painter in her twenties who speaks about reality through traditional Korean culture.
A young person preparing for job applications, having given up even on watching movies or raising children; another working part-time delivering fast food just to get by — the self-portrait of a hard-pressed generation of young people appears in ink-and-color painting. It is also the artist's own story.
"I wanted to express our self-portrait — too busy trying to make our dreams come true, unable to date once we start working at a company, with even marriage becoming a luxury. Reality is harsh, yet on social media people say they're happy; some young people eat instant ramen for meals while still longing for luxury goods — I wanted to capture that duality as well."
While the content of the paintings is thoroughly contemporary, the mode of expression follows tradition. "I think what sets this apart is that it creates a fresh opportunity to engage with tradition once again." Rather than using a brush, a distinctive feature of her technique is collaging hand-dyed hanji (traditional mulberry paper) onto the painting to express the texture of hanbok.
To share the beauty of hanbok, she has also held a solo exhibition in New York. "People told me hanbok was so beautiful — that's when I realized it had become subject matter with real appeal." Hanbok and Korean painting are being newly spotlighted, now clothed in a contemporary sensibility.