OBS | A World Worth Living In: Korean Painter Kim Hyun Jung
An approximately 15-minute documentary titled 'This Is Life,' produced by OBS, aired in 2019 on both OBS and MBC's 'A World Worth Living In,' covering Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's working process and exhibition venue.
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A brilliant brush and a professional gaze, confident even in front of the camera. She is one of the most closely watched painters in Korea today, creating a new paradigm for Korean painting. We introduce Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung, who captures the "new folk paintings" of the 21st century on canvas.
Today's subject, artist Kim Hyun Jung, is hard at work in her studio in Gangnam, Seoul. Dressed in an elegant hanbok, she is in the midst of painting a Korean painting — and reinterpreting the traditional light-ink-and-color technique in a contemporary way is precisely what characterizes her signature work.
Kim Hyun Jung: I really love the title "Korean painter." I've been painting very earnestly since I was young, and I also wanted to break the fixed stereotypes that come to mind when people hear "Korean painting" — that's why, when introducing myself, I often say, "I'm Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung."
Elegant women dressed in demure hanbok, engaged in behavior that is anything but refined — her work, which goes beyond simple Korean painting to present itself as a new folk portrait of the 21st century, stands out for its satire and wit. Among her works, the "Naesoong Series," which depicts an ordinary self-portrait of all of us whose insides differ from our outsides, is her signature work and has resonated with many people.
Kim Hyun Jung: What I'm truly grateful for even now is that I started painting this series back in my sophomore year as an undergraduate. Back then, I painted it purely with the mindset of a student wanting to "express myself" — I never once thought it would bring me popularity. I painted with a heart of gratitude that people were even looking at my work at all, and even now, I'm truly thankful that so many people relate to it.
Host: This is the first time I've seen someone actually wear hanbok while working like this. You don't necessarily have to wear it every day — the person painting could just reference it as a subject.
Kim Hyun Jung: When I only approached it as subject matter, there was so much I didn't know, and I would sometimes paint it incorrectly.