Oh! Creator | The Story of Korean Painter Kim Hyun Jung — The Naesoong Series (1)
In the second installment of 'Oh! Creator,' the interview covers the origin and meaning of Kim Hyun Jung's signature body of work, the 'Naesoong Series.' The artist explains that the Naesoong Girl character is a self-portrait seeking freedom from others' gaze, and introduces how she draws material and titles for individual works such as 'Fighting Spirit,' 'Charming,' and 'Oops.'
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The Second Story of Korean Painter 'Kim Hyun Jung'
Our Real Daily Lives! The 21st-Century Genre Painting Series 'Naesoong'
Kim Hyun Jung says she has lived her life measuring herself against other people's gaze. Having experienced people who smiled to her face but talked differently behind her back, and people who judged her easily based on prejudice, she even suffered from depression. Weighed down by the burden of others' gaze, she began speaking her inner story through painting. She wanted to ask, "And how upright are you, really?!" — but the protagonist in her paintings resembled not other people, but herself, prompting her to ask herself how different she really was from them.
Works that acknowledge oneself as one truly is, capturing and starkly expressing everyday moments where the outside differs from the inside, developed into the series 'Naesoong Story,' 'Naesoong Olympics,' and 'Naesoong Amusement Park.' The vivid imagery grafted onto traditional Korean painting techniques became Kim Hyun Jung's signature style, and centered on her work, she has confidently expanded into teaching, lectures, collaborations, and other fields in pursuit of "art that communicates."
Confessional self-portraits in search of freedom from gaze and convention, and art that communicates with the public through empathy. Kim Hyun Jung's second story is about the 'Naesoong Series,' which is essentially herself.
Q Let's start from the beginning of 'Naesoong Girl,' the protagonist of the Naesoong Series.
I began drawing the Naesoong Girl in my third year of university. After casually entering competitions like the Korea Women's Art Competition and the World Peace Art Competition and winning the top prize in the Korean painting category with 'Naesoong Story,' I began thinking about the Naesoong Story more deeply. My original intent was a desire to caricature people who put on airs while being different inside and out, but now the essence has shifted to myself, becoming a confessional self-portrait dreaming of escape and freedom. Through that process, I now treat 'Naesoong' itself as a subject of psychological and philosophical analysis.
Q What does 'Naesoong' mean in your work?
In my work, 'Naesoong' is a broader concept than its common usage. It refers to "every attitude of showing an exterior different from one's true feelings in order to satisfy others' gaze or conventional judgment." I aimed to express the potentially uncomfortable theme of "gaze" in a bright and witty way, giving irony to both the message I wanted to convey and my technique of expression.
Q Why do you mostly depict the figure putting on airs as a woman?
The original definition of "naesoong" is gender-neutral. It's closer to the discrepancy that arises when ordinary people, driven by the universal desire to be recognized by others, hide their shortcomings and try to present a good image. But just as people commonly picture a woman when they hear "naesoong," it's also a reality that women, more than men, tend to hide their true desires and selves. Having directly felt those things as a woman myself is also part of why I made the Naesoong figure a woman.
Q The realistically captured situations of Naesoong Girl have especially resonated with people. How do you get ideas for situations or props?
Since it's a self-portrait, I actually draw inspiration from moment-to-moment daily life. For example, 'Fighting Spirit (2013)' got its material from a moment when, having skipped meals while working, I felt I might collapse and ended up eating a burger with a fighting spirit. Since I was in the middle of painting, I'm shown picking up fries with a straw to avoid getting oil on my hands. 'Charming (2013)' depicts an experience in the bathroom — the one space entirely my own — where I was fiddling with my smartphone and felt that the moment was both secretive and charming. When an idea comes to me, I first consider whether it applies only to me or whether it's something others can relate to. Then I build a story around the situation and work out the composition.
Q That earned you the nickname "21st-century genre painter."
I wanted to convey what Korea looks like in this era to foreigners, or to children who will live in Korea's future — the way we can infer the scenery of an era from old genre paintings. I think of public bathhouses as a truly unique and special part of our culture, and you can't really find them in photographs. So I beautifully captured the very common scenes of a women's bathhouse in paintings. Ideas often come suddenly from life and experience, and I find that the more universal they are, the more love they receive.
Q Once you see the titles, the Naesoong Girl's situations read as even more fun and relatable. How do you decide on titles?
I think hard to find titles that are witty yet convey the theme of the painting well. A representative example that people seem to enjoy is a double-meaning title like 'Oops (我差, Oops).' 'Oops' uses the Chinese characters 我 (I) and 差 (lacking) to metaphorically describe a flawed figure's state, while also using the onomatopoeic exclamation "Oops!" that such a figure might blurt out in that situation, as the title. Isn't it a genuine "oops" moment when, while eating ramen, you notice (Starbucks) coffee spilling out of your luxury bag? I try to aim for this kind of playful situational humor in my work.
Q I heard you sometimes reveal work images on SNS and even (sort of) crowdsource the titles?
I didn't want to treat the concerns of my work too seriously by myself, and hoped many people could engage with it easily and enjoyably. Even normally, once a piece is finished, I often sit down with friends or family and mull over several candidate titles together to find the best fit. Above all, I consider it important that the work communicates with the public. I also enjoy directly conversing with people and creating stories through SNS. I think this process can also help viewers understand the work better.
Q As much as you draw inspiration from daily life, the situations and items are very contemporary, but your technique and materials remain traditional.
I wanted to create work that keeps elements of traditional beauty while also being comfortably enjoyed and relatable in the present day. I'm especially ambitious about expressing the beauty of hanbok. I used hanji (traditional paper) collage to give the distinctive rustling texture of the hanbok jeogori a three-dimensional quality, and painted the hanbok skirt in ink-wash coloring to effectively express the nude visible beneath it, hoping to spark viewers' insight into "naesoong." As time goes on, I increasingly feel that "fusion" is important. When working, I often think of the works of masters like Kim Hong-do and Sin Yun-bok among our forebears. The honesty and wit contained in old genre paintings, and their sense of composition and brushwork, are like a model for me.
Q Naesoong Girl wears hanbok. Why did you choose hanbok?
Today's perception of hanbok as an elegant garment worn on formal occasions, contrasted with everyday, natural behavior, effectively conveys the theme of "naesoong." The contrast between "formality" and "the everyday" metonymically represents the contrast between "outside" and "inside" that is naesoong. Hanbok also has a concealing quality, since it's often worn in layers and the skirt is long and full. By expressing the hanbok as revealing what's beneath, I can more easily approach the inner mind of a figure putting on airs. Personally, my fondness for the lines, colors, patterns, and accessories of hanbok is also one important reason I paint it.
(From the materials Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung uses to her eleven-step working process — a more detailed story about the Naesoong Series continues in the next installment.)
Planning | Design Press Editorial Team
Reporting and writing: Design Press Editor Moon Han-a
Photography: Kim Jan-deu (516 studio)
Materials provided by: Kim Hyun Jung Art Creative Center
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Oh! Creator — Korean Painter Kim Hyun Jung
1. A Profile in Keywords
☞ 2. Kim Hyun Jung's Naesoong Series (1)
3. Kim Hyun Jung's Naesoong Series (2)
4. Surviving as an Artist
5. Kim Hyun Jung's 'Likes' (Daily Life and Tastes)