Maeil Business Newspaper | Painter Kim Hyun Jung Holds Exhibition at U.S. Congress to Promote ‘Kimchi Day’
Painter Kim Hyun Jung was invited to the ‘Kimchi Day’ event held at the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on the 6th, where she exhibited a work depicting herself in hanbok making kimchi. The event was organized to encourage passage of the ‘Kimchi Day’ resolution currently pending in Congress.
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A ‘Kimchi Day’ event celebrating Korea's kimchi was held at the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. on the 6th. Painter Kim Hyun Jung was invited to an exhibition hosted by the Museum of Korean American Heritage (MOKAH) to encourage passage of the ‘Kimchi Day (November 22 each year) resolution’ pending in Congress.
The event was organized by the Museum of Korean American Heritage together with the East Coast Korean Food Globalization Promotion Committee and the U.S. regional headquarters of aT (Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation). Many members of Congress attended, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who sponsored the resolution, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, and Reps. Grace Meng, Tom Suozzi, Andy Kim, Young Kim, Michelle Park Steel, and Marilyn Strickland, all of whom had signed on to the resolution.
At the event, artist Kim Hyun Jung displayed a work depicting a woman in hanbok making kimchi, created using distinctive Korean painting techniques and hanji (traditional paper) collage, before members of Congress, and presented commemorative gifts.
The push to establish ‘Kimchi Day’ at the federal level began in July when Rep. Maloney submitted a resolution to the House proposing that November 2 each year be recognized as Kimchi Day. While California, Virginia, and New York have each declared Kimchi Day at the state level, this marks the first attempt to designate it as an official federal observance.
Kim Hyun Jung, regarded as one of the most promising figures in the Korean painting world for her fresh ideas, subject matter, and expressive techniques, focuses on depicting women going about daily life in hanbok, capturing the concerns of contemporary people in a trendy and distinctive way. She currently serves as a publicity ambassador for the City of Seoul and for Hope Bridge.