[New horizons] National heroines remembered through portraits
![From left, Michaela Lee, director of the Czech Centre Seoul, artist Yun Suk-nam and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea Gustav Slamecka visits Yun's exhibition at the Hakgojae Gallery in central Seoul last month. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/cb0024b3-0328-4ef3-a6ee-f2644c7d370d.jpg)
From left, Michaela Lee, director of the Czech Centre Seoul, artist Yun Suk-nam and Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea Gustav Slamecka visits Yun's exhibition at the Hakgojae Gallery in central Seoul last month. [PARK SANG-MOON]
Women independence fighters celebrated in exhibitions

“She is among hundreds, if not more, of women who took part in the independence movement of Korea, yet records about them are scarce, ” said Yun Suk-nam, an artist who paints portraits of women who took part in the independence movement.
Following the rally in Tokyo, Kim smuggled in copies of the students’ declaration of independence to Korea. After the March 1 rally in Korea in 1919, Kim was taken in by Japanese authorities and held in custody for at least six months, during which time she was recorded to have been tortured several times with water, a burning iron and other objects. She was released but taken in again in November.
“Since when did you start thinking about Korea’s independence?” one Japanese interrogator asked Kim, according to records on Kim unearthed by novelist Kim E-kyung, who has been working closely with Yun on her portrait project.
“I have never ceased to think of it,” Kim is recorded to have said in response.
Less than 40 years later in the Czech Republic, or Czechoslovakia at the time, women there, too, were fighting against foreign encroachments.
![Portrait of Maria Horakova, the only Czech woman to have been executed for political reasons during Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia, included in the Czech Heroines exhibition. [CZECH CENTRES]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/a7b0c529-ed93-4003-a09c-ad29f77497d8.jpg)
Portrait of Maria Horakova, the only Czech woman to have been executed for political reasons during Communist-ruled Czechoslovakia, included in the Czech Heroines exhibition. [CZECH CENTRES]
Kim and Horakova are but two examples from thousands of women who refused to go quietly in times of national crises in both Korea and the Czech Republic.
And their lives are being etched into portraits by artists across the two nations.
Yun has embarked on a mission, along with novelist Kim, to highlight 100 women who fought for Korea’s independence through dedicating portraits to them.
“These women fought alongside men in Korea’s independence movement, shouting the same words, enduring arrests and torture and not giving in. There is no reason why their stories should be buried in history,” Yun said.
Of Yun’s portraits, 14 have been exhibited at the Hakgojae Gallery earlier this month. One of her works from the exhibition, “Red Room,” was also showcased at Art Basel’s OVR: Pioneers program.
![“Red Room,” by Yun Suk-nam was exhibited at the Hakgojae Gallery in central Seoul earlier this month as part of her exhibition of 14 portraits of female independence fighters of Korea. The exhibition was also showcased at Art Basel’s OVR: Pioneers program. [HAKGOJAE GALLERY]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/bff413d1-36ed-4cf3-af80-88a3cca04f47.jpg)
“Red Room,” by Yun Suk-nam was exhibited at the Hakgojae Gallery in central Seoul earlier this month as part of her exhibition of 14 portraits of female independence fighters of Korea. The exhibition was also showcased at Art Basel’s OVR: Pioneers program. [HAKGOJAE GALLERY]
In addition to Horakova and Nemcova, figures such as Charlotta Garrigue-Masarykova, wife of first Czechoslovak President Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, who openly referred to himself as a feminist, and Vera Chytilova, the film director at the center of the Czech New Wave of the 1960s, have made it to the list of 50 Czech heroines whose lifetimes span from the 9th century to today.
The Czech Heroines exhibition has traveled to Israel, Russia, the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Slovakia, Brazil, Pakistan and more through virtual platforms provided by the Czech centers and embassies in 2020.
Showcased outdoors at the Czech Centre Seoul, situated close to the Seoul Museum of History, the Czech Heroines exhibition is open to the public through the end of May.
![The Czech Heroines exhibition ongoing at the Czech Centre Seoul through May 31. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/208854e7-3077-49ed-a8a8-af61f141f784.jpg)
The Czech Heroines exhibition ongoing at the Czech Centre Seoul through May 31. [PARK SANG-MOON]
Czech and Korean artists tell stories of courage and patriotism
When they do speak, it’s through the nonverbal — be it the subject’s gaze, facial expression or body language.
Such dialogue can be found in the portraits of 50 Czech heroines exhibited at the Czech Centre Seoul.
![A portrait of Anna Naprstkova painted by a student at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic has been showcased at the Czech Centre Seoul as part of the Czech Heroines exhibition open through end of May. [CZECH CENTRES]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/886cb6cf-ed74-42e9-aeb5-a4156047134a.jpg)
A portrait of Anna Naprstkova painted by a student at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic has been showcased at the Czech Centre Seoul as part of the Czech Heroines exhibition open through end of May. [CZECH CENTRES]
Yun, often called the godmother of feminist art in Korea, is no stranger to portrait painting. Her portraits of women, including the portrait of her mother painted on wood panels, have garnered international attention. Her works have been introduced at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. as well as the Tate in Britain.
More recently, Yun has been plugging through an ambitious project to paint the portraits of 100 of Korea's female independence fighters.
“Novelist Kim E-kyung, with whom I’m working on this portrait project, had to really dig through the old records to find out about these women who clearly had a hand in the independence history of Korea yet were hardly highlighted before,” Yun said. “We were lucky to come across photos of the women the size of fingertips.”
Yun’s exhibition was held from February to early April at the Hakgojae Gallery.
The exhibition at the Czech Centre Seoul will be held through the end of May.
Czech diplomats first saw the connection between the two exhibitions.
“When I saw the portraits of the female independence fighters by Yun, it wasn’t hard for me to guess what kind of a person each individual was, because Yun incorporated details about them so well into the paintings,” said Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea Gustav Slamecka.
“Such elements are also visible in the Czech Heroines exhibition, as the students were given the freedom to depict the personalities of the heroines — to emphasize or focus on certain characteristics of the heroines — in their portraits,” said Slamecka.
To find out more about the women who were game changers in the history of the Czech Republic and Korea, the Korea JoongAng Daily recently sat down with Slamecka, Yun and the Michaela Lee, the head of the Czech Centre Seoul. The following are edited excerpts of the interview.
![The portrait of Jeong Jeong-hwa by Yun Suk-nam. [YUN SUK-NAM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/e464930a-62b1-41b1-9827-4f87992616f1.jpg)
The portrait of Jeong Jeong-hwa by Yun Suk-nam. [YUN SUK-NAM]
Milada Horakova is quite well known in the Czech Republic. She had a very tragic fate, but she held her head high to the end, as she is depicted so in this portrait. She was a victim of the era, persecuted by the Communists, but she never gave up — and to this day she stands as a symbol of strength.
A third woman whose story speaks to me especially is Olga Havlova. She was the wife of Vaclav Havel, who was the last president of Czechoslovakia and first president of the Czech Republic. Her support for Havel through his political career is well known and respected in the country.
![Portraits of Bozena Nemcova, author of "The Grandmother," and Olga Havlova, wife of Czech President Vaclav Havel, by students of University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. [CZECH CENTRES]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/8b0fc748-9f6e-4efa-9eb5-12d78ce57354.jpg)
Portraits of Bozena Nemcova, author of "The Grandmother," and Olga Havlova, wife of Czech President Vaclav Havel, by students of University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. [CZECH CENTRES]
![The portrait of Kim Ok-ryeon by Yun Suk-nam. [YUN SUK-NAM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2021/04/27/18d89190-e93b-4b17-8ef3-b78e5723a94d.jpg)
The portrait of Kim Ok-ryeon by Yun Suk-nam. [YUN SUK-NAM]
When you start to look at the issue from the standpoint of how many politicians or members of the parliament are women today in the Czech Republic, I think this is an area where we still lag behind. We have female ministers and female parliament members, but we never had a female prime minister or a female president. Men are still prevalent among the group of CEOs of major companies. We have a lot of successful women in the Czech Republic who are able to be at the top.
BY ESTHER CHUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)