Korea's folk symbolism revisited in Gallery Hyundai's minhwa exhibition

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Korea's folk symbolism revisited in Gallery Hyundai's minhwa exhibition

Published: 16 Jan. 2026, 16:11 Updated: 16 Jan. 2026, 16:18

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Traditional hokjakdo, left, and the modern interpretation of the genre titled ″Goblin Toger and Magpie Beneath the Pine Tree″ by Lee Doo-won are currently displayed at Gallery Hyundai in Jongno District, central Seoul. [LEE JIAN, GALLERY HYUNDAI]

Art by the people, for the people.

Minhwa, or Korean folk painting, is typically produced by anonymous, nonprofessional painters. Uncomplicated in style and often tinged with humor or satire, the works present direct, symbolic depictions of Joseon-era (1392-1910) society.

That legacy is the focus of a two-part exhibition that opened Wednesday at Gallery Hyundai, bringing together historical minhwa and contemporary works that reinterpret the genre.

Born largely in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, minhwa developed as a popular and practical form of visual expression among commoners, as folding screens or hanging scrolls to adorn domestic and ceremonial spaces, and is produced mostly by painters of low social standing and whose names often go unrecorded.

Minhwa, consequently, frequently disregards the academic rules of perspective and proportion, and favors vivid colors and bold patterns. Motifs are selected not only for their visual appeal but also for their symbolic meaning, conveying everyday wishes, humor, satire and emotion.

Contemporary art incorporating aspects of minhwa are on view at the"The Way of Painting" show at Gallery Hyundai in Jongno District, central Seoul. [GALLERY HYUNDAI]

Gallery Hyundai’s minhwa exhibitions run through Feb. 28. A total of 27 Joseon-era minhwa and court paintings are shown as part of the main building’s “Magnificence and Creativity: Variations in Korean Folk Painting” show. The annex exhibition, “The Way of Painting,” features 75 works by six contemporary artists — Kim Ji-pyeong, Ahn Seong-min, Kim Nam-kyoung, Lee Doo-won, Bak Bang-young and Jae Jung — who reinterpret minhwa through painting, installation and fiber-based mediums.

Founded in 1970, Gallery Hyundai is one of Korea’s oldest commercial galleries. The exhibition follows the gallery’s earlier engagement with minhwa, which began in 2016, and marks its first curated presentation of traditional Korean painting in five years.

Though presented as two separate exhibitions, the shows are best viewed together. Taken as a whole, they frame minhwa not as a closed historical category, but as a visual language that continues to be reexamined and adapted in contemporary contexts.

Across both venues, recurring motifs serve as points of connection, with tigers and books emerging as particularly prominent.

Tigers

"Tiger Skins" created in 19th century Joseon Dynasty [GALLERY HYUNDAI]

In minhwa, the tiger carries a dual meaning: a defense against evil and a symbol of authority. Regarded as a powerful and numinous presence, it is often imagined as a being on par with spirits and gods.

That symbolism is evident in one of the exhibition’s most commanding works, the 4-meter-long (13-foot-long) ink-on-paper folding screen “Tiger Skins.” Likely commissioned by a high-ranking official in the 19th century, according to the gallery, the screen renders the animal’s spotted coat in careful detail, creating a surface that closely evokes the texture of fur.

At the annex, artist Kim Ji-pyeong extends the tiger motif into a contemporary, female narrative with works that incorporate feminine elements, such as butterflies, long hair, yeonji gonji (red dots on the cheeks of brides on their wedding day), into the tiger's skin to construct a personal and historical narrative that intertwines female subjectivity with the animal’s symbolic weight.

"Cho Hon" (2016) by Kim Ji-pyeong [GALLERY HYUNDAI]

Classic tiger-and-magpie paintings or hojakdo, are also present at the gallery’s shows.

Historically, the genre is known for its satirical tone. The tiger, standing for authority, appears with exaggerated, sometimes comical expressions, while the magpies, symbols of ordinary people, register as attentive or vocal. The genre has recently gained renewed visibility through popular culture, including in the Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025).

With multiple different hojakdo on view at Gallery Hyundai, viewers can easily recognize that no two tigers appear alike, each carrying a distinct, and very human, expression or temperament. Many of the tigers also combine stripes with leopard-like spots, reflecting the fact that folk painters often work from imagination rather than direct observation.

Hokjakdo, featuring a tiger and two magpies [GALLERY HYUNDAI]

Artist Lee Doo-won expands this imaginative tradition through material experimentation. For the exhibition, he presents a large wool carpet work based on hojakdo, made from fabric sourced in Pakistan. Outlined in thick black lines, the tiger’s muscular body, blue claws and yellow eyes pair with deliberately humorous facial features that are iconic of the style.

Lee’s practice is guided by the belief that “materials have no hierarchy.” Rather than following institutional art training, he travels widely — including to India, Pakistan, Nepal, Georgia and Thailand — collecting local materials and combining them with traditional Korean ink. His work draws on a worldview that places humans, animals and nature within a shared continuum.

Wool carpet"Goblin Tger and Magpie Beneath the Pine Tree" (2025) and other works by Lee Doo-won are on display at Gallery Hyudai in Jongno District, central Seoul. [GALLERY HYUNDAI]

Books

"Chaekgeori and Plum Tree" from the late 19th century Joseon Dynasty[GALLERY HYUNDAI]

Another major category of minhwa, chaekgado depicts books neatly lined on shelves, symbolizing scholarly aspiration, wisdom and a pursuit of knowledge through literature. More than still life works, these images function as conceptual spaces where learning, ambition and values converge.

Artist Kim Nam-kyung reinterprets the structural logic of chaekgado through shimmery works that combine natural textiles with metal leaf. While she identifies a sense of modernity in the genre’s straight lines and clear geometry, she also views its completed order as a structure that can fix the viewer’s gaze and emotional response.

"15 Degrees of Contemplation" (2024) by Kim Nam-kyoung[GALLERY HYUNDAI]

That tension leads to her “15 Degrees of Contemplation” series (2024). By tilting the picture plane slightly off frontal alignment, Kim introduces what she describes as a minimal intervention. The subtle shift unsettles habitual viewing positions, encouraging viewers to reconsider time, memory and thought from a slightly altered perspective.

The artist’s other series, “Vignette" (2025), painted on dyed ramie fabric with gold and silver leaf, is also inspired by chaekgado. Built from fragmentary scenes and personal objects, the works bring together scattered, private memories that may feel incomplete on their own but form a coherent visual landscape when seen as a whole — much like a bookshelf gradually filled over time.

"Vignette" (2025) by Kim Nam-kyoung [GALLERY HYUNDAI]

By allowing fragmentation and wholeness through the coexistence of personal memory and shared order, the series gently loosens the strict spatial logic of traditional chaekgado. Each panel functions as an independent image. Yet, when the portions are arranged together, they loosely echo the structure of a folding screen or bookshelf.

Unlike classical chaekgado, which aimed to present the study as a complete and idealized space, “Vignette” reflects a contemporary way of seeing shaped by fragmented experiences and multiple perspectives. Rather than dismantling the genre, the series preserves its underlying order while exploring how its visual language can remain relevant and functional within today’s living spaces.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]