The jar’s curves are full yet simple. Its white color is pure but not cold, and its glaze shines warmly without being flashy. The humble Korean moon jar has captivated the world and is experiencing a huge resurgence in popularity. The international craze for moon jars first started in the UK. It began in 2006,…
Three Giants of Joseon Art Jeong Seon, Kim Hong-do, and Shin Yun-bok are among the most representative painters of Korea’s Joseon period, a 500 year dynasty which lasted from 1392-1897. These artists’ works reflect the customs, landscapes, and spirit of Joseon, marking an important era of Korean painting history. Their works are fundamental to Korean…
The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989 presents the work of twenty-five contemporary artists of Korean descent. Born between 1960 and 1986, they are among the last generation to witness South Korea’s authoritarian regime and the first to experience its new democratic freedoms from the late 1980s onward. -MIA In this thoughtfully curated exhibit,…
I’ve been collecting art for more than 25 years. Like many things in life, it was a stroke of luck that led to the purchase of my first significant painting in 1997. I was living in Tokyo when a colleague alerted me that a Japanese institution was looking to unload a number of paintings. Through…
South Korea hosted Frieze International’s first fair in Asia featuring over 110 participating galleries from 20 different countries, spotlighting both established and emerging artists. The fair was held in Seoul at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center. “No one really knows what the future will bring but I believe this major international art fair is…
“After losing both of my parents within the last four years, I have felt a stronger urgency to not lose this connection to my ancestral roots.” We’re in EMart, a large grocery store chain in Seoul and as we approach the cashier to check-out, my heart starts to beat a little faster. My Polish-born, blonde…
“Likeness and Legacy in Korean Portraiture,” an exhibition of portrait paintings spanning from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) to the contemporary era, is being held at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco now through Nov. 28, 2021. This exhibition is the first major show of Korean portraiture to take place in the United States. What…
A mesmerizing riot of sights and sounds, Nam June Paik brings together more than 200 works by the visionary experimental artist who bridged art, music, performance, and technology in groundbreaking ways, and whose influence is still felt in the art, pop culture, music, and film of today. One of the first truly global and transnational artists, Paik…
“Unbeknownst to Kim himself, he accomplished the considerable feat of making Korean genre painting widely known around the world,” When the ports of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) opened to the rest of the world in the late 19th century, travelers, diplomats, missionaries and merchants flooded in, all curious to find out more about the life…
![[MEMBERS-ONLY WEBCAST] Art in the Time of Coronavirus: A Conversation With Author Min Jin Lee](https://bestofkorea.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/200502_minjinlee_eventimag4-720x492.jpeg)
As COVID-19 is forcing people to stay home, lack of social interaction is causing boredom and cognitive decline. In such times, engaging with literary arts may allow people to travel to fictional worlds created by the authors. And adding in the flavor of Asian creativity, the literary world becomes even more exotic and intriguing. Join…