“Culture News: Joseon Industrial Art Exhibition,” Hansung Ilbo, May 23, 1946, 2, column 9
Korean Industrial Artist Association
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art by Korea Arts Management Service
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Eom Doman
Eom Doman(1915-1971) was an artist who was active in Western painting and industrial art from the Japanese colonial era through the period of Korea’s liberation from Japan, and defected to North Korea during the Korean War. He graduated from Jugyo Public Common School in Seoul in 1929. He won an honorable mention at the Calligraphy and Painting Association [Seohwa hyeophoe] Exhibition in 1931 and the Joseon Art Exhibition [Joseon misul jeollamhoe] in 1937 with Portrait of Girl. In 1932, he took a job as a painter at the Dongyang Offset Printing Company in Seoul, and he worked as an art director in the design department of Yuhan Corporation from 1936 through 1939. In 1936, he participated in the founding exhibition of Nokgwahoe along with Lim Gunhong, Hong Sunmun, Song Jeonghun, Choi Gyuman, and others. Eom submitted his Figure and Landscape to the exhibition. His activity in Nokgwahoe continued until 1938. In 1939, he moved to Hankou in China with his closest friend Lim Gunhong, and opened the Hankou Art and Advertising Agency. Like Yerim Studio, which Lim Gunhong and Eom Doman operated in Gyeongseong, the Hankou Art and Advertising Agency engaged in a wide range of commercial art activities encompassing advertising for movie theaters and murals, interior design, and the production of cards and postcards. Immediately after Korea’s liberation from Japan, Eom returned to Korea and joined several art organizations. For instance, he was a founding member of the Association of Korean Industrial Artists ([Joseon saneop misulga hyeophoe], renamed the Korean Industrial Artist Association [Daehan saneop misulga hyeophoe] in 1954) established in December 1945. He was also active in the Korean Plastic Arts Federation [Joseon johyeong yesul dongmaeng] (established in 1946) and the Korean Art and Culture Association [Joseon misul munhwa hyeophoe] (established in 1947), among other organizations. The Korean Industrial Artist Association was an organization that industrial artists like Han Hongtaik, Lee Wanseok, and Jo Neungsik founded in order to “organically and comprehensively combine art and industry” and “create popular living art.” His activity in the Korean Art and Culture Association lasted until 1949. Among his colleagues were Lee Qoede, Lee Insung, Lim Gunhong, Han Hongtaik, Cho Byungduk, and Son Eungsung. In 1946, Eom held the Six Western-style Painters exhibition together with Lim Gunhong and Han Hongtaik, with whom he collaborated in several organizations. After the outbreak of the Korean War, he defected to North Korea during the recapturing of Seoul on September 28. In North Korea, he worked in various institutions and organizations, including the Korean Art Manufactory [Joseon misul jejakso] and Korean Artist Federation [Joseon misulga dongmaeng], where he produced propaganda posters and realistic oil paintings.
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Han Hongtaik
Han Hongtaik (1916-1994) was a pioneer of graphic design during the field's emergence Korea. In 1937, he graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Design in Japan, and he studied Western art at the Teikoku Art School in 1939. In 1940, he joined the Yuhan Company, where he drew designs for various pharmaceutical products. After independence, he founded the Association of Korean Industrial Artists [Joseon saneop misulga hyeophoe] (renamed to the Korean Industrial Art Association in 1948) in 1946, and in 1956 he established the Han Hongtaik Design Institute, becoming a leading figure in the industrial art scene. He was professor of the crafts department of Hongik University and the applied arts department of Duksung Women's University (1975-1981). He primarily produced posters and graphic art designs using modern compositions depicting images of people, and he was active as both a professional graphic designer and educator.
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Lee Wansuk
Lee Wansuk(1915-1969) was involved in diverse activities in the art and design fields and ran Cheonil Gallery and the Korean Folk Crafts Research Institute [Hanguk minyepum yeonguso]. Born in 1915 in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Lee spent his childhood in Seoul. In the 1930s, he studied abroad in Tokyo, Japan, where he attended Taisei Middle School and Taiheiyo Art School. After returning to Korea, he worked as a designer for advertisement and product packages at Cheonil Pharmaceuticals. He also participated in the exhibition held by the Geukhyeonsa oil painters’ group in 1937, along with Son Eungsung, Jo Woosik, Lee Gyusang, and Chae Wonhui. As the demand for propaganda art and printed materials increased right after Korea’s liberation from Japan, he produced works in a variety of mediums, including posters, book covers, and newspaper illustrations. In November 1945, he joined the Korean Art Association [Joseon misul hyeophoe] as a founding member, but he withdrew from the association in February of the following year and joined the Korean Plastic Arts Federation [Joseon johyeong yesul dongmaeng]. In December 1945, he founded the Korean Industrial Artists Association [Hanguk saneop misulga hyeophoe] along with Han Hongtaik, Jo Neungsik, Yu Yunsang, Kwon Yeonghyu, and others. Later, he submitted posters to the exhibitions hosted by the association almost every year. In 1946, he took part in the founding of the Korean Craftspeople Association [Joseon gongyega hyeophoe]. Many of his surviving posters feature lyrical renderings of traditional symbols and motifs of rich local color with a painterly touch. Lee opened Cheonil Gallery in 1954 and organized exhibitions such as Contemporary Artists and Posthumous Works by Kim Junghyun, Gu Bonung, and Lee Insung. However, the gallery closed after half a year due to financial difficulties. While serving as president of Cheonil Department Store, he took the lead in sponsoring artists. He assumed charge of practical matters for the exhibition Contemporary Art of the Republic of Korea that traveled to Southeast Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia) from 1960 through 1961. Lee endeavored to earn foreign currency by exporting Korean crafts overseas. As a case in point, in 1964, Lee opened the Korean Folk Crafts Research Institute at Cheonil Department Store. Moreover, he held the Contemporary Korean Crafts exhibition at the Nihonbashi Main Branch of Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo in collaboration with the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of fifty-four. Cheonil Gallery is the predecessor of Gallery YEH (currently in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu), which opened in Insa-dong in May 1978.
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Industrial Arts Competition
The Industrial Arts Competition is a nationwide design competition that was organized by the Korean Industrial Artist Association since 1965. It is known as the first design competition held in South Korea because it started a year before the Korea Commerce and Industry Art Exhibition (present-day Korea International Design Award), which began in 1966. In addition to the goal of discovering and promoting new designers, the Industrial Arts Competition aimed to secure excellent new members. The first competition held in 1965 was divided into two categories: Graphic Design and Industrial Design. Its seven winners were Kim Gwanjung, Han Huisun, Kim Sujeong, Jeong Daegil, Lee Inja, Sim Hyoseop, and Lee Myeonghak. The exhibition of the winning works was held at the Seoul Press Center alongside the exhibition of the Korean Industrial Artist Association. The composition of the competition categories varied depending on the period. In the eighth edition held in 1972, the competition was divided into four categories: Commercial Design (Graphic Design), Crafts, Industrial Design, and Commercial Photography. This categorization was maintained until the thirteenth edition in 1977. Since the early 1980s, the competition has been organized into two categories: Visual Design and Crafts. The change in the competition category was linked to the change in the organizational structure of the Korean Industrial Artist Association. Starting from 1981, the association grouped its members into visual designers and craftspeople. In 1986, the Visual Designers Association [Sanmi sigak dijaineohoe] and the Craftspeople Association [Sanmi gongyegahoe] became independent from the Korean Industrial Artist Association, and such a dual system was sustained for a while. The Industrial Art Competition has not been held since its 51st edition in 2016.
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Korean Commercial and Industrial Art Exhibition
The Korean Commercial and Industrial Art Exhibition is a design competition that was first held in August 1966. It was launched “as part of export promotion measures to inspire creativity for excellent designs internally and redeem the backwardness of Korean design externally.” In 1976, it was renamed the Korean Industrial Design Exhibition and in 2007, the Korea International Design Award, which continues to operate as of 2024. Initially, the holding of the exhibition was led by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, but since the sixth edition in 1971, the Korea Design and Packaging Center (present-day Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP)) has been organizing the exhibition. The first edition held at the Gyeongbokgung Palace Museum in August 1966 featured a total of 241 works consisting of 104 works in the first section of commercial art, 81 works in the second section of craft art, and 56 works in the third section of industrial art. In 1976, the disciplines were changed to visual design, craft design, and industrial design. Since then, the names and disciplines have changed several times. In 2019, the exhibition was divided into seven disciplines: product design, visual communication design, digital media/contents design, space/environmental design, fashion/textile design, service/experience design, and craft design. This disciplines remain in place as of 2024. The 2023 entries totaled 1,933 works with 41 prize winners and 221 honorable mentions.
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