Research Society for Art Criticism [Mibiyeon], Responding to Cultural Change and Art Criticism (Sigakgwa eoneo, 1994), MMCA Digital Library Collection
Research Society for Art Criticism
* Source: Multilingual Glossary of Korean Art. Korea Arts Management Service
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Minjung Art
An artistic movement that came to prominence alongside Korea’s democratization movement in the 1980s. Minjung artists often sought to critically portray the violent repression and corruption of the military dictatorship, to represent the experiences of laborers and farmers, and to achieve social change through art. In contrast to abstraction, which constituted the mainstream of 1970s art in Korea, Minjung Art is notable for the use of representational and figurative forms. One possible point of origin for Minjung Art is Oh Yoon’s work in the Reality Group (Hyeonsil dongin). The group was formed in 1969 by Kim Ji-ha, Oh Yoon, and Lim Se-taek. A variety of Minjung art groups were established, including the Reality and Utterance (Hyunsilgwa bareon) in 1979 by Kim Jungheun, Oh Yoon, Joo Jae-hwan, art critic Sung Wan-kyung, and Choi Min, the Gwangju Freedom Artist Association (Gwangju jayu misulin hyeopuihoe) in 1979 by Hong Sungdam and Choi Youl, the Imsulnyeon (The Year Imsul) in 1982, and the Dureong in 1983. These groups all commonly critiqued Western capitalism. In terms of form, Minjung artists adopted traditional and ethnic folk modes of expression using diverse media such as collage, printmaking, oil painting, and photography. Following the 15 Years of Korean Minjoong Arts: 1980-1994 Exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Minjung Art became an accepted part of Korean art history. Overseas, Minjung Art has also become a recognized term that describes this genre and its unique focus on the political and social history of Korea.
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National Art Association
An art association established in November 1985 by a collective of grassroots artists, and often also referred to as Minmihyeop. The association sought to organize artists and groups who represented the different movements within Minjung Art and to represent their varied ideas and interests. In 1995, the original association was reformed into the National Korean People’s Artists Association [Jeonguk minjok misurin yeonhap]. In turn, this was the predecessor of the Korean People’s Artists Association [Minjok misurin hyeophoe], a corporation founded in 2000.
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City Masses Culture
An exhibition held from June 17 to 23, 1992 at the Deokwon Gallery. The exhibition was planned by Park Chan-kyong and Beck Jee-sook, who were members of the Research Society for Art Criticism. It featured artists such as Kang Inseon, Kim Seokyung, Kim Jaehyeon, Park Eunkuk, Park Jongin, Park Chan-kyong, Shin Jicheol, Yang Huigyeong, and Hwang Sejun, as well as the Seoul Movie Planning Office. Park Chan-kyong claimed that for the lethargic discipline of fine art to be reinvigorated in response to the dominant visual environment of consumer orientated popular culture, it would be necessary to combine transgressional values toward pure, highbrow fine arts policy, and reflect the values of the visual environment that bombards the masses. Through this exhibition, the organizers therefore sought to answer the question of the meaning of art, exhibitions, and new media in a time of pop culture. The exhibition featured works of art that used photography collages, animation, video, and multi-vision as well as borrowed images from advertisements.
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Hyunsil Publishing
Hyunsil Publishing was a publishing company founded in 1992 by an art community group interested in art and social movements. When the progressive art movement group, the Research Society for Art Criticism (Misul bipyung yeonguhoe) (1989-1993), became inactive in 1992, Kim Suki, Kim Jinsong, and Um Hyuk, who led the art movement together, created Hyeonsil Munhwa Yeongu. Instead of discussing abstract discourse or high culture, they focused on various phenomena in popular culture and daily life. A series of books published by Hyunsil contained the major discourses and issues of the cultural community in 1990s South Korea. Representative books include Apgujeong-dong Utopia Dystopia (1992) written by Yun Suknam, Kim Jinsong, Kim Suki, Eom Hyeok, Park Youngsook, and Cho Bongjin, Watching TV Close, Reading TV from Distance, The Myth, Desire, Image of Advertisement, Do as You Please, and New Generation Theory: Order and Chaos in 1993. In the 2000s, Hyeonsil Munhwa Yeongu has essentially become more of a publishing company specializing in culture than an art collective.
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