○ Period: December 1, 2009 ~ January 31, 2010
○ Venue: Busan Modern History Museum
○ For more info.: 051-253-3846

There was a genre painter about 100 years ago, who painted everyday life in Chosun and showed foreigners Chosun's customs and traditions. His name was Jun-Geun Kim, with a pen name of Gisan. Together with Hongdo Kim(Danwon), Yunbok Shin(Hyewon), he is known as one of the most influential genre painters in Chosun.

There are few historical records tell us about him, however. The only thing we can guess is that he was a commoner by birth who worked as a genre painter during the late 19th century in Jemulpo and Wonsan. His name is not found even in 'Geunyeokseohwajing,' the book that lists the names of all the painters in Chosun.

However, one thing clear is that he was an internationally successful artist whose paintings were sold to many foreigners from France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. who came to Chosun. More than 1,000 pieces of his genre paintings that describe life in Chosun are preserved in well-known museums overseas.

Also, Gisan was the first artist from Chosun who had his solo exhibition in Germany. He drew unique illustrations in Chosun's style for 'The Pilgrim's Progress,' the first English-Korean translated book by James S. Gale, the Canadian missionary.

The seals and the local names on his paintings show where he mainly produced his works. During the 19th century, Wonsan port, Jemulpo, and Choryang were the open ports where missionaries, scholars, and diplomats from western countries frequently visited.

At the open ports in China and Japan of that time, their genre paintings called 'Export Paintings' were quite popular with foreign visitors. Like those paintings in China and Japan, Gisan's genre paintings were also massively produced and sold to the foreigners who visited Chosun.

Paintings by Gisan, relatively less known to us, are now displayed at Hengso Museum in Keimyeong University. Hosted by Cheong Gye Cheon Museum and Hengso Museum, <Gisan Paintings: Memories of 100 years ago> will be open until May 6, 2009. <Life in Corea> written by William Richard Carles in late 1800's, <The Pilgrim's Progress> translated into Korean by James S. Gale, and <Gisan's Genre Paintings> are also being displayed. Young people who visit the exhibition are welcome to create a cartoon scene from Gisan's Genre paintings: they can post it on the designated board.

Gisan's works are characterized by detailed description of a character's movement, with non-image background. Exhibition Section I displays a variety of occupations such as farmers, craftsmen, and pot sellers, while Section II shows everyday life, amusements and rituals.

As photography widely began to be used in Chosun at the end of the 19th century, Gisan's paintings eventually lost its popularity and disappeared. However, his paintings could capture something that photographs could not. It was the emotion and feeling of the commoners' life in Chosun.  - WORLDYANNEWS -