DPRK Art
NEW NORTH KOREAN PROPAGANDA POSTERS IN STOCK
£275 each
La Galleria Pall Mall has the privilege to be the only Gallery to hold genuine art from DPR Korea in stock and be permitted to order and sell art as well as represent individual artists from North Korea. We can certify that all the works are original and authentic, made and signed by the artists themselves in Pyongyang.
We stock oroginal ink paintings, oil on canvas and political posters.
We represent the largest State run art production Centre in DPR Korea with 3.000 artists.
Collectors, galleries and museums worldwide wishing to buy or loan North Korean artworks to exhibit should contact us with their requirements on email koreanexhibition@lagalleria.org or Tel +44 (0) 207 930 8069.
Backround infromation on DPR Korea Art At La Galleria:
Art from this hermit country has not yet been influenced by outside politics or normal world contemporary art trends.
It is still pure North Korean art, artist have very little contact with other countries and their artwork is kept within the Juche political philosophy that they follow.
All artists in North Korea are State employees, registered as members of the Korean artists Federation (Misulga Tongmaeng) and receive monthly salaries for which they are expected to produce a number of works; some artists work on location others in the Art Studio. Both would be expected to work regularly and to have 2hour daily periods of study or discussion with regular reports and evaluations of their work.
There is no question of a solo exhibition in North Korea, but small group exhibitions do take place on national holidays and special anniversaries, modern art is included in displays in the National Gallery and the University Museum as well as in public offices.
All the works sold by La Galleria in London are from the Mansudae Art Studio, which comes under the special guidance of Kim Jong Il, this is the largest Art Studio in DPR Korea and employs several hundred ink and oil painting artists, 12 of these are considered the top in the country (People's Artist).
Much of the works of art produced by these artists adorn public buildings and are in their National Gallery and Museums. Some collective exhibitions abroad have been organised in the past 20 years in Japan, Poland, Malaysia and China.
Artists produce on average 15 paintings per year and more than half of the works produced are for public commissions at home and abroad.
The Mansudae Art Studio has several departments; ink painting, oil painting, sculpture, poster painting, printing, mural painting, pottery, crafts, design and jewel painting (stone powder painting).
Prior to this little was known of individual artists in DP Korea. Nearly all artists have studied formally and carry out their profession on a full time basis. Many teach and work together in the State run art studios.
Nb -korean painting technique is what is known as "Chinese ink"
Korean art is strictly linked to its own tradition. North Korean artists are the direct witnesses and heirs of the immense cultural tradition of this country.
The exhibition is an attempt to create a contact with this mysterious and fascinating country, which is DPR Korea a unique culture in its own right.
DPR Korean art is the expression of a country where ideological art is an expression of the traditional art.
Korean art is an Oriental way of expressing art, but having a strong personality of its own different to its neighboring China or Japan.
The works have a historical importance, they are of a native sensibility and sometimes of a sincere trust typical of a country in many ways protected from the globalization that risk homogenizing and depersonalizing.
While Posters art unequivocally and forcefully presents political and ideological position, painting emphasizes tradition, full of motifs like landscapes, countryside, mountains, flowers and birds, the impressive tiger or lion (so naturalistic and richly coloured testifying the respect for these animals, important for the collective imagination), female figures with traditional clothes.
The North Korean master who draws from tradition does not imagine himself in front of the picture, but inside the picture. The peaks, the strong waterfall, the long mountain chains, the large landscapes show how man is only an element of the great and ineffable scenery of Nature.
All the artworks on exhibition are from artists from the Mansudae Art Studio, the largest Arts Centre of Pyonyang. The Mansudae artists are almost all graduates of the highly competitive Pyongyang University Faculty of the Fine Arts Department, and the prestigious Art Studio is under the special guidance of Kim Jong Il, the Leader, an enormous honour in a country in which the leader is an essential figure, creating a sense of pride and inspiration.
The Mansudae Art Studio-Pyongyang certifies the authenticity and provenance of the works on exhibition at La Galleria.
Artists at work in the Art Studios in Pyongyang
The atmosphere inside the Arts Centre is based on reciprocal respect and solidarity, there are functional and artistic hierarchies, but everybody shares the space and the experience. The Centre is divided into departments and each of them is well equipped for the art genre it produces.
Their Leader’s wish has determined the course of North Korean contemporary painting. In the past the subjects were almost only political and social, and it was Kim Jong Il who said “that a picture must be painted in such a way that the viewer can understand its meaning. If the people who see a picture can’t grasp its meaning, they cannot say it is a good picture, no matter how talented is its creator”. As a consequence of that, in North Korea abstract or conceptual art does not exist.
Data of Artists.
Name: Kim In Chang
Born: 1967 March 6th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1996 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kang Hyon Chol
Born: 1966 January 16th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1989 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Jong Se Yong
Born: 1959 February 19th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic
Name: Li Sung Il
Born: 1957 November 21st in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1981 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting– Still Life
Name: Paek Gwang Je
Born: 1956 December 27th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1987 Pyongyang Art Unoversity
Style: Ceramic
Name: Ko Chung Song
Born: 1979 September 29th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2002 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic
Name: O Hua Jin
Born: 1965 August 20th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1988 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic
Name: Ri Guang Nam
Born: 1953 September 24th in Kawasaki - Japan
Graduated: 1985 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting and Poster
Name: Lyu Hyn Song
Born: 1961 September 26th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1983 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name:Ri Chang
Born: 1942 August in Hamgong Province
Graduated: 1963 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Cha Yong Ho
Born: 1956 February in Pyongyang Capital City
Style: Korean Painting – Battle Scenes
Name: Jong Chang Mo
Born: 1931 December 16th in Jonju North Jolla – South Korea
Graduated: 1963 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kim Chun Jon
Born: 1941 July 15th in Pyongan Province
Graduated: 1964 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kim Gwang Myong
Born: 1973 March 26th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1996 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Li Chol Hwa
Born: 1977 June 11th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2000 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kang Myon Jin
Born: 1967 January 8th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1991 January 19th
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Pak Moyng Chol
Born: 1958 January 16th in Northern Hamgyong Province
Graduated: 1981 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Water Coloured Ballpoint pen
Name: Pak Hyon Chol
Born: 1969 August 7th in South Fangha Province
Graduated: 1997 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kim Yong Nam
Born: 1975 May 20th in Pyongyang Art University
Graduated: 1997
Style: Posters - Water coloured - Pen Painting
Name: Kim Yong Chol
Born: 1974 May 12th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1994 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kim Hyok
Born: 1980 March 6th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2002 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Water colour - Poster
Name: Kim Song Min
Born: 1949 November 18th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1982 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting with wide brush – hobbies: social studies
Chairman Art Federation – Vice President Mansudae Art Studio
Married with 2 sons, likes to play tennis and football
Name: Li Jong Hui (female artist)
Born: 1958 August 3rd in Rang gang
Graduated: 1982 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kang Jin Won
Born: 1953 November 14th in Northern Pyongyang Province
Graduated: 1987 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Water Colour
Name: Son U Yong
Born: 1946 November 29th in Pyongyang
Graduated: 1969 Pyongyang Art university
Style: Korean Painting – Rocks and Mountains scenes
Married and has 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy - he likes to swim
Name: Pak Bong Nyo (female artist)
Born: 1959 in October Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1982 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Ri Hua Sik
Born 1944 24 January in Han Souther Province
Graduated: 1976 Pyongyang University
1986 onwards Prof in the Art Faculty
1986-2006 with Mansudae Art Studios
Style: oil on canvas and Korean ink on paper.
Name: Ma Yong Chol
Born: 1977 January 13th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2000 Pyongyang Art university
Style: Poster and acrylic colour painting
Name: Kim Song Ryong
Born: 1973 December 11th Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1998 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kim Yu Dong
Born: 1956 October 3rd in Northern Pyongyang Province
Graduated: 1980 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Sin Hyon Su
Born: 1944 February 8th Southern Pyongyang Province
Graduated: 1968 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic – since1968 with Mansudae Art Studio
Name: Ryang Hyo Gwang
Born: 1976 October 3rd in Pyongyang capital City
Graduated: 1999 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramics
Name: U Chi Son
Born: 1919 November 2nd in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: Ceramic Factory in Pyongyang
Style: Ceramic – 1981/2002 with Mansudae Art Studio
Name: Im Sa Jun
Born: 1927 August 12th in South Pyongyang, Nampho – died 2007 April
Graduated: 1952 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic – 1982/2007 with Mansudae Art Studio
Name: Kim Chol Hak
Born: 1975 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1998 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Chon Hak Chol
Born: 1963 August 6th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1986 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Jewel Painting and Korean Painting
Name: Kim Song Hui
Born: 1961 May 14th Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1986 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Song Ryong
Born: 1972 September 15th Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1998 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Hyang Suk
Born: 1984 May 11th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2004 Mamayougta Childrens Palace
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Gyong Hui
Born: 1972 August 24th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1999 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Chong Hui
Born: 1947 January 4th in Nampho province
Graduated: 1966 Pyongyang Handcraft College
Style: Embroidery
Member of Korean Art – Head Embroidery Department
Name: Yun Ryu Sun
Born: 1963 April 11th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1985 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Sun Bok
Born: 1957 October 30th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1984 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Ji Jong Sik
Born: 1964 in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1987 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Acrylic – Korean Panting – Scenery, flowers
Name: Gye Mong Sun (female artist, 30 years)
Born: 1977 in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2003 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Jo Song Jin
Born: 1972 in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1999 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kang Song Ryong
Born: 1970 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1997 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting landscape
Name: Wy Shol Ryong
Born: 1975 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2002 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Han Song I (female)
Born: 1977 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2000 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Tak Hy Hion
Born: 1969 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1992 Pyongyang Art Univesity
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kang Song Ryong
Born: 1970 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1997 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil painting
Contemporary Art in D.P.R. Korean
Historical Background to the Exhibition
From 1935 to 1945, Korea began its industrial revolution with many of the usual characteristics: uprooting of peasants from the land, the emergence of a working class, urbanization, and population mobility. In Korea the process was telescoped, giving rise to comparatively remarkable population movements. By 1945 about 11 percent of the entire Korean population was abroad (mostly in Japan and Manchuria), and 20 percent of all Koreans were either abroad or in a province other than that in which they were born, with most of the interprovincial movement being southern peasants moving into northern industry. This was, by and large, a forced or mobilized movement; by 1942 it often meant drafted, conscripted labor. Peasants lost land or rights to work land only to end up working in unfamiliar factory settings, doing the dirty work for a pittance.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of Korea's colonial experience was the manner in which it ended: the last decade of a four-decade imperium was a pressure cooker. The colonial situation built to a crescendo, abruptly collapsed, and left the Korean people and two opposing great powers to deal with the results.
When the colonial system was abruptly terminated in 1945, millions of Koreans sought to return to their native villages from these far-flung mobilization details. But they were no longer the same people: they had grievances against those who had remained secure at home, they had suffered material and status losses, they had often come into contact with new ideologies, and they had all seen a broader world beyond the villages. It was these circumstances that loosed upon postwar Korea a mass of changed and disgruntled people who deeply disordered the early postwar period and the plans of the United States and the Soviet Union.
The history of DPR Korea formally begins with the establishment of Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948.
North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the DPRK), is a country in East Asia in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, with its capital in the city of Pyongyang. To the south, it is bordered by South Korea, with which it formed one nation albeit under Japanese occupation, until the division following World War II.
Kim Il-Sung (15 April 1912 - 8 July 1994) was the North Korean Communist leader from its founding in early 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong -il. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death. He was also the General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea where he exercised autocratic power. As leader of North Korea, he ended up switching from a Marxist-Leninist ideology to the Juche idea and established a personality cult. North Korea officially refers to him as the "Great Leader" and he is designated in the constitution as the country's "Eternal President". His birthday and the day of his death are public holidays in North Korea.
Kim Jong-Il (born Febrary 16, 1942 in Vyatskoye, Soviet Union) is the Soviet-born leader of North Korea. He is the Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (the ruling party since 1948). He succeeded his father Kim Il-Sung, founder of North Korea, who died in 1994.
There is a vast Cult of Personality around Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and much of North Korea's literature, popular music, theater, and film glorify the two men. The Juche Idea (also Juche Sasang or Chuch'e; pronounced /_u.__e/ in Korean, approximately "joo-cheh"), as a cult of these two leaders, is the official state ideology of North Korea and the political system based on it. The core principle of the Juche ideology since the 1970s has been that "man is the master of everything and decides everything". The masters of the North Korean revolution are the Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean people, who must remake themselves under the leadership of the WPP. Juche literally means "main body" or "subject"; it has also been translated in North Korean sources as "independent stand" and the "spirit of self-reliance". Kim Il-sung outlined the three fundamental principles of Juche in his April 14, 1965, speech “On Socialist Construction and the South Korean Revolution in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. The principles are "independence in politics" (chaju), "self-sustenance in the economy" (charip) and "self-defense in national defence" (chawi). Current North Korean leader Kim Jong-il officially authored the definitive statement on Juche in a 1982 document titled On the Juche Idea. In its theoretical composition, the Juche Idea is a mixture of Neo-Confucianism, Soviet Stalinism, and Maoism. It creates a real cult and the Korean citizens admired their leader, when the "Eternal President" died, thousands of people took part in his funeral, and many of them mourned invoking his name during the procession. Juche's ideology asserts Korea's cultural distinctiveness and creativity as well as the productive powers of the working masses.The North Korean government and associated organisations use also a variation of the Georgian calendar with a Juche year based on April 15, 1912 AD, the date of birth of Kim Il-sung, as year 1. There is no Juche year 0. The calendar was introduced in 1997. Months are unchanged from those in the standard Gregorian calendar. In many instances, the Juche year is given after the AD year, for example, 27 June 2007 Juche 96. But in North Korean publications, the Juche year is usually placed before the corresponding AD year, as in Juche 96 (2007).
Contemporary culture of North Korea is based on traditional Korean culture, but developed since the establishment of North Korea in 1948. Koreans were able to develop and maintain a unique culture, while adopting and influence neighboring cultures for nearly 2000 years. Culture is officially protected by the North Korean government. Big buildings committed to culture have been built, such as the People's Palace of Culture or the Grand People's Palace of Studies, both in Pyongyang. Outside the capital, there's a major theatre in Hamhung and in every city there are State-run theatres and stadiums. A popular event in North Korea is the Mass Game. The most recent and largest Mass Games was called "Arirang". It was performed six nights a week for two months, and involved over 100,000 performers. The Mass Games involve performances of dance, gymnastic and choreographic routines that celebrate the history of North Korea and the Workers' Party Revolution. All the cultural events and expressions are a proof of Korean tradition and of its artist's devotion to their country roots in the past like at present.
£275 each
La Galleria Pall Mall has the privilege to be the only Gallery to hold genuine art from DPR Korea in stock and be permitted to order and sell art as well as represent individual artists from North Korea. We can certify that all the works are original and authentic, made and signed by the artists themselves in Pyongyang.
We stock oroginal ink paintings, oil on canvas and political posters.
We represent the largest State run art production Centre in DPR Korea with 3.000 artists.
Collectors, galleries and museums worldwide wishing to buy or loan North Korean artworks to exhibit should contact us with their requirements on email koreanexhibition@lagalleria.org or Tel +44 (0) 207 930 8069.
Backround infromation on DPR Korea Art At La Galleria:
Art from this hermit country has not yet been influenced by outside politics or normal world contemporary art trends.
It is still pure North Korean art, artist have very little contact with other countries and their artwork is kept within the Juche political philosophy that they follow.
All artists in North Korea are State employees, registered as members of the Korean artists Federation (Misulga Tongmaeng) and receive monthly salaries for which they are expected to produce a number of works; some artists work on location others in the Art Studio. Both would be expected to work regularly and to have 2hour daily periods of study or discussion with regular reports and evaluations of their work.
There is no question of a solo exhibition in North Korea, but small group exhibitions do take place on national holidays and special anniversaries, modern art is included in displays in the National Gallery and the University Museum as well as in public offices.
All the works sold by La Galleria in London are from the Mansudae Art Studio, which comes under the special guidance of Kim Jong Il, this is the largest Art Studio in DPR Korea and employs several hundred ink and oil painting artists, 12 of these are considered the top in the country (People's Artist).
Much of the works of art produced by these artists adorn public buildings and are in their National Gallery and Museums. Some collective exhibitions abroad have been organised in the past 20 years in Japan, Poland, Malaysia and China.
Artists produce on average 15 paintings per year and more than half of the works produced are for public commissions at home and abroad.
The Mansudae Art Studio has several departments; ink painting, oil painting, sculpture, poster painting, printing, mural painting, pottery, crafts, design and jewel painting (stone powder painting).
Prior to this little was known of individual artists in DP Korea. Nearly all artists have studied formally and carry out their profession on a full time basis. Many teach and work together in the State run art studios.
Nb -korean painting technique is what is known as "Chinese ink"
Korean art is strictly linked to its own tradition. North Korean artists are the direct witnesses and heirs of the immense cultural tradition of this country.
The exhibition is an attempt to create a contact with this mysterious and fascinating country, which is DPR Korea a unique culture in its own right.
DPR Korean art is the expression of a country where ideological art is an expression of the traditional art.
Korean art is an Oriental way of expressing art, but having a strong personality of its own different to its neighboring China or Japan.
The works have a historical importance, they are of a native sensibility and sometimes of a sincere trust typical of a country in many ways protected from the globalization that risk homogenizing and depersonalizing.
While Posters art unequivocally and forcefully presents political and ideological position, painting emphasizes tradition, full of motifs like landscapes, countryside, mountains, flowers and birds, the impressive tiger or lion (so naturalistic and richly coloured testifying the respect for these animals, important for the collective imagination), female figures with traditional clothes.
The North Korean master who draws from tradition does not imagine himself in front of the picture, but inside the picture. The peaks, the strong waterfall, the long mountain chains, the large landscapes show how man is only an element of the great and ineffable scenery of Nature.
All the artworks on exhibition are from artists from the Mansudae Art Studio, the largest Arts Centre of Pyonyang. The Mansudae artists are almost all graduates of the highly competitive Pyongyang University Faculty of the Fine Arts Department, and the prestigious Art Studio is under the special guidance of Kim Jong Il, the Leader, an enormous honour in a country in which the leader is an essential figure, creating a sense of pride and inspiration.
The Mansudae Art Studio-Pyongyang certifies the authenticity and provenance of the works on exhibition at La Galleria.
Artists at work in the Art Studios in Pyongyang
The atmosphere inside the Arts Centre is based on reciprocal respect and solidarity, there are functional and artistic hierarchies, but everybody shares the space and the experience. The Centre is divided into departments and each of them is well equipped for the art genre it produces.
Their Leader’s wish has determined the course of North Korean contemporary painting. In the past the subjects were almost only political and social, and it was Kim Jong Il who said “that a picture must be painted in such a way that the viewer can understand its meaning. If the people who see a picture can’t grasp its meaning, they cannot say it is a good picture, no matter how talented is its creator”. As a consequence of that, in North Korea abstract or conceptual art does not exist.
Data of Artists.
Name: Kim In Chang
Born: 1967 March 6th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1996 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kang Hyon Chol
Born: 1966 January 16th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1989 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Jong Se Yong
Born: 1959 February 19th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic
Name: Li Sung Il
Born: 1957 November 21st in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1981 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting– Still Life
Name: Paek Gwang Je
Born: 1956 December 27th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1987 Pyongyang Art Unoversity
Style: Ceramic
Name: Ko Chung Song
Born: 1979 September 29th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2002 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic
Name: O Hua Jin
Born: 1965 August 20th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1988 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic
Name: Ri Guang Nam
Born: 1953 September 24th in Kawasaki - Japan
Graduated: 1985 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting and Poster
Name: Lyu Hyn Song
Born: 1961 September 26th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1983 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name:Ri Chang
Born: 1942 August in Hamgong Province
Graduated: 1963 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Cha Yong Ho
Born: 1956 February in Pyongyang Capital City
Style: Korean Painting – Battle Scenes
Name: Jong Chang Mo
Born: 1931 December 16th in Jonju North Jolla – South Korea
Graduated: 1963 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kim Chun Jon
Born: 1941 July 15th in Pyongan Province
Graduated: 1964 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kim Gwang Myong
Born: 1973 March 26th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1996 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Li Chol Hwa
Born: 1977 June 11th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2000 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kang Myon Jin
Born: 1967 January 8th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1991 January 19th
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Pak Moyng Chol
Born: 1958 January 16th in Northern Hamgyong Province
Graduated: 1981 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Water Coloured Ballpoint pen
Name: Pak Hyon Chol
Born: 1969 August 7th in South Fangha Province
Graduated: 1997 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kim Yong Nam
Born: 1975 May 20th in Pyongyang Art University
Graduated: 1997
Style: Posters - Water coloured - Pen Painting
Name: Kim Yong Chol
Born: 1974 May 12th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1994 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kim Hyok
Born: 1980 March 6th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2002 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Water colour - Poster
Name: Kim Song Min
Born: 1949 November 18th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1982 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting with wide brush – hobbies: social studies
Chairman Art Federation – Vice President Mansudae Art Studio
Married with 2 sons, likes to play tennis and football
Name: Li Jong Hui (female artist)
Born: 1958 August 3rd in Rang gang
Graduated: 1982 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Kang Jin Won
Born: 1953 November 14th in Northern Pyongyang Province
Graduated: 1987 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Water Colour
Name: Son U Yong
Born: 1946 November 29th in Pyongyang
Graduated: 1969 Pyongyang Art university
Style: Korean Painting – Rocks and Mountains scenes
Married and has 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy - he likes to swim
Name: Pak Bong Nyo (female artist)
Born: 1959 in October Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1982 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Ri Hua Sik
Born 1944 24 January in Han Souther Province
Graduated: 1976 Pyongyang University
1986 onwards Prof in the Art Faculty
1986-2006 with Mansudae Art Studios
Style: oil on canvas and Korean ink on paper.
Name: Ma Yong Chol
Born: 1977 January 13th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2000 Pyongyang Art university
Style: Poster and acrylic colour painting
Name: Kim Song Ryong
Born: 1973 December 11th Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1998 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kim Yu Dong
Born: 1956 October 3rd in Northern Pyongyang Province
Graduated: 1980 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Sin Hyon Su
Born: 1944 February 8th Southern Pyongyang Province
Graduated: 1968 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic – since1968 with Mansudae Art Studio
Name: Ryang Hyo Gwang
Born: 1976 October 3rd in Pyongyang capital City
Graduated: 1999 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramics
Name: U Chi Son
Born: 1919 November 2nd in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: Ceramic Factory in Pyongyang
Style: Ceramic – 1981/2002 with Mansudae Art Studio
Name: Im Sa Jun
Born: 1927 August 12th in South Pyongyang, Nampho – died 2007 April
Graduated: 1952 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Ceramic – 1982/2007 with Mansudae Art Studio
Name: Kim Chol Hak
Born: 1975 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1998 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Korean Painting
Name: Chon Hak Chol
Born: 1963 August 6th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1986 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Jewel Painting and Korean Painting
Name: Kim Song Hui
Born: 1961 May 14th Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1986 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Song Ryong
Born: 1972 September 15th Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1998 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Hyang Suk
Born: 1984 May 11th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2004 Mamayougta Childrens Palace
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Gyong Hui
Born: 1972 August 24th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1999 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Chong Hui
Born: 1947 January 4th in Nampho province
Graduated: 1966 Pyongyang Handcraft College
Style: Embroidery
Member of Korean Art – Head Embroidery Department
Name: Yun Ryu Sun
Born: 1963 April 11th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1985 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Kim Sun Bok
Born: 1957 October 30th in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1984 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Embroidery
Name: Ji Jong Sik
Born: 1964 in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1987 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Acrylic – Korean Panting – Scenery, flowers
Name: Gye Mong Sun (female artist, 30 years)
Born: 1977 in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2003 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Jo Song Jin
Born: 1972 in Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1999 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kang Song Ryong
Born: 1970 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1997 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting landscape
Name: Wy Shol Ryong
Born: 1975 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2002 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Han Song I (female)
Born: 1977 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 2000 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Tak Hy Hion
Born: 1969 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1992 Pyongyang Art Univesity
Style: Oil Painting
Name: Kang Song Ryong
Born: 1970 Pyongyang Capital City
Graduated: 1997 Pyongyang Art University
Style: Oil painting
Contemporary Art in D.P.R. Korean
Historical Background to the Exhibition
From 1935 to 1945, Korea began its industrial revolution with many of the usual characteristics: uprooting of peasants from the land, the emergence of a working class, urbanization, and population mobility. In Korea the process was telescoped, giving rise to comparatively remarkable population movements. By 1945 about 11 percent of the entire Korean population was abroad (mostly in Japan and Manchuria), and 20 percent of all Koreans were either abroad or in a province other than that in which they were born, with most of the interprovincial movement being southern peasants moving into northern industry. This was, by and large, a forced or mobilized movement; by 1942 it often meant drafted, conscripted labor. Peasants lost land or rights to work land only to end up working in unfamiliar factory settings, doing the dirty work for a pittance.
Perhaps the most important characteristic of Korea's colonial experience was the manner in which it ended: the last decade of a four-decade imperium was a pressure cooker. The colonial situation built to a crescendo, abruptly collapsed, and left the Korean people and two opposing great powers to deal with the results.
When the colonial system was abruptly terminated in 1945, millions of Koreans sought to return to their native villages from these far-flung mobilization details. But they were no longer the same people: they had grievances against those who had remained secure at home, they had suffered material and status losses, they had often come into contact with new ideologies, and they had all seen a broader world beyond the villages. It was these circumstances that loosed upon postwar Korea a mass of changed and disgruntled people who deeply disordered the early postwar period and the plans of the United States and the Soviet Union.
The history of DPR Korea formally begins with the establishment of Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948.
North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the DPRK), is a country in East Asia in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, with its capital in the city of Pyongyang. To the south, it is bordered by South Korea, with which it formed one nation albeit under Japanese occupation, until the division following World War II.
Kim Il-Sung (15 April 1912 - 8 July 1994) was the North Korean Communist leader from its founding in early 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong -il. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death. He was also the General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea where he exercised autocratic power. As leader of North Korea, he ended up switching from a Marxist-Leninist ideology to the Juche idea and established a personality cult. North Korea officially refers to him as the "Great Leader" and he is designated in the constitution as the country's "Eternal President". His birthday and the day of his death are public holidays in North Korea.
Kim Jong-Il (born Febrary 16, 1942 in Vyatskoye, Soviet Union) is the Soviet-born leader of North Korea. He is the Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (the ruling party since 1948). He succeeded his father Kim Il-Sung, founder of North Korea, who died in 1994.
There is a vast Cult of Personality around Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and much of North Korea's literature, popular music, theater, and film glorify the two men. The Juche Idea (also Juche Sasang or Chuch'e; pronounced /_u.__e/ in Korean, approximately "joo-cheh"), as a cult of these two leaders, is the official state ideology of North Korea and the political system based on it. The core principle of the Juche ideology since the 1970s has been that "man is the master of everything and decides everything". The masters of the North Korean revolution are the Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean people, who must remake themselves under the leadership of the WPP. Juche literally means "main body" or "subject"; it has also been translated in North Korean sources as "independent stand" and the "spirit of self-reliance". Kim Il-sung outlined the three fundamental principles of Juche in his April 14, 1965, speech “On Socialist Construction and the South Korean Revolution in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. The principles are "independence in politics" (chaju), "self-sustenance in the economy" (charip) and "self-defense in national defence" (chawi). Current North Korean leader Kim Jong-il officially authored the definitive statement on Juche in a 1982 document titled On the Juche Idea. In its theoretical composition, the Juche Idea is a mixture of Neo-Confucianism, Soviet Stalinism, and Maoism. It creates a real cult and the Korean citizens admired their leader, when the "Eternal President" died, thousands of people took part in his funeral, and many of them mourned invoking his name during the procession. Juche's ideology asserts Korea's cultural distinctiveness and creativity as well as the productive powers of the working masses.The North Korean government and associated organisations use also a variation of the Georgian calendar with a Juche year based on April 15, 1912 AD, the date of birth of Kim Il-sung, as year 1. There is no Juche year 0. The calendar was introduced in 1997. Months are unchanged from those in the standard Gregorian calendar. In many instances, the Juche year is given after the AD year, for example, 27 June 2007 Juche 96. But in North Korean publications, the Juche year is usually placed before the corresponding AD year, as in Juche 96 (2007).
Contemporary culture of North Korea is based on traditional Korean culture, but developed since the establishment of North Korea in 1948. Koreans were able to develop and maintain a unique culture, while adopting and influence neighboring cultures for nearly 2000 years. Culture is officially protected by the North Korean government. Big buildings committed to culture have been built, such as the People's Palace of Culture or the Grand People's Palace of Studies, both in Pyongyang. Outside the capital, there's a major theatre in Hamhung and in every city there are State-run theatres and stadiums. A popular event in North Korea is the Mass Game. The most recent and largest Mass Games was called "Arirang". It was performed six nights a week for two months, and involved over 100,000 performers. The Mass Games involve performances of dance, gymnastic and choreographic routines that celebrate the history of North Korea and the Workers' Party Revolution. All the cultural events and expressions are a proof of Korean tradition and of its artist's devotion to their country roots in the past like at present.