The cover of the July 1937 issue of the appropriately titled “Byulgeongon” magazine displays a panorama of the great flood that the Japanese occupation brought to Korea within one generation. 85 years have since passed, and as I gaze at the books in my library shelves, I realize I am facing another Byulgeongon (Brand New World).

As the flood of humanity overflows, it is unstoppable. Its steady flow is unrelenting. The wave of humanity that flowed through the midst of raining cannons to pierce through death. The wave of humanity that flowed through the ashes of ruins where not even a single blade of grass remained. This great and steady current has flowed through yesterday, flows today, and will flow through tomorrow, swallowing up all that is ordered or disordered, without change. – Son Chang-Sup

After their victory in the Russo-Japanese war, Japan ambitiously set their eyes on imperial expansion and opened a sea route to Korea for Japanese civilians in 1905. The novel “Gwanbu Ferry," seems to me a fitting, reflective panorama of the civilizational changes that occurred during that time period. I float the remnants of that picture on the rough waves of the Sea of Hyeonhaetan. It is a tribute to the writer Lee Byung-Ju.

My face is the summed total of the Joseon people. This is a self-portrait. We wait for a superhuman, like a superhuman has made an appearance in the past.

“On a distant day when the sky first broke, where could have one heard the crowing of a rooster? The snow falls and the scent of plums alone fills the air, I will sow the seeds of my poor song here.” – Yi Yuk-Sa

Of all the changes that shocked civilization, motion pictures and movies were the greatest shock. 

“His property and his wife stolen, and destined to lose even his own life and his daughter, Chunsam shows no resistance to what is fated and only prays to God. It reflects a model of the Korean people. As a Korean, it is a photo that one must see at least once. It will be revealed at Danseongsa Temple starting the 18th." – Dong-a Ilbo 1932. 09. 14

This piece is a dedication to James Gale.

James Scarth Gale (1863-1937) was a Canadian pastor who came to Korea and made significant contributions to the Korean translation of the Bible. From dictionary compilations to various translations and innumerable writings, it is impossible to overstate the pioneering legacy Gale left on Korean studies. His life was a consistent dedication to Joseon, rooted in a deep understanding and respect for the Joseon people.

From across the horizon, dark clouds approach the coast of Incheon. Unlike a solution to a math problem, no event in history has one clear answer or explanation. People only see what they want to see, and truth gets distorted and twisted. Objective truth cannot win our brains’ instincts for subjective justification. When faced with understanding our history, we must escape the traps of group think to not lose our way.

‘효제충신예의염치(孝悌忠信禮義廉恥)’ characters which stand for filial piety(孝), brotherly love (悌), loyalty (忠), trust (信), propriety (禮), righteousness (義), sense of honour (廉), and humility (恥), was Joseon’s foundational state ideology that remained unchanged for 500 years. 

I filled the space around Munjado with the “Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon,” the moment that Hangeul was born. A cultural record of such fondness and care was never attempted before in history! 
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‍“Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon” is a work that was commissioned by King Sejong to explain how to use his newly designed, currently used Korean Hangeul script."

I am a wanderer on life's path. Now, having reached my mid-fifties, I think about what remains of my life’s journey.

The Cheonhado world map is based on the interpretation of the world found in “Sanhaekyung,” the Chinese Classic of Mountains and Seas. It was astonishing, and frankly hard to believe that this map, drawn in the 19th century, was based on 2000 years old myths. As someone intrigued by Joseon’s twilight period, I could not overlook this fact.

A person leaves behind a life lived in vain in search of a place to rest. Nevertheless, there are some things that cannot be left behind. The last obsessions of a fast-paced, accelerated life are packed into a jige (a tool to transport goods) on his back and weigh down his steps. 

This work is my tribute to Kim Man-Jung’s “The Cloud Dream of Nine,” which overcame the limitations presented by Chinese writing which could only communicate “meaning,” and declared Hangeul to be a valuable method of expression, able to capture more than meaning, in an era when everyone revered Chinese literature.

This piece is based on two buildings located inside the grounds of Deoksu Palace- Seokjojeon Hall and Junghwajeon. They are displayed along with a labyrinth.

The multi-storeyed Junghwajeon represents Joseon, and its doomed fate to vanish.

This piece focuses on Jangseung, Korean totem poles, which were set up at the entrances of villages to mark village limits and to frighten away demons. They contain the inscription “天下大將軍천하대장군,” meaning “The Great General under Heaven.”

I borrowed the title for this piece from a picture of the same name, “Gammoyeojaedo” (“do” meaning picture) from the Joseon era, a painting of a shrine. To dissect the meaning of “Gammoyeojae”: even without a shrine, the heart to love (gam, 感) and the reverence (mo, 慕) for one’s ancestors can be delivered just as if (yeo, 如) a shrine were physically there (jae, 在). In short, veneration knows no bounds.  Using the frame of the traditional Gammoyeojae, I captured my nostalgic longing for this era when the sun was setting on Joseon, which had been thrust into a cultural transition, unprepared for its contact with the West.

This piece embodies the last efforts to preserve the teachings of neo-Confucianism and to protect this sacred land from outside influence. The sentiment draws parallels to the myth that inspired Bernini’s sculpture, “Apollo and Daphne” where Daphne protects her chastity from the lustful Apollo by transforming into a tree. Both attempts show foolish, naïve efforts to preserve purity. I want to observe this moment in Korean history from above, like a bird in the sky.

The multi-storeyed Junghwajeon, which represented Joseon, was doomed to vanish.  Seokjojeon Hall sits proudly in the grounds of Deoksu Place, boasting the majesty of Western civilization. Even now, centuries after Joseon first opened its doors to the West, the Hellenism rooted in the ancient Greek philosophies of Plato and Aristotle on “justice” and “ethics” from millennia ago, still remain out of reach and trapped in a labyrinth like the Minotaur.

“What I read was the face of a single man, not the era in which he lived. What I watched were the movements of the waves, but what I should have watched is the wind, as it is the wind that makes the waves move.” – Face reader (Actor Song Kang-Ho); movie <The Face Reader>