‘Wedding March’ paintings present humors and parody

Kim Hyun-jeong, a Korean painter who has gained popularity for her humorous paintings, is holding a solo exhibition. The exhibition dubbed “One tray of eggs (meaning age 30), age for marriage,” which is taking place at KumBoSung Art Center in Seoul’s Jongno district through Saturday, started from the painter’s own experience. Kim illustrates agony and stress over marriage including her mother’s complaint, saying “My wish is to see my daughter marry this year.”

The 31-year-old’s paintings depict in a simple and direct way the agonies over the new identity as someone’s wife, daughter-in-law and mother that a woman comes to embrace after marriage. These paintings are significantly different from her conventional works, which are characterized by the expressions that break the stereotype of Korean women clad in traditional costume “hanbok.” The paintings at the ongoing exhibition feature the protagonist of a woman clad in hanbok who is holding a luxury bag and Starbucks coffee, and who resembles herself.

Even with limited knowledge about paintings, people can easily enjoy these paintings, which adopt images of famous paintings and hence provide a strong impression of illustrations. “I wanted to ease the sense of oppression contained in the sensitive topic of marriage through humorous parody of world-famous paintings,” Kim said. “If parents and their grown-up children come together to visit the exhibition during the Chuseok holiday, they will find it interesting and fun.”

In the exhibition, visitors can also find survey sheets that question how they value marriage. “Through the exhibition, I wanted to share the anxiety that the generation of my parents and younger generation feel, respectively, and to remind the public that young people’s concern over marriage is not indulgence that can be taken lightly,” Kim said.


Min Kim kimmin@donga.com