Korean Tales
I'm such a nerd when it comes to the Korean myth and history pieces I create! I dive deep into research for these bigger works, because honestly, the stories are just so captivating. I'm especially drawn to tales about personal growth and the journey of evolving into your true self.
I really intend for these pieces to be an invitation for people to get curious about Korean culture. As a Korean immigrant, it used to frustrate me when people would ask if these stories were Chinese or Japanese. So, I started weaving little "Easter eggs" of Korean culture into my art, even in pieces that aren't primarily about Korean themes. It's a subtle way to share a bit of my heritage and hopefully, spark a bit more understanding.
On so many of these pieces, I’m such a nerd about things. I read and research so much for the bigger ones because I find the stories so exciting. Really, that’s oftenl how I come to choose the pieces I make. I especially love stores about growth, and evolution of the self.
For gumiho, there are so many stories of fox people across Asia. Western cultures that are not familiar with the gumiho may reconize the Japanese stoires of kitsune. And even within Korean culture, there’s a lot of different lore about gumiho.
The story I’m fascinated by is where if you’re a fox, you can take on a challenge - like don’t eat meat for 100 or 1,000 days - then you gain the ability to transform into a human.
Sometimes becoming your new, more powerful self is not easy to do. Sometimes this life changing process is counterintuitive. That’s what I was trying to capture, the moment when a gumiho has achieved change and is transforming into a human.
At the time I made this, K dramas were not that well known, so I also meant this as an invitation to be curious about Korean culture. Even in other works I often throw in little Easter eggs of Korean culture.
11” x 14” signed Gicleé print.
Inspired by the Korean folktale Shim Chung.
11” x 14” or 18” x 24” signed Gicleé prints available (note that the larger prints will be shipped rolled in a shipping tube).
Inspired by Korean myths about the moon and its rabbit inhabitants.
Did you know moon rabbits make rice cakes? :)
11” x 14” or 18” x 24” signed Gicleé prints available (note that the larger prints will be shipped rolled in a shipping tube).
Inspired by the Korean myth of the lovers Kyon-woo and Jiknyeo.
11” x 14” or 18” x 24” signed Gicleé prints available (note that the larger prints will be shipped rolled in a shipping tube).
This piece was the third in a series focusing on Korean myths and stories. At the time, I wasworking with some generous and kind mentors who gave me space to explore themes that were important to me personally. For the first time it wasn’t “Here’s an assignment.” Instead, I got to explore the other way of creating where you make things that are important to you.
A lot of the imagery I was focused on at the time was strong women following their inner voices, going through a transformation that is uncertain and takes hard work. But focusing on people in art was new to me, so I had to learn how to draw them (left to myself I still draw stick figures).
So I was learning to draw people, in that way my art was transforming. I was committing to doing illustration, in that way my art was also transforming. I was fully letting go of being a biologist or going into medicine. I was letting go of a lot of the training I’d received in my BFA. There were a lot of different transformations happening, and I think that’s why this piece happened.
The story I’m illustrating here comes from the weird and wild legendary history of Korea. Korea has had a basically unified civilization for about 5,000 years, so there are a lot of stories that go way, way back.
This is the story of how Korea came to be.
One day, the son of the sky god comes down to earth, where a bear and a tiger approach him and say, “We want to be humans.” He agrees, if they go into a cave and for a hundred days eat only garlic and onions.
I love the “What? Why?” bizarre mythic aspects of this story.
After a while in the cave, the tiger can’t stand it anymore and leaves. And stays a tiger.
But the bear persists (“bear-like persistence” is a Korean expression even). As a reward, the bear is transformed into a beautiful woman. The sky god’s son is so impressed with her character and persistence that has marries her and they become the parents of all Korea.
I first learned this story in a history class in Korea.
Some scholars think this story hearkens back to Korea’s early totemist or shamanic days when a tribe of moon worshippers united with a bear clan and started one of the first prehistoric Korean kingdoms.
Sometimes, our lives are called to transform like this. For me, my experience has been like that - switching from bio to art, or coming from a practical, war- and occupation-surviving Korean family and growing into a creative artist. All these transformations are still painful and beautiful, and require persistence and faith to make it through.
11” x 14” or 18” x 24” signed Gicleé prints available (note that the larger prints will be shipped rolled in a shipping tube).