Meet the Artist
Stories behind the artists and their works
Behind every artwork is a life of decisions. SAF 2026 brings together 213 Korean artists who chose to put their work into a mutual-aid campaign for fellow artists. Their interviews, studio notes, and reflections give you the context that turns a passing glance into a lasting connection with a piece.
Korean contemporary artist interviews often live behind academic prose. The SAF magazine asks simpler questions in the artists’ own words, so first-time visitors can build a real sense of who made the work — and why.
Every featured artist is a “solidarity artist”: they donated work knowing the proceeds would fund low-interest loans for peers excluded from primary banking (84.9% of Korean artists). Their stories are personal, but they also reveal the structural reality of Korean art-making.
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Stories in this category
A Flower Falls and Becomes Earth — All Is of the Mind: Jeong Geumhui's Hwarakyito
花落以土 — flowers fall and become earth. Jeong Geumhui's decade-long photographic series built on *ilcheyusimjo* — all things made by mind. Hongik PhD; Busan-based.
The Back of What Brushed Past, the Afterimage of Punctum: Kim Yeongseo's Jangji and Pencil
Kim Yeongseo paints the afterimage of what brushes past. Barthes's punctum translated onto jangji in pencil and conté.
Caricature Aimed at Shutting Mouths: The Political Cartoons of Artmandu
Ateumandu makes editorial cartoons and caricatures that layer critique, satire, affection, and humor. *Biteul News*, *The Human Encyclopedia*, NY solo *Biteul News*.
From Food Engineering Student to Geurimmadang Min: The Everyday of Lee Incheol
Lee Incheol graduated in food engineering before opening his first solo at Grimmadang Min in 1989. Hand-colored woodblocks of "Mr. Kim" and "Newlywed Mr. Lee."
A Painter of Warm Color and Wit: Lee Hongwon's Song of the Forest
Lee Hongwon painted Dahnjae Shin Chaeho's official portrait and presidential history paintings for Cheongnamdae. *Song of the Forest* and *Tiger Who Loved Flowers* — 40 years.
Seoul and Pyongyang, Patterns of Two Cities: Kim Taegyun's Ornament
Kim Taegyun's *Ornament* collages Seoul and Pyongyang highway interchanges into one pattern. Six years between Stuttgart and Seoul; held by Seoul MoA and Busan MoCA.
From Painting to AI Design: Park Jihye's Crossing Doctorates
An artist who studied fine arts in France and completed a PhD in painting at Hongik. In 2024, Park Jihye began a second doctorate in AI Design at Kookmin.
Between Quarks and Kairos: Choe Jaeran's Suwon, Photographs of Time
Choe Jaeran's *Time of Quarks* overlays daily-walk natural objects with drawings of invisible time. Photography and public administration, kairos and chronos.
Photography Without a Camera: Lee Sucheol at the Edge of the Photographic
Lee Sucheol asks whether photography requires a camera. Through development alone, image-making without capture — *Nonsynchrony-Jeju*, *Day Dream*, *Memory Journey*.
Duryun and Jiri, a Canvas of Great Ink: Woo Yongmin's Ink Painting
Woo Yongmin paints big ink on hanji. Duryunsan 545 cm wide, Jirisan's Banyabong 360 cm — his SAF works bring the Year of the Red Horse (Byeongo) at intimate 71×36 cm.
Oriental Doctor by Day, Oreum by Night: The Land of Gods of Kim Suoh
Kim Suoh, Korean medicine doctor by day, Jeju oreum photographer by night. From SNU electronic engineering to Kyunghee Korean medicine to island nights with a camera.
From the Hands of Hwagakjang to the Folk Painting of Dammong: Sin Yeri's Firefly, Flower, and Butterfly
Sin Yeri's studio is named *Dammong* — faint dream. Ten years as chief designer of hwagak craft, now carrying minhwa traditions into contemporary painting.
To Paint Comes from to Miss: The Overlap of Kim Juhui
"To draw" comes from "to miss." Kim Juhui photographs a place many times, then overlaps the images on canvas. 36 solos, held by MMCA.
From Reality and Utterance to the Landscapes of Yangpyeong: The Shade of Min Jeonggi
Min Jeonggi, a founding member of *Reality and Utterance* (1979). From barbershop paintings into high-art corridors, then to Yangpyeong's sansu — four decades.
Return: Six Paintings by Photography Critic Lee Gwangsu
A photography critic picks up the brush. Six canvases of the same character — 回, return — six variations of one sign.
A KAIST Engineer's Dream of Flamingos: The Life Paintings of Yemi Kim
Yemikim graduated KAIST in civil and industrial engineering, then took up the brush. Weeds on empty lots, whales dreaming, flamingoes in flight — eight works for SAF.
Carrying the Line of Goryeo Buddhist Painting: Jo Irak's Hanji and Stone Pigment
From Western painting to Goryeo Buddhist-painting reproduction. 20+ years in the line of Goryeo. Jo Irak brings bunchae, seokchae, and silk into today.
From a Broken Printer to a Head Being Born: Kim Jonghwan's Print Room
Kim Jonghwan makes heads from broken printer parts — motors, gears, leftover pens. A printmaker running *Panhwabang*; picture books, etching, lithography.
Looking at Mudeungsan from Jeonil Building: Park Seongwan's Gwangju
An artist rooted in Gwangju and South Jeolla. Markets, Jeonil Building rooftops, village rice mills — Park Seongwan draws out the sense of an era from the small, overlooked moments around him.
The Everyday on Chaekgado: The Ordinary Extraordinary of Jo Sinuk
Jo Sinuk carries the Joseon *chaekgado* tradition into today. Inside the grid: his own daily fragments, the extraordinary inside the ordinary.
Translator of the Invisible World: Remembering Lee Iktae (1947–2025)
Korea's first independent filmmaker. A total artist who carried Gwangju, LA, and the divided peninsula on his body. Remembering Lee Iktae, who passed in winter 2025, through the three works he left behind.
Leaving with an Empty Bag: An Eungyeong's Landscapes of Recovery
Everyone has an empty suitcase they can pack and leave with. An Eungyeong's suitcase paintings on jangji — a psychological map of modern unease and recovery.
Karmadise, Where Good Karma Gathers: Lee Yuji's Shelter of Wishes
Lee Yuji names her practice *Karmadise* — karma plus paradise. Resting places where wishes take root, light passing through forest branches.
A Shutter Returning After 20 Years of Silence: Son Eunyeong's House and Garden
Son Eunyoung studied Western painting, then set down the brush for 20 years of motherhood. Picking up a camera to photograph her children led her into photography.
Total 195 stories
Frequently asked questions
Q. Who are the SAF artists?
SAF 2026 brings together 110+ Korean contemporary artists across painting, print, photography, sculpture, and digital art — from emerging artists to recognized masters. All voluntarily contributed works to address financial discrimination against fellow artists.
Q. Who conducts the artist interviews?
The SAF magazine editorial team meets each artist directly. We aim to reduce the formal distance of museum catalogs and academic writing, letting the artists describe their practice and daily studio life in their own words.
Q. How can I buy work by a specific artist I read about?
Click the artist name in the interview to reach the artist page. All available works, biography, and other magazine features are gathered there — and any work can be purchased directly. SAF is artist-direct: no gallery markup.
Q. Does the artist actually receive the proceeds?
The majority of sales proceeds go directly to the artist. A portion contributes to the artist mutual-aid fund, providing low-interest loans (5% APR, 95% repayment rate) to artists facing financial discrimination. One purchase supports both an artist and the broader Korean art ecosystem.
Q. How often are new artist interviews published?
New interviews are added at a pace of 1–2 per month. Recent additions appear at the top of the magazine and category pages. RSS and newsletter subscriptions are available.
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213 artists, artworks available online.