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.
Lee Hongwon's record has an unusual line.
"Produced Dahnjae Shin Chaeho's official portrait / Produced a Cheongnamdae presidential history painting (Roh Tae-woo)"
The artist who painted the official portrait of the independence fighter Dahnjae Shin Chaeho. And the artist who made a presidential history painting hung at Cheongnamdae (the Blue House retreat). Two public commissions well known in civil society but rarely handled by one artist sit side by side in one record.
A Path Begun at Dongguk
Lee Hongwon studied painting at Dongguk University College of Arts (1974–1980) and its graduate school (1980–1983).
In 1984, he held his first solo, Life + Human, at Kwanhoon Museum of Art. That year he was selected as a "Critically Recommended Notable Artist of Korea," followed by a 1985 Notable Artist invitational at Seoul Museum of Art. Notable Artist signaled that critics saw the artist as one presenting a significant question for the next generation. Called a new horizon of Korean painting upon debut.
Song of the Forest, and the Tiger
His long-running series split into two axes. Song of the Forest and Tiger Who Loved Flowers.
- 1986 Song of Life I, Arab Art Museum, Seoul
- 1993 Rain · Wind · Cloud, Bongseong Gallery, Daegu
- 1997 Ceramic Paintings, Hakcheon Gallery, Cheongju
- 2002 Song of the Forest, Cheongju Arts Center
- 2011 Song of the Forest, 419 VERONES Gallery, LA / Tiger Who Loved Flowers, Gallery ATTY, Seoul
- 2012 Song of the Forest, Insa Art Center, Seoul
- 2013 Song of the Forest — Tree Stories, Insa Art Center, Seoul
- 2014 Spring Outing, Jeonju Hanji Museum / Lee Hongwon Drawing, Sup Gallery, Cheongju
- 2015 Lee Hongwon Invitational, Morris Gallery, Daejeon
- 2019 Lee Hongwon Solo, Gilgaon Gallery, Cheongju
- 2023 Moon Jar, Insa Art Plaza, Seoul
Plus 29 more solos, 300+ group shows. Evidence of 40 years of constant activity. International shows extend to LA, New York, Sarajevo, Peru, China, Japan.
Public-Collection Names
His works sit in many public spaces.
- MMCA Art Bank
- Cheongju Museum of Art
- North Chungcheong Provincial Office
- North Chungcheong Office of Education
- SK Guesthouse
Plus the Dahnjae Shin Chaeho portrait (2013) and the Cheongnamdae presidential history painting (Roh Tae-woo). He painted the Dongbu Securities calendar in 2013 and the SK calendar in 2014. From official iconography of public institutions to corporate calendars — his painting has worked across layers of Korean society.
Tiger and Rooster
Two SAF 2026 works are both 2024.
- Tiger Who Loved Flowers — hanji and acrylic on canvas, 45.5×37.9 cm
- Rooster — A Grand Outing — same material and size
Both are hanji laid on canvas with acrylic. The physicality of hanji layered onto a Western canvas base. A choice that gathers Eastern and Western materials on one surface. The minhwa magpie-tiger iconography arrives today as Tiger Who Loved Flowers; the rooster as A Grand Outing.
Interpreted through Lee Hongwon's way, traditional minhwa animals become gentle and humorous. Even a fierce animal turns soft under his brush. A senior painter's ease earned across many years.
The Hand That Painted Portrait and History
84.9% of Korean artists are excluded from institutional finance. Sales of works by SAF-exhibiting artists cycle into a mutual-aid fund, returning as low-interest loans to fellow artists.
There is a hand that painted an independence fighter's portrait and a presidential history painting. The same hand entrusted with a nation's historical record; the same hand that joyfully painted tiger and rooster; and now a hand placed at a site of holding up fellow artists' livelihood. An orbit of 29 solos and 300+ group shows expanding beyond personal career into community memory and welfare.
Song of the Forest, Continuing
As Song of the Forest began in Cheongju in 2002 and continued at Insa Art Center in 2012 and 2013, Lee Hongwon's song does not stop.
The 2024 tiger and rooster are the next verses of that song. Two works moving onto SAF's wall become evidence that a lifelong song of the forest reaches the unseen studios of fellow artists.
More in Artist Stories
If this piece helped, the SAF Magazine has more in the same series:
- Lee Yun-yop — A "Dispatched Artist," Carving the Texture of Labor in Multi-Color Woodblock — Lee Yun-yop, master of Korean multi-color woodblock. "Dispatched artist" activist, industrial rubber matting medium, farmer/worker motifs, MMCA collection — with 5 curated picks.
- Lee Cheol-soo — From Minjung Woodblock to the Woodblock of Zen, One Texture of Korean Printmaking — Lee Cheol-soo (b. 1954), master of Korean woodblock. 30-year evolution from 1980s minjung woodblock to Zen, spirituality, and peace. Farming and woodblock practice in Jecheon — with 5 curated picks.
- Park Jae-dong — The Father of Korean Editorial Cartooning, and the World Beyond the Daily Comic — Park Jae-dong (b. 1952), the father of Korean editorial cartooning. Eight years at the Hankyoreh, Reality and Utterance collective, and a practice integrating painting, animation, and teaching — with 5 curated picks.
SAF Magazine
Published April 20, 2026
