SEOUL — For viewers captivated by Korean traditional painting—or those who found an unexpected fondness for Derpy, the tiger-inspired character from Netflix’s animated film KPop Demon Hunters (2025)—Gallery Hyundai’s latest exhibitions offer a compelling journey across centuries of visual culture.

The gallery opened two concurrent exhibitions on Wednesday in its main and newly inaugurated spaces in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul: Magnificence and Creativity: Variations in Korean Folk Painting and The Way of Painting. Together, they trace the evolution of Korean pictorial traditions from the Joseon Dynasty to contemporary practice.

The main exhibition presents 27 large-scale court and folk paintings from the Joseon period (1392–1910), all of museum-level quality and including several rarely exhibited works. Collectively, the selection showcases the genre at its most refined, revealing the symbolic depth and aesthetic ambition embedded in traditional Korean painting.

Among the highlights is Two Dragons and Pearl, a monumental 19th-century court painting (gungjunghwa) measuring 210 by 469.2 centimeters. Depicting two dragons engaged with a luminous pearl, the work was intended to ward off evil spirits while affirming royal authority and legitimacy through powerful visual symbolism.

Also featured is Ten Symbols of Longevity, a richly layered composition combining traditional motifs such as mountains, clouds, cranes, and pine trees—each associated with wishes for long life and prosperity. Another standout, Magpie and Tiger, draws particular attention for its familiar imagery: the folkloric tiger depicted here served as a key visual reference for the tiger character featured in Netflix’s recent animated success.

The exhibition also includes a 19th-century Tiger Skin painting, emphasizing the expressive boldness and imaginative freedom that characterize Korean folk art traditions.

On the second floor of the main building, the focus shifts to minhwa, or folk paintings, which contrast sharply with the formality of court works. Looser in style and playful in tone, these paintings reflect the humor, aspirations, and daily experiences of ordinary people. One notable example, Bird, Flower and Figure, portrays Joseon-era women in hanbok with exaggerated, almost caricature-like features, blending gentle satire with lyrical observation.

Extending the dialogue into the present, Gallery Hyundai’s new building hosts The Way of Painting, featuring 75 works by six contemporary artists who engage with traditional Korean aesthetics through modern sensibilities. Among them is Kim Ji-pyeong, a finalist for the 2025 Korean Artist Prize, whose work reinterprets the formal language of traditional painting within a contemporary framework.

Artist Bak Bang-young also stands out for channeling the uninhibited spirit of late Joseon minhwa, preserving its humor, spontaneity, and daring compositions while situating them firmly in the present.

Together, the two exhibitions mark the 10th anniversary of Gallery Hyundai’s landmark 2016 presentation on Korean court and folk painting at the Seoul Arts Center. Rather than treating tradition as a static heritage, the shows position it as a living visual language—one that continues to inspire, evolve, and resonate.

Magnificence and Creativity: Variations in Korean Folk Painting and The Way of Painting run through Feb. 28.

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