The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) and the Seoul Museum of History proudly presents Charm of Seoul, Minhwa: Wishes in Korean Folk Painting, a new exhibition of rare original 19th and 20th century art works that reveal the personal history of Seoul through the aspirations and desires of its upper classes embedded in the popular genres’ symbolism and folk motifs.   These iconic minhwa art genres would go on to inspire many quintessential cultural images of Korea even into the modern age, including the now-globally-recognized “derpy tiger” and magpie characters from the hit Netflix movie K-Pop Demon Hunters. This exhibition also includes a variety of contemporary and digital art riffs on these classical styles.   Featured items are drawn from the Seoul Museum of History’s special traveling exhibition Charm of Seoul with a focus on classical minhwa, the traditional folk paintings which evolved alongside Seoul’s own history and culture during the heights of the late Joseon Dynasty era leading up to the 20th century. The exhibition is also part of Korea’s ongoing Touring K-Art Project, featuring unique content across the traditional and popular cultural spectrum, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE).   In total the exhibition features around 20 works, including traditional and contemporary minhwa paintings, painted ceramics, other pieces from the museum’s collection, and a digital media folding screen from the National Museum of Korea. Through these exhibits and media works, visitors can gain a deeper understanding of Korean home life, decorative art, and traditional culture.   The exhibition goes on display to the public November 20, 2025 through February 20, 2026 at the KCCDC and launches with a public opening reception and introduction by museum officials at the KCCDC on Thursday, November 20 at 6:00 p.m. (RSVP required). Attendees at the opening will also have a chance to enter a drawing for special prizes. Charm of Seoul, Minhwa: Wishes in Korean Folk Painting Exhibition Dates: November 20, 2025 – February 20, 2026  Opening Reception & Talk: Thursday, November 20 at 6:00 p.m Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW)  Thank you for your interest! This event has reached maximum capacity, but spaces may re-open up if others cancel. Please use the link below to check the status. The exhibition will also remain open to walk-in visitors through February 20, 2026.  RSVP LINK About the Exhibition   Charm of Seoul, Minhwa: Wishes in Korean Folk Painting is presented in three thematic sections that tell an intimate and ongoing story that has been centuries in the making.   Seoul’s Minhwa: The Blooming Wishes of Home presents fine examples of minhwa paintings that were historically made to order and spread from boutique stores to the homes of the city’s ordinary residents in the 18th and 19th centuries. Within a house, a minhwa painting was more than just a decorative picture: it expressed a longing for fortune and well-being across a variety of thematic genres: pyeongsaengdo (paintings of life’s celebrations) for a long, blessed life from birth; hojakdo (paintings of tigers and magpies) for protection from diseases and malicious intent; chaekgado (paintings of bookshelves) for espousing respect for the noble class and dreams of climbing the social ladder; eohaedo (paintings of fish and crabs) for wealth and fertility; and gammoyeojaedo (paintings of altars) for heavenly blessings through filial piety.   The second section, Minhwa: The Wishes Blooming Today, highlights contemporary minhwa, reborn within Seoul and across Korea as a language of contemporary art that reinterprets tradition. Modern artists reinterpret symbolic motifs such as chaekgeori (images of books), tigers, magpies, lotus flowers, and fish with contemporary sensibilities, wit, and freedom, expressing personal desires and messages of happiness and peace that reflect the enduring yearning for auspiciousness from the Joseon period to modern society. In the third section, Yoonseul Space—drawing on the Korean word yoonseul, indicating the shimmering reflection of light on waves—media artworks express the continuity of Seoul’s traditions and cultural heritage through time.  호작도, 한지, 20세기, 서울역사박물관 소장  Hojakdo: Tiger and Magpie Painting Paint on mulberry paper, 20th century, Seoul Museum of History Collection 책가도, 한지, 20세기초, 서울역사박물관 소장  Folding Screen of Chaekgado (Scholar’s Accouterments) Paint on mulberry paper, early 20th century, Seoul Museum of History Collection 감모여재도, 한지, 조선, 서울역사박물관 소장  Gammoyeojaedo Ancestral Shrine Painting Paint on mulberry paper, Joseon Dynasty, Seoul Museum of History Collection 어해도, 한지, 19세기, 서울역사박물관 소장  Fish and Crab Painting Paint on mulberry paper, 19th Century, Seoul Museum of History Collection 백자청화기명절지문병, 도자기, 19세기, 서울역사박물관 소장  Blue and White Porcelain Vase with Scholar's Objects Design Porcelain, 19th century, Seoul Museum of History Collection

We are excited to introduce the newly established cultural boxes in the Media Room on the first floor of the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. The displays include the Annyeong (안녕) Box, which introduces the Korean alphabet and allows participants to experience writing in 'Hangeul'; the Sarangbang (사랑방) Box, highlighting men’s quarters in the Joseon period centered around the 'seonbi' (Confucian scholar) culture; the Anbang (안방) Box, showcasing women’s quarters in the Joseon period centered around the 'gyubang' (boudoir) culture; and the Hanbok (한복) Box, a hands-on display where participants can try on traditional Korean clothing.

We are excited to introduce the newly established “Ssireum” display in the Experience Room on the first floor of the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. The wall features a video explanation of the sport, a bull-shaped trophy awarded to Ssireum champions, a “satba” cloth belt tied around the waist and one thigh of each competitor, and much more.

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC), in partnership with the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and IA&A at Hillyer, is proud to present Écriture with the Body: Contemporary Korean Women’s Art, a multi-venue touring exhibition featuring works by 18 Korean and Korean American women artist who use writing, language, and text-based practices as powerful means of expressing subjectivity and resisting entrenched gender and racial inequalities.   Rooted in traditions historically shaped by patriarchy but often challenged by women—such as calligraphy (서예, seoye), classical poetry (한시, hansi) and literati painting (문인화, muninhwa)—this exhibition reclaims these artistic forms through an embodied feminist lens. Here, writing is not merely a tool of communication but a visceral assertion of presence, memory, and identity. By inscribing bodily expressions into text, the artists create transformative experiences for audiences. Their works question and transcend formal conventions, offering new perspectives and forging empowering narratives that reclaim space within a historically patriarchal artistic lineage.   This collaboratively organized exhibition spans three venues and features four interrelated subthemes. At the KCCDC the focus is on artists who pay homage to the legacy of visionary Korean American artist and filmmaker Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951-1982), expanding on themes central to her practice. Works by Kim Oksun, Ahn Okhyun, Yoon Jeongmee, and Jaye Rhee present a collaborative digital performance that re-reads and re-imagines Cha’s posthumous book Dictée.   Through media art, photography, and installation, these artists challenge the structural logics of language and culture, interrogating the hierarchies embedded within them. Drawing from embodied, diasporic, and feminist experiences, they disrupt fixed systems of meaning and propose new visual and textual grammars. Their practices reimagine "écriture" (the French word for writing) as fragmented, hybrid, and open-ended—resisting assimilation while opening space for multiplicity, uncertainty, and radical subjectivity.   Écriture with the Body gathers these diverse artistic practices into a collective exploration of how writing and the body intersect as tools of empowerment. Rather than offering singular resolutions, the exhibition embraces complexity and dissonance, inviting audiences to reflect on presence, identity, and the transformative power of language and the body.   Écriture with the Body: Contemporary Korean Women’s Art, curated by Dr. Jung-Sil Lee and Dr. Koh Dong-Yeon of Trio & Beats, and organized by the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) with support from Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will remain on display at the KCCDC Oct. 3 through Nov. 12, 2025.  Écriture with the Body: Contemporary Korean Women’s Art  Artist & Curator Talk: Thursday, October 2  KCCDC Dates: October 3 – November 12, 2025  Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (2370 Massachusetts Ave. NW)   Additional Venues Admission to all participating venues is free, but hours vary. Each venue features different exhibition content.    Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (details here) 500 17th St. NW, Washington D. C. 20006 (Gallery 225, second floor) Oct. 3 – Nov. 15, 2025 (Wed. – Sat., 1 – 5 p.m.) (202) 994-1700   IA&A at Hillyer (details here) 9 Hillyer Court, NW, Washington D. C. 20008 Oct. 3 – Nov. 2, 2025 (Tues. – Fri., 12 – 6 p.m. & Sat. – Sun. 12 – 5 p.m.) (202) 338-0680   About the Exhibition Themes   The exhibition is divided into four thematic sections. Challenging Tradition: Contemporary Literati Painting and Calligraphy reinterprets the aesthetics of traditional literati painting, poetry, jeong-ga (정가) song, minhwa (민화) genre painting, and calligraphy through a contemporary feminist lens. Disturbing Language: Art and Women’s Poetry probes the intersection of visual art and women’s poetry as a site of disturbance and transformation, allowing poetry to become a visual and conceptual tool for reclaiming authorship and voice. Writing with the Body: Performance and Documentation transforms the body into both medium and message of resistance—a living text inscribed with memory, emotion, and defiance. Reimagining Écriture: The Legacy of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha collectively reimagines Cha’s legacy by engaging with the structural logic of language and its embedded hierarchies, reconfiguring écriture (writing) as fragmented, hybrid, and open-ended.   In total across three unique venues the exhibition features works by artists Seongnim Ahn, Yeesookyung, Kim Jipyeong, Minsun Oh Mun, Yun Suknam, Jung Jungyeob, Kook Dongwan, Hong Lee Hyunsook, Cho Youngjoo, Hyun Jung Kim, Jean Shin, Kim Oksun, Ahn Okhyun, Yoon Jeongmee, Jae Rhee, Su Kwak, Jean Jinho Kim, and Theresa Hak Kyung Cha.   About the Curators   Dr. Jung-Sil Lee is an art historian, critic, and curator specializing in modern and contemporary art from a global perspective. Her research interests span global modernism, ritual theory, feminism, and public art, with a particular focus on narratives at the intersection of decolonization and feminism. She has written extensively on modern and contemporary Asian artists who challenge traditional artistic norms by incorporating traumatic histories into their works. As director of Trio & Beats and ArTrio, Dr. Lee has curated numerous exhibitions.   Dr. Dong-Yeon Koh (also known as Koh Dongyeon) is an art historian, curator, and critic specializing in postwar American art and contemporary Korean art. She is an adjunct professor at Ewha Womans University, Korea, and served as Artistic Director of the Gangwon International Triennale 2024. She has also served on the managing committee of the NaMAF (Seoul International ALT Cinema & Media Festival, 2017–2021) and as commissioner of the Goyang Outdoor Sculpture Festival (2017–2018). Dr. Koh has published extensively on contemporary Korean art, with a focus on popular culture, gender theory, and memory studies. She is also co-author of Modern and Contemporary Korean Art and Culture in Context (1950–Now) (Bloomsbury, 2025), and co-director of Trio & Beats.    About the Artists & Images (featured at the KCCDC)   Kim Oksun has for more than two decades focused her lens on the marginal people and landscapes that exist between displacement and settlement. Having personally experienced the process of relocating to Jeju Island, the artist has captured genre photographs that document the lives of outsiders, while also recording non-native plant species that, like these individuals, have taken root in Jeju’s unfamiliar soil. Drawing from her own experiences, Kim delicately explores how marginalized individuals—those with hybrid identities or the self-claimed names she refers to—employ a range of subtle strategies to adapt to society and their surroundings. Kim has received several major photography awards in Korea, including the 2007 Park Geonhi Cultural Foundation Photography Award, the 2010 Seco Photo Award, the 2016 DongGang International Photo Award, and the Ilwoo Photography Award for Photographer of the Year in the publication category in 2017. Kim had exhibitions at MOMA PS1, Huston Museum of Art, CCP in Tuson, TOP Museum in Tokyo, Kaohsiung Museum of Art, Hong Kong Arts Center, Almaty Casteev State Art Museum, and in Korea at MMCA, SeMA, Leeum, and Atelier Hermès. Her works belong to the collection of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Museum of Art, Jeju Municipal Museum, and Hanmi Museum of Photography, TOP museum, and Almaty Museum of Art.   Interview, 2024, three-channel video, sound, color, 28min. 8 sec. © Courtesy of the artist (above)     Ahn Okhyun observes the inner dimensions of individual and collective consciousness through photography and video, exploring images of shared emotional states. She has held twelve solo exhibitions in Seoul, New York, and Stockholm, including Women Lead Men Toward the Sacred, Love Has No Name, The World Seen from the Summit of Everest, and Homo Sentimentalis. She has also participated in group exhibitions such as the 2018 Gwangju Biennale Imagined Borders. In addition to her artistic practice, she co-organized Chorus Dictee: Chorus, an exhibition and online performance reinterpreting Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s posthumous work Dictee, sponsored by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture.   Love Poem, 2021, Single Chanel Video with sound, 13 min., still-cut © Courtesy of the artist (above)   Yoon Jeongmee’s photographs lie at the intersection of documentary and fine art photography, evoking the style of August Sander, a pioneer of German typological photography. With a realist approach, Yoon documents childhood through a cultural anthropological and gendered lens, utilizing socially assigned color codes. Among her best-known works is The Pink and Blue Project.   Yoon has held solo exhibitions in Seoul, New York, and Spain, showcasing pieces such as Zoo (Gallery Boda, 1999) and Natural History Museum (Gallery Boda, 2001). Her work has been featured on the covers of prominent publications such as LIFE magazine (2007), The New York Times (2008), The Telegraph (UK, 2008), and National Geographic (2017). Yoon is also a member of the collaborative project Dictee, which reinterprets the work of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards, including the Next Artist Award (2006), the Grand Prize at the Sovereign Asian Art Prize (Hong Kong, 2012), the Ilwoo Photography Award (Publication category, 2018), and the Donggang Photography Award (2023). Yoon’s works are part of the collections at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others.   Itaewon Medley, 2021, two channel video with sound, 9 min. 13 sec. © Courtesy of the artist (above)   Red Face,  2005, Coated Digital C-Print, image size: 23 x 19 in (58 x 48 cm), paper size: 23.6  x 19.7 in (60 x 50 cm) © Courtesy of the artist (above)   Jaye Rhee has explored the ruptures between sounds and images originating from different historical moments, as well as the various modes of playback and representation that surround them. By employing and juxtaposing diverse media such as photography, video, and performance, she presents a new poetic reality—one that is at once factual and immediate, yet dreamlike and rooted in imagination. Recently, she has particularly focused on facilitating encounters between Eastern and Western women whose voices were historically marginalized or silenced.   Rhee’s work has been exhibited at venues, including High Museum of Art, Atlanta (2018); Norton Museum of Art, Florida (2021); MCA Denver, Colorado (2023); Buffalo AKG Art Museum, New York (2011); Queens Museum, New York (2009); Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York (2005); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2012); Kobe Biennale (2007); Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul; Seoul Museum of Art (2019, 2018); Center for Art & Architecture Affairs, Guimarães (2014); and La Triennale di Milano (2016). Her works are included in the public collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Asian Art Museum San Francisco, High Museum of Art, Norton Museum of Art, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Seoul Museum of Art, Gyeonggi Museum of Art, Koo House Museum of Art & Design, SongEun Art and Cultural Foundation, and Leeum Museum of Art.   Pulse and Stillness, 2025, single-channel video with sound, 6 min. 40 sec., still-cut © Courtesy of the artist (above)   Murmur and Resonance, 2021, two channel video 11min 7 sec, 2021, © Courtesy of the artist (above) Korean-born artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, from the mid-1970s until her death at age 31 in 1982, created a rich body of conceptual art that explored displacement and loss. Her works included artists' books, mail art, performance, audio, video, film, and installation. Although grounded in French psychoanalytic film theory, her art is also informed by far-ranging cultural and symbolic references, from shamanism to Confucianism and Catholicism. Cha's exploration of exile and dislocation in her art is informed by her own history. Uprooted during the Korean War, her family immigrated to America in 1962, moving first to Hawaii and then to San Francisco. After years in the Bay Area and time in Europe, Cha moved to New York City in 1980.   As an editor and writer at Tanam Press, she produced two well-known works, Dictée (1982) and Apparatus (1980), an important anthology of essays on the cinematic apparatus. From 1980 until her death in 1982, she was an editor and writer at Tanam Press in New York. Her work has been shown at the Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA; Artists Space, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the Bronx Museum of Art, New York, among other venues. A major retrospective exhibition of her work, entitled The Dream of the Audience: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951-1982) was organized by University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in 2001, and traveled to five cities, including Seoul, Korea. Text credit, above: Electronic Arts Intermix: Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Biography.        Aveugle Voix, 1975 (Performance: San Francisco, 1975, Documentation 8 black and white photographs. w6.75 x h 9.5 in ©UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) under Director Jongtaek Park and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation under Chairperson Junghee Kim) proudly co-present A Shared Korean–American Legacy: 800 Days of Restoration, a special photo exhibition at the KCCDC September 4 - 26 celebrating the first anniversary of the Old Korean Legation’s inclusion in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Exhibition Overview   On September 9, 2024, the Old Korean Legation was officially added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places—an honor recognizing its historical and cultural significance. Built in the late 19th century, during a pivotal era of Korean diplomacy, the Legation was the first permanent mission Korea established in a Western nation. For over a century, it has stood in the heart of Washington, D.C., serving as a symbolic meeting point of Korean and American history and culture.   The restoration of this historic building began in October 2015 and continued for nearly three years, until it received final completion approval in March 2018. This marked the first on-site collaboration among specialists from Korea and America, covering every stage, from design and construction to conservation and historical recreation. More than a renovation, the project was a cultural endeavor that revived a key chapter in both nations’ shared diplomatic history, creating a bridge between the past, present, and future.   Throughout the restoration process, photographer Oh Hyangsuk immersed herself in the worksite, producing over 120,000 images that document the restoration in meticulous detail. The exhibition features more than 70 carefully selected photographs, capturing the moment each beam and brick was placed, as well as the dedication and craftsmanship of the people involved.   Praised by U.S. preservation experts for its exceptional quality, the restoration played a central role in the Legation’s addition to the National Register—an acknowledgment of its historical significance and the excellence of its conservation. Through photographs, videos, and personal stories, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the meaning of restoration and the enduring power of cultural heritage. For more information about the Legation, visit their official website at https://oldkoreanlegation.org. About the Artist: Oh Hyangsuk   Oh Hyangsuk is a visual artist and street documentary photographer whose work captures the realities of contemporary society and their cultural foundations. Working across cities around the world, she has presented her distinctive perspective through solo exhibitions in Germany, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.   One of her most notable works, the Old Korean Legation Restoration Series, documents in meticulous detail the dismantling and restoration of the Legation building in Logan Circle, Washington, D.C., over a period of nearly three years from October 2015 to March 2018. This body of work faithfully records the technical processes of architectural restoration while offering an in-depth portrayal of the challenges faced—and overcome—by the construction workers and artisans on site.   Oh’s photography goes beyond simple documentation, focusing on visually narrating the intertwined stories of people, spaces, and the passage of time within them. For more, visit www.ohyangsuk.com.   About the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation   Established in July 2012 under the Korea Heritage Service, the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation is dedicated to the research, repatriation, and promotion of Korean cultural heritage located abroad. The Foundation aims to reintroduce the significance of Korean heritage dispersed worldwide, transforming it into a shared cultural asset for both the Korean people and the international community.   The Foundation works closely with local experts, institutions, and organizations, fostering robust international cooperation. It operates overseas offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo, and Paris, carrying out research, excavation, exhibitions, and academic programs. In Washington D.C., its U.S. Office also manages and operates the Old Korean Legation Museum, a landmark in the diplomatic history of Korea and the United States. For more, visit www.overseaschf.or.kr.   Special Programs While the photo exhibition is on view at the KCCDC and open to visitors without an appointment during regular hours, the Old Korean Legation will also host two Evening Open Houses: ●Thursday, September 11, 6-7 p.m. (Guided tour in Korean) ●Thursday, September 18, 6-7 p.m.  (Guided tour in English) These evening tours will provide a rare opportunity to experience the fully restored Legation in person, complementing the photographic record on display. Guests will also hear behind-the-scenes stories from the restoration project. Please note that registration for these evening tours at the Legation must be completed in-person in advance at the KCCDC during its regular visitor hours. Due to limited space at the Legation, 20 lucky registrants will be selected at random to participate in each tour event.