From the late 19th to early 20th century, Paris rose as the centre of global art, driven by leading figures in modern art in significant movements such as Impressionism, Symbolism, and Cubism. The fact that young Korean artists who ventured through France during that period have now emerged as internationally acclaimed artists underscores the French’s influence on the history of modern and contemporary art in Korea.
Hyesok Na, born in 1896, was the first Korean woman to journey to Paris in 1918. Upon her return to Korea, she became known as a painter, writer, and women’s rights activist. After divorcing in 1930, she longed for the “freedom” of Paris throughout the latter part of her life until her death in December 1948 at a municipal hospital in Seoul. She even tried to return to Paris. Towards the end of her life, she expressed her desire to go to Paris “not to live, but to die.” What about Paris that Hyesok Na encountered and witnessed, which made her yearn for it throughout her life?
“Ecole de Paris,” or Paris School, refers to foreign painters active in Paris during the two World Wars. Typically, it denotes the group of foreign artists who gathered around Montparnasse in Paris during the interwar period, from after World War I to before World War II. Most of these artists were foreigners who had left their homeland. Given this, their paintings, characterised by melancholy and expressionistic tendencies, pursued a sentimental and decadent beauty. Therefore, despite their poverty and hardship in Paris, they illustrated national characteristics in their work.
In Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris, Hemingway said, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” But was this “feast” just a source of joy for Heysok Na? This lecture explores the cultural milieu of 1930s Europe, including colonialism, providing a deeper understating of her experiences.
