The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA, Director Youn Bummo) presents its first feature exhibition of the year, Encounters Between Korean Art and Literature in the Modern Age, from 4 February through 30 May 2021, at MMCA Deoksugung.

In Korean history, the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945) has generally been viewed as an era of darkness and despair. As such, any attempt to examine the events of this time period are subject to preconceived notions of anger and aversion, like reliving a painful wound.

Under colonial rule, of course, the people of Korea were continuously shackled by many contradictory social structures. But even so, this era was a period of profound transformation, during which time the traditional society of the past collided with the modern society of the present, with new cultures and technologies being 2 accepted, absorbed, or repelled with unimaginable speed. In particular, young Koreans became fascinated by a rapid surge of new ideas, philosophies, knowledge, and culture from the West.

This exhibition shares the stories of artists and writers who devoted themselves to art and literature during this paradoxical era, focusing primarily on life in colonial Seoul (then known as Gyeongseong) in the 1930s and 40s. These cultural figures were free spirits who gathered in cafes and bars, condemned the absurdities of reality, promoted their own perception of a new era, and advocated the new avant-garde of knowledge, much like the École de Paris in France. Despite the overlying social contradictions and confusion, these
artists and writers became a driving force, forming a deep solidarity as they cleared their own path through their shared belief in the abiding value of literature and art.

Further Information
MMCA