MinHwa Korean Art Exhibition from South Korea to APCC Jade Choe Gallery.

October 13 – October 19, 2025. Featuring Artists from Samwon Art Studio, Jeonju, South Korea. Curated by Kellis Partlett.

Please join us for an artist reception on October 18th from 4 pm - 6 pm in the Lotus Room.

• 김단우 KIM DANWOO

• 이은옥 LEE EUNOK

• 장선우 JANG SUNWOO

• 정문경 CHUNG MUNGYEONG

• 곽재연 KWAK JAEYEON

• 김도희 KIM DOHEE

• 정세경 JEONG SEGYEONG

• 김단원 KIM DANWON

Curator’s Statement- Kellis Parlett

At APCC Jade Choe Gallery, we are honored to present an international exhibition of Korean Minhwa paintings, welcoming a team of artists from South Korea.

With the global rise of K-Culture, the traditional folk art of Minhwa has also captured worldwide attention. But what is Minhwa?

Minhwa—literal meaning “people’s paintings”—originated in the Joseon Dynasty and reflects the everyday life, beliefs, and aspirations of the common people. Unlike academic or aristocratic painting, Minhwa emphasized practicality and symbolism over pure aesthetics. Created by anonymous or folk painters, these works adorned homes, carried wishes for good fortune, and conveyed spiritual or cultural symbols drawn from shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, as well as from nature and daily life.

To showcase these vivid, symbolic artworks here in the United States is a true honor. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to encounter the authenticity and originality of traditional Korean folk painting.

Visitors will also enjoy a special cultural experience: The chance to engage with iconic Minhwa characters featured in K-Pop Demon Hunters. For workshop details, please see our workshop portal.

Jade Choe Gallery Hours:

Monday - Wednesday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Thursday - Saturday 9:00 am to 7:00 pm

Samwon Art Studio Introduction 

Located in Jeonju Hanok Village, Samwon Art Studio is a traditional Korean painting (Oriental painting) workshop run by a teacher who completed graduate studies in Oriental Painting at Hongik University and holds a national craftsman’s license in reproduction painting. The studio offers classes using traditional pigments such as bunchae (mineral pigments) and animal-glue-based binders, which are rarely encountered in everyday life. 

At the quiet edge of the busy Hanok Village, the studio operates in a serene, stand-alone traditional Korean house (hanok). Programs include one-day workshops and regular courses, covering a wide range of practices from traditional painting to minhwa (folk painting) and modern reinterpretations of minhwa. The studio strives to make the deeply meaningful heritage of Korean painting more approachable to people today. Because of its location in a tourist area, many international visitors also join, and every time traditional Korean art is introduced, it is with a proud and dedicated spirit. 

Traditional Korean paintings handed down from our ancestors carry profound meanings even in the smallest details—for example, the peony (moran-do) symbolizes wealth and honor, the pomegranate (sogwa-do) represents fertility and prosperity, and the tiger-and-magpie painting (hojak-do) wards off evil spirits. Creating such works is like a prayer, conveying wishes for someone’s health and happiness. Each line and brushstroke becomes a moment of sincerity, recalling loved ones and filling the artwork with heartfelt devotion.