Introduction: The Life and Paintings of Jeong Seon and Kim Hong-do

Chapter 1: Jeong Seon, the Gyeomjae, Provides Rest through Joseon's Landscapes

Living a Leisurely Life in Sansu after Retirement: 10 Paintings of "Returning Home"
The Joy of Living with Wine and the Mountains: "Dongrichaeguk" and "Yuyeon Gyeonnamsan"
The house of a scholar who gave up his official position and lived in the mountains: Yeosan Chodang
The clear-water valley and pavilion where the teacher's family lived: Okryudong and Cheonghuigak
Encounter autumn foliage and streams at Inwangsan Mountain, Hanyang's most famous landmark: "Cheongpunggye" and "Cheongpunggye Jigak."
The finest ink painting of Joseon's 500-year history, depicting Inwangsan Mountain in the rain, longing for a deceased friend: "Inwangjesaek"
The abundance of fishing boats that pleased the magistrate: "Haengho Gwaneo," "Gyeonggyo Myeongseungcheop"
Friendship with a friend who exchanged fish hooks: "Chojaejesi," "Gyeonggyo Myeongseungcheop"
King Yeongjo's view of Dosan, seen with a fan at the Hanyang Palace: "Dosan Seowon" and "Gyesangjeonggeo"
See a spectacular sunrise and temple scenery on your trip to Gangwon-do: Naksan Sunrise and Naksansa Temple
The breathtaking scenery created by the stone pillars and rocky cliffs of the East Sea: Chongseokjeong and Tongcheon Chongseokjeong
The beauty of Mt. Geumgang, so beautiful that even Confucian scholars want to shave their heads and become monks: "Danbalryeongmang Geumgang" and "Haeakjeonsincheop"
Geumgangsan Temples, Hot Places for Hanyang Scholars: Jeongyangsa Temple and Haeakjeonsincheop
Ten thousand waterfalls created by the waters of the Naegumgang Valley: Manbokdong, Haeakjeonsincheop
The red sunrise over the East Sea that captured the eyes of three scholars and two boys: "Sunrise at Munamgwan," "Haeakjeonsincheop"
Enjoying the Geumgangsan Mountain from Manicheonbong while lying in your room: "Geumgangjeondo"

Chapter 2: Kim Hong-do: Providing Comfort through Ordinary Life

A life of contentment and pleasure, enjoying flowers while drunk: "Drunken Flowers" and "Portraits of Ancient Figures"
Drinking and singing on a moonlit night, sailing a boat: "Red Cliff Night", "Portraits of Ancient People"
Climbing a mountain path with two gisaengs: 〈Dongsan Ageum〉, 《Gosa Inmuldo》
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Sudhana, Comforting the Hardships of Life: "The Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Who Sees the Moon" and "Portraits of Ancient Figures"
The Shame of a Master Calligrapher Who Traded His Calligraphy for a Goose: "Hwang Jeong-hwan-ah," "Portraits of Ancient Figures"
The Happiness of Returning Home to Children: "The Return of the Wrong Person," "The Portrait of a Legendary Figure"
The Pure Life of a Scholar Whose Plum Blossom Wife and Crane Son: "Seohobanghak" and "Gosainmuldo"
The unwavering composure of a great scholar even in critical moments: "Mu-i-gwi-do" and "Gosa-in-mul-do"
Sixteen friends gather to enjoy poetry, painting, and music: "Seowon Ajipdo"
Creating a gathering of all classes in Danwon: "Danwondo"
The sorrow of someone caught in the drizzle in a foreign land: "Giryewon Yudo"
A state of mind free from distraction, like a quiet moonlit valley: "Jeongsim," "The Story of a Housewife and a Poem of the Master"
On Mother's Birthday, the whole family gathers together to eat: "I Am", "The Story of a Housewife"
The task of governing a country is to ensure that no household goes hungry: "Governing the Country", "The Book of Zhu Bu Zashi Yi Do"
The joy of autumn harvest on the faces of farmers, women, and children: "Peaceful World" and "The Story of a Housewife and Her Son"
A time of peace, where both nobles and commoners enjoy a happy life: "The Three Dukes and the Three Nobles"
The loneliness and sadness of old age, depicted in the face of death: "Chuseongbudo"

Jeong Seon Chronology & Kim Hong-do Chronology
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“When I look at these pictures
I hope you are happy.”

The greatest storyteller of Korean art
Tak Hyun-gyu tells
The Heart of Joseon Painting

Popular works exhibited at the National Museum of Korea, Gansong, and Ho-Am Art Museum
A hot topic from Lee Kun-hee's collection
National Treasures and Treasures of Our Country
Meet these pictures in a book!

Joseon painters ask about our daily lives.

Art gives us a variety of emotions that we need to feel as we live.
Sometimes it allows us to escape from the tiring and difficult daily life and enjoy a moment of rest and comfort.
Here, two genius painters of Joseon, Jeong Seon and Kim Hong-do, speak to us through old paintings.
You must be physically and mentally exhausted from a busy day with a mountain of work, you must miss your loved one who suddenly left, and you must be sad to see yourself getting sick and weak.
It tells us to come here and take a moment to rest amidst the beautiful mountains and rivers, to be comforted by the faces of our beloved family and friends, and to calm our troubled minds with the tranquil scenery of the waterfall on a moonlit night.


Resting with Joseon's landscapes

The greatest scholar-painter of Joseon, Gyeomjae Jeong Seon, was from the Noron faction.
In the early Joseon Dynasty, with Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism as the ideology, China was considered the standard for all culture, and Chinese mountains, rivers, and civilization were depicted.
However, later, as he developed Joseon Seongrihak, a unique form of Joseon Confucianism, he began to draw Joseon's mountains, rivers, and civilization with pride in his culture.
The person who took the lead was Jeong Seon, and what he developed was Jin-gyeong landscape painting.

Jeong Seon, a native of Hanyang, climbed Mt. Bukak and Mt. Inwang with his lifelong friend, Lee Byeong-yeon, and rode a boat on the Han River.
In the process, he painted countless landscape paintings depicting Joseon's landscapes.
Examples include “Okryu-dong,” “Cheongpunggye,” and “Inwangjesaek,” which depict Inwangsan Mountain, a hot place in Hanyang and the backyard of his house in Jeongseon.
In particular, “Inwangjesaek” is a masterpiece depicting Inwangsan Mountain after the rain, expressing the artist’s longing for his lifelong friend Lee Byeong-yeon after his death.
The thick rain clouds descending on the valley of Inwangsan Mountain, the solid aura of the granite rocks, and the new waterfalls formed here and there by the rain were expressed using only ink and wash, and today it is designated as a national treasure.

Among the places that Jeong Seon traveled with his friend Lee Byeong-yeon were Geumgangsan Mountain and the Eight Scenic Views of Gwandong.
Many paintings were also produced here, and in particular, the Geumgangsan painting became the core of Jeongseon Jin-gyeong Sansu.
Examples include the national treasure, “Geumgangjeondo” and the treasure, “Haeakjeonsincheop.”
〈Geumgangjeondo〉 is a masterpiece that evokes a sense of mystery by using the shape of a mountain in the shape of a Taegeuk pattern.
Jeong Seon served as a local government official several times, and his last position was as the magistrate of Yangcheon, Gyeonggi Province.
It is said that this was thanks to King Yeongjo's consideration to allow him to paint while riding a boat on the Han River.
King Yeongjo loved Jeong Seon so much that he called him by his pen name rather than his name.
The treasure 《Gyeonggyo Myeongseungcheop》, which includes a painting of the Han River, was created during the time he was the magistrate of Yangcheon.

As we turn the pages, we become scholars enjoying the clear waters and cool breezes of Hanyang, strollers strolling along the Han River, admiring the boats floating on it, and travelers wandering around the red sunrise over the East Sea and the beautiful Mt. Geumgangsan.
Let's take a break from our tiring and difficult daily lives and enjoy Jeong Seon's paintings.

Providing comfort through ordinary, everyday scenes

Kim Hong-do, the greatest painter of Joseon, was a genius who stood out in the Dohwaseo at the age of 21.
He followed in the footsteps of Jeong Seon, who even transformed Chinese painting materials into Joseon-style paintings.
After drawing the famous painting “Xiyuan Ajipdo” where 16 celebrities from various fields of China participated and enjoyed poetry, painting, and music together, he also created “Danwondo” to depict the moment when he and his acquaintances gathered together regardless of social status.


Kim Hong-do enjoyed King Jeongjo's favor throughout his time as a painter at the Dohwaseo.
King Jeongjo said, “I have known Kim Hong-do for a long time because he is a good painter.
He even wrote, “I painted a portrait 30 years ago, and from then on, I let Hongdo take charge of all the painting.”
The last painting that Kim Hong-do presented to King Jeongjo was the eight-panel folding screen “Jubujasiui-do.”
It means a painting that depicts the meaning of the poem by Joo-ja (Ju-bu-ja).
《Jubujasiui-do》 well captures the era of peace that King Jeongjo wanted to achieve and that the people of the time earnestly hoped for.
It was a world where every household lived happily without going hungry.


This thought is captured in a single eight-panel folding screen, like a painting, and is the national treasure, “Samgongbulhwando.”
This is a poem by Daebokgo, a Southern Song Dynasty writer who said he would not trade his secluded life for the position of Samgong (Samjeongseung in Joseon terms).
However, all the characters in the painting are Joseon people, and the houses, trees, and rocks in the painting are all Joseon.
On the left side of the painting, Joseon farmers are weeding rice in the field.
The farmer's wife crosses a wooden bridge carrying a basket of sorghum, with a dog in front and a child following behind.
It is so similar to the lovely scenery of our lives today that it touches my heart.

No matter how peaceful we live, we cannot avoid getting sick, growing old, and dying.
The treasure, “Chuseongbudo,” is a masterpiece that captures the feelings of Kim Hong-do, who was dying of illness in a state of poverty where he could not even pay the tuition of his 14-year-old son.
Kim Hong-do painted an autumn landscape where all things are falling away and copied Guyangsu's poem "Chuseongbu" on top of it, but wrote the last two letters, "sigh," separately on different lines.
The artist's heartbreaking sadness strangely comes to us like words of comfort and touches our lives.

Experience the power of high culture at the K-culture mecca.

Tak Hyun-gyu, the best storyteller who explains Korean art in an easy and fun way, shows the essence of Joseon art in this book.
Jeong Seon and Kim Hong-do were painters who were active during the peak of Joseon culture in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Joseon culture was pursuing its own independent path, free from Chinese influence, with the pride that it was the best in the world.
This is why Jeong Seon's "Inwangjesaek" and "Geumgangjeondo" included in this book are highly regarded as national treasures, and Kim Hong-do's "Samgongbulhwando" and "Chuseongbudo" are highly regarded as treasures.
These paintings are also popular pieces that capture the attention of visitors at exhibitions held at the National Museum of Korea, Gansong Art Museum, and Ho-Am Art Museum, which are recently referred to as meccas of K-culture.
This book uses high-resolution images provided directly by the art collection as illustrations, vividly conveying even the texture of the background fabric.
We also introduce the 'Lee Kun-hee Collection' donated to the nation by the Samsung family in 2021.
The beautiful paintings created by the two painters, Jeong Seon and Kim Hong-do, over a period of 130 years provided great rest and comfort to people of old.
Those paintings have reached us after hundreds of years.
I hope that today's readers will also enjoy the moments of relaxation and comfort that Joseon paintings provide.