[Gallery Walk] 1st Anniversary Memorial Exhibition for Poet Park Jecheon... 'A Son Answers His Father's Poems with Paintings'

‘Simgyeong 心境 - Landscape of the Mind’ Exhibition
From the 8th to the 15th, Insadong KOTE

The memorial exhibition for the late poet Park Je-cheon, who passed away last year, titled "Simgyeong 心境 - Landscape of the Mind," will be held from the 8th to the 15th at KOTE in Insadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

According to the literary community on the 3rd, this memorial exhibition was planned to commemorate the first anniversary of Park Je-cheon's passing, to highlight his poetic world, and to review his diverse creative activities.

In particular, this exhibition draws attention as it is organized in a format where Park’s son, artist Park Jin-ho, who is active as a painter in the United States, responds to his father’s poetry through paintings. Park Jin-ho read the unpublished poetry collection "Jangja Poetry Collection," discovered on his father’s computer, and visualized the landscapes that came to mind, creating a series of distorted closed curves shaped like circles.

The late poet Park Je-cheon.

Artist Park Jin-ho said, "This exhibition signifies the beginning of sorting and organizing what my father left behind," adding, "I hope this exhibition becomes an opportunity to convey my father’s hope that the world be filled with poets."

On the opening day of the memorial exhibition, the 8th, and on the anniversary of the late poet’s death, the 10th, actor Lee Du-seong will perform a memorial show. Actor Lee Du-seong has a connection with Park Je-cheon, having performed at the ‘Festival of Poetry’ event organized by the poet during his lifetime. In this memorial performance, Lee Du-seong will express the theme of ‘Father’ through gestures inspired by Park Je-cheon’s life and poetry.

Additionally, during the exhibition period, paintings and video works inspired by the "Jangja Poetry Collection" will be displayed in the third-floor gallery, and an interview video of Park Je-cheon during his lifetime will be screened in the basement space. On the rooftop of the exhibition hall, a video capturing the poet’s personal spaces, including his home and office, will be shown.

Park Je-cheon was a representative poet of modern Korean poetry who caused a great stir in the literary world by transforming the essence of Taoist philosophy from the works "Jangja Poetry" and "Noja Poetry" into modern poetry. Until his passing in 2023 due to an illness, he published 17 poetry collections, 8 selected poetry volumes, and various books on poetry creation, serving as an inspiring example for younger poets with his tireless creative passion.

Accordingly, this exhibition features paintings and video works inspired by his unpublished poetry collection "Jangja Poetry Collection." Furthermore, videos of Park Je-cheon’s interviews during his lifetime and scenes of the poet’s home and office will also be screened.

Park Je-cheon’s daughter and poet, Park Su-jin, who planned the exhibition, said, "To borrow my father’s words, he did not pass away but embarked on a ‘tour of the galactic world,’" adding, "I think it suits my father that we can celebrate his first death anniversary like a lively festival."

The exhibition will be held from the 8th to the 15th at KOTE in Insadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Admission is free.