Culture Share - Kate Oh Gallery: "The Korean Archetype" ~ Miky (Yoohyun) Kim

Exhibition Date: March 1-11, 2022

With Opening Reception

Artist Note:

Korea’s national founding myth is an unusual one. A bear and a tiger want to become human. They ask deity what they can do to become human. The son of God told them to into a dark cave for 100 days eating only mugwort and garlic. The impatient tiger runs out the cave before it becomes human. On the other hand, the patient bear perseveres and turns into “Woongnyeo,” or the “Bear Woman.” She then marries the son of God and gives birth to “Dangun,” the first Korean man. Instead of the somewhat traditional and typical omnipotent gods or conquering heroes in myths, Kroea’s features a “Bear Woman” who epitomizes self-sacrifice and forbearance.

Perhaps due to widely-known myth of “Bear Woman,” empathy is deeply rooted in Korean culture. Through countless foreign invasions, colonization, abject poverty, the people survived by sharing and caring. The ability to empathize with one another, to find joy in tough times, and to find meaning and beauty in simple things in a beautiful quality that is archetypical of the country.

Artist Miky Kim molds countless tile-roofs, metaphorically alluding to Korea’s traditional tile-roof houses that represent Korean women who led lives of obedience, forbearance, and self-sacrifice under those very roofs. Through her practice, Kim pays homage to the Korean woman who endured suffocating social customs, physical and emotional agony, all the while praying for the wellbeing of her family and loved one. Another common motif Km uses is Korean rice cakes that symbolize love, care, devotion and prayer of the women who prepared them. Rice cakes are prepared for special occasions such as the Lunar Year, Lunar Thanksgiving, and birthday celebrations. They are decorated using wooden molds of various themes an shapes. The rice cakes are inscribed with characters such as “su” denoting longevity and other traditional symbols that wish for good fortune. They also symbolize a woman’s prayer for the health of her family by marking their birthdays.

As the world suffers through an unprecedented pandemic, we are forced to maintain distance from one another. We could learn from our “Bear Woman,” Woongnyeo, who persevered alone in a dark cave and evolves into a being of self-sacrifice, forbearance, and empathy.

To purchase one of the pieces in this collection, go to: KATE OH GALLERY (puppy not for sale) : )