Seoul museum opens major show tracing 80 years of Korean, Japanese art

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art opens an exhibition Friday tracing eight decades of artistic exchange between Korea and Japan, presenting 200 works by 43 artists at its Gwacheon campus.

The show, co-organized with Japan's Yokohama Museum of Art and on view through Sept. 27, marks the 60th anniversary of Korea-Japan diplomatic normalization and holds particular resonance for Orange County's Korean-American community, which spans both cultures.

The exhibition, titled "Art between Korea and Japan since 1945," is organized into five chronological sections spanning the post-liberation era to the present and includes archival materials appearing publicly for the first time, The Korea Times reported. Works by Korean Zainichi artists, participants in the Japanese avant-garde and contemporary photographers are among those represented.

The show traveled from Japan, where it drew more than 37,000 visitors during its December 2025 run at the Yokohama Museum of Art. Kuraya Mika, director of the Yokohama Museum of Art, said at a press preview at MMCA Gwacheon that the exhibition confronts why shared history does not always produce understanding. "Korea and Japan may seem familiar to each other, but that familiarity can make the relationship more complicated and sometimes lead to conflict," she said. "I hope young visitors will come naturally to the exhibition, learn something new and reflect on the relationship between the two countries."

Among the featured works is Nam June Paik's 1986 project "Bye Bye Kipling," which linked Seoul, Tokyo and New York via live satellite broadcast. Zainichi artist Cho Yang-gyu's 1957 painting "Sealed Warehouse" anchors the postwar section with its depiction of harsh conditions faced by Korean laborers in Japan. A 1964 performance piece, "Shelter Model," created by Hi-Red Center and Nam June Paik, addressed the Cold War anxieties that rippled across both nations.

Japanese photographer Nakamura Masato contributed work from his years documenting daily life in 1990s Seoul. "I was deeply influenced by the imagination of ordinary people," he told The Korea Times. "Observing everyday life in Korea brought me more inspiration than any art historical movement."

MMCA Director Kim Sung-hee said art holds a particular capacity to reach beyond political divides. "Art transcends national boundaries and enables inspiration and exchange through interactions between individuals," she told The Korea Times. Kim also said, "No matter the circumstances, art can ultimately dissolve barriers and connect people. I believe there is still great potential in Korea-Japan relations," according to the Times.

Curator Jeon Yu-shin organized the exhibition, which commemorates the June 1965 normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan — a history that continues to shape the identity of Korean-American families across Southern California.