▲ Lee Chang-hee uses ink on traditional Korean paper and his work is characterized by a gray mood. Image courtesy JMoA

Jeju is also known as Samdado, or the Island of Three Plenties: stones, wind and women. These three have greatly influenced the island’s culture even to the present day.

▲ Kim Bang-hee sculpts in bronze and his work often features a variety of Jeju symbols including wind. Image courtesy JMoA

In recognition of the rich culture inspired by Mt. Hallasan and its parasitic volcanic cones, craters, caves and forests, Jeju Museum of Art opened the “Samda Stories: Stone” exhibition on April 30, running until June 22. Forty-three works by Kim Bang-hee, Mun Chang-bae and Lee Chang-hee intimately tell the story of Jeju’s unique stone culture.

A museum official said: “Jeju stones are generally different in color and appearance from other regions and are also rugged and crude. They have holes formed naturally in them making them rough, but this is also part of their quaint and natural attractiveness.”

Stone and bronze sculptures were on display from Kim Bang-hee, a professor in Fine Arts from Jeju National University College of Art. His work was also inspired by another of Jeju’s abundances, wind, which is represented by scything incisions which expose the shining bronze below and contrast with the rough and pock-marked rock.

▲ Kim Bang-hee sculpts in bronze and his work often features a variety of Jeju symbols including wind. Image courtesy JMoA

Lee Chang-hee, also a professor in Fine Arts from Jeju National University College of Art, follows a Korean style working with ink on traditional paper known as “jangji.” His moody sketches of Jeju’s “doldam,” or stone walls bring to mind the bleakness and stark beauty of Jeju’s interior. His leaden skies serve to deepen the mood of contemplation.

Mun Chang-bae, a lecturer in Fine Arts at Jeju National University, follows the Western tradition and works with oil on canvas. His glossy images have a photographic quality and capture the rich textures of Jeju’s coasts as the waters interact with the coast. He manages to recreate the distinctive light of Jeju’s rock pools which reflect mirror-like in shadow.

▲ Lee Chang-hee uses ink on traditional Korean paper and his work is characterized by a gray mood. Image courtesy JMoA

All three artists have isolated different legacies of Jeju’s stone culture. Kim uses sculpture inspired by Jeju’s wind and symbolic representations; Mun brings out the qualities of the local rock in its interaction with the ocean and changing light; whereas Lee positions the rock within the community, weighed down by heavy cloud.

The collection as a whole provides the visitor with much opportunity for reflection on Jeju’s rich heritage and artistic influences.

Jeju Museum of Art
2894-78 1100-ro, Jeju City
Fri. May 2 to Sun. June 22
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
1,000 won
jmoa.jeju.go.kr
064-710-4300