◆ This article was written for foreigners in Daegu and citizens of all countries around the world who are interested in Korean Art. (이 기사는 대구 주재 외국인 및 한국 미술에 관심 있는 세계 모든 국가의 국민들을 위하여 작성한 것입니다.)

 

Seo Dong-jin(서동진, 1900~1970, Daegu)

Look at “New Art - The Light of the New Picture,

The Expression of Life

and The Song of The Playing Mystery.

Flamboyance, that Luminescent light.”

In the preface of the first individual exhibition pamphlet in 1927.

A month and a week after the Daegu Museum of Art opened its special exhibition, ‘Welcome Home: A Feast of Art’, the reporter asked about the response of Daegu citizens. “The interest of Daegu citizens is too high. In the first week of the opening, we received 1,500 reservations a day, but due to the influence of Corona19 we receive 840 reservations a day. Because of so many reservation calls, it's too hard to put it off the next time,” said Moon Hyun-joo, head of the public relations team.

When asked about what you want to Daegu citizens, “This exhibition is about the artistic world of local artists who stand at the center of Korean art and the archival which is a record of Samsung and Samsung's social contribution. So I wait your reservation calls. you never regret it,” she said.

“The Lee Kun-hee Collection, donated to the Daegu Museum of Art has a total of 21 works including Seo Dong-jin(1 piece), Kim Chong-yung(1 piece), Moon Hak-jin(2 pieces), Byun Chong-ha(2 pieces), Seo Jin-dal(2 pieces), Yoo Young-guk(5 pieces), Lee In-sung(7 pieces) and Lee Qoe-de(1 piece). 'Welcome Home: A Feast of Art' displayed a total of 40 works by adding 21 Lee Kun-hee Collection and rental works and collections to highlight the eight donated artists in depth.  ”source : 시니어매일/Seniormaeil.(http://www.seniormaeil.com)

He showed his identity by leaving many self-portraits such as ‘self-portrait in pallet box(oil paint on wooden board, 16×21.8cm, early 1930s, contents of the National museum of Modern and Contemporary Art)’ which has appeared in secondary school art textbooks since the 1960s. He also painted portraits of close people, including portraits of Park Myung-jo, his nephew.

As the revealing in the preface of the first individual exhibition pamphlet it expressed a new beginning of the colonial era as art, showing the dazzling beauty of light which is the rising of Western painting.

Seo Dong-jin, who was taught by art study from Ko Hee-dong, art teacher of Whuy Mun High school and the first Western painter in Korea, was an art teacher at Gyonam School in Daegu for 15 years from 1925.

He led the local art organization, ‘Hyangtowhoe’ which was the official of the art movement of the time. He established the personality of Daegu art organization with the unique style of watercolor paintings and led the Daegu Modern Western art organization.

In 1927, he founded and ran Daegu Art Company, a printing and art educational institution. He contributed to the birth of outstanding artists in Korean art history like Lee In-sung and Kim Yong-jo. He served as a leader in Daegu local art community.

In particular, he vividly depicted the streets of the city which are full of urban alleys and new buildings with the sensuous colors and cool strokes of watercolors.

It combines the selection of materials such as workers in Hanbok taking a rest while feeding horses, laundry on a stream under the bridge at the entrance of the village, the scenery inside a train station and a corner of a city with new buildings.

As the reputation of the genius painter Lee In-sung, whom he discovered, increased, his work activities gradually slowed down. At last he stopped working as a painter and focused on his career as a politician after the 50s.

He served as the third and fifth member of the National Assembly. He served as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Division of the National Assembly too. He attended the 15th General Assembly of the United Nations as a representative of South Korea in 1961.