Minjung art

Minjung art is a South Korean socio-political art movement that arose in 1980 after the Gwangju uprising, during which government troops killed around two hundred peaceful demonstrators. The word 'minjung' means 'the people' or 'the popular masses', and the movement consciously set itself against the abstract, formalist art oriented toward Western tastes and the international market. Minjung artists turned to realistic, socially charged imagery in order to expose the authoritarian regime, injustice, the consequences of accelerated industrialisation and the division of Korea. They drew on traditional folk art, Buddhist imagery, woodblock printing and mural painting, creating an accessible, engaged and politically pointed language. Minjung painting, prints, banners and posters accompanied the democratic movement that finally brought down the military dictatorship at the end of the 1980s. Minjung art became one of the most influential examples of art directly bound up with the struggle for civil rights and democracy in Asia, and it still inspires generations of activist artists.