Nanga(or Namhwa in Korean, meaning “Southern Painting”) is a school of Japanese painting which flourished during the Edo Period(1603-1868) but was only introduced to Korea in the 1920s. Nanga had also been referred to by another older term, Nanshuga(Namjonghwa in Korean or Nanzonghua in Chinese) until the 1890s when the Nanga Restoration Movement, formed as part of the Japan’s “Prevail Asia Policy” during the Taisho Period, exerted its influence across Japan and beyond. In this study the main discussion is focused on how Nanga, whose name and concept were only established in the 20th century, was introduced to Korea on the basis of news and articles about Nanga artists and their communities published by contemporary newspapers including The Gyeongseong Ilbo (The Keijo Nippo) in particular. It was in 1915 that the paper began to carry news about the new school of art, to be followed by other daily newspapers including The Chosun Ilbo and The Dong-A Ilbo, in which the first articles related with Nanga appeared in 1923. The earliest use of the term is related with articles written to introduce Korean art lovers to traditional Japanese paintings, the Korean Art Exhibition(朝鮮美術展覽會), which had only just been launched, and Japanese artists who crossed the sea to Korea to participate in the art fair as judges. Then, in the 1920s, Korean art students began studying Nanga and art schools, including the Korean Nanga Academy(朝鮮南畵院), which attracted not only Japanese artists settled in Korea but also Koreans who were interested in politics and business as well as art, came into being. The success of the Korean Art Exhibition led newspapers to produce a flood of art criticism resulting in in-depth discussions of Nanga artists and their works. The paintings were produced between the later 1930s and the 1940s under the slogan “paintbrushes for patriotism” and led to the establishment of organizations that supported Japanese colonialism, such as the Nanga Federation and the Daedong Southern Painting Society, in Japan, Korea, Manchurian and Taiwan. According to the newspaper articles, these organizations were launched with the aim of promoting patriotism among the public and contributing to Japanese victory in the wars it waged in that period, and invited participation by amateurs as well as professional artists. Interestingly, the Japanese imperialists who caused the Pacific War(1937-1945) were interested in the educational usefulness of Nanga, and adopted the traditional painting of the Four Noble Creatures and calligraphy, which had been regarded as obsolete elements of art, as important elements of Nanga.