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Lee Jung Seob(1916-1656) is one of the artists who represents twentieth century Korean art and the public has been interested in his life and art. According to the research done up until now, the number of newspapers and magazine articles about him is about 600, and the number of books; including exhibition records, book reviews, and biographies; is about 170, and the number of papers reach about 140 pieces. These figures are quite uncommon throughout all the history of researching Korean modern art, which makes people realize his popularity, which has been called ‘The myth of Lee Jung Seob’.
However, the majority of these texts discuss him mainly based on his life story, rather than his work. Though, of course, numerous pieces are closely related to the artist’s life, it is rare that they place a greater emphasis on the artist’s life than the work itself when discussing their characteristics and values. This study started with the question of why Lee’s life story especially has been talked about so much and how his myth was created.
Until now, many researchers have reviewed Lee Jung Seob and his work. While he was alive, comments were mainly made on his work. After he died, however, the focus changed to his life. The turning point was during the boom of the 1970s’ art market. Although he was forgotten due to the 1960s’ art policy, his life regained the spotlight through magazines and newspapers, and drew the attention of the 1970s’ public, which enabled a successful opening of ‘Gallery Hyundai Exhibition in 1972’. From that time, the price of his works started to rise and a huge volume of relevant materials were found, so that many writings, plays, movies, and dramas that deal with his life could be made. As a result, the myth of Lee Jung Seob was created.
Meanwhile, as the 1970s’ art market boom continued until the 1980s, attempts were made to revaluate Lee, who was overestimated due to commercialism. Some entries into the exhibitions held at that time got involved in controversy over authenticity, and forgery events happened right after. Therefore, people in the art scene tried to escape from his myth by studying the artist and his work empirically and objectively. Exhibitions held after the 2000s have been designed through the process of strict historical research and focused on various materials other than the artwork, in order to uncover the myth.
As reviewed above, this study focuses on the fact that the evaluations of him are closely related to the exhibitions held at that time, and have shown a certain direction over time. In order to examine the evaluations of him throughout the history, this study revisits texts mainly as the exhibitions that influenced on forming discussions by time period. By doing this, the study reveals the process of making Lee Jung Seob’s myth and reviews the current study on him, so that we can consider the direction it’s heading in.