Mongin Art Center, directed by Hong Mi-kyung, wife of Aekyung Group Vice Chairman Chai Hyung-suck, offers a refreshing approach. Rather than repeatedly introducing artists who are already well established in Korea, the center focuses on discovering innovative international artists and emerging Korean artists, filling its spaces with their works.
By providing promising young artists with opportunities to exhibit free of charge, the center actively contributes to the development of the Korean art scene. It has discovered and supported artists such as Jeong Jeongju, Sunny Kim, Kwon Hyuk, and Jinnie Seo, all of whom are now actively working in the field.
Mongin Art Center has become known as a gateway for emerging artists, creating opportunities for them to gain recognition within Korea while also laying the groundwork for their advancement into the international art world.
In line with Aekyung Group’s corporate philosophy, “Love People, Respect Heaven” (愛人敬天), Mongin Art Center seeks to create a space where contemporary art and the people living in the present era can actively communicate and engage with one another, both locally and internationally.
Through its efforts to introduce the rapidly changing developments of the Korean and international art worlds in a balanced manner, and by presenting ideal points of intersection between experimentation and public accessibility, the center has established itself as a capable institution that responds sincerely to the growing public interest in art while helping to satisfy cultural curiosity.
The center has organized exhibitions that support mid-career artists such as Yeesookyung, Yun-Hee Toh, Kang Hong-Goo, Jinnie Seo, Hyunmi Yoo, and Chung Zuyoung in seeking new directions within their practices and reestablishing their careers both in Korea and abroad.
It has also presented exhibitions by internationally active artists—including John Armleder, Rika Noguchi, Tatsuo Miyajima, Stan Douglas, and Shirin Neshat—whose works had rarely been seen in Korea, thereby providing local audiences with broader opportunities for artistic engagement.
A representative of Mongin Art Center explained the institution’s vision, stating, “We hope to contribute to the popularization of art and become a platform for active exchange among artists, artworks, and the people who share this era.”
In addition to operating Mongin Art Center, Aekyung Group also provides artists with studio space free of charge through Mongin Art Space, located on a site of approximately 400 pyeong on the slopes of Namsan Mountain in central Seoul.
The site was once the residence of Chae Mongin, the founder of Aekyung Group, who passed away in 1970. His descendants established the space to honor his legacy by supporting the creative activities of ambitious artists. It functions as a studio program for artists working across all areas of contemporary art.
The first group of resident artists—Park Kiwon, Park Hwa Young, and Hong Jungpyo—moved into the studios in March 2007. They were followed by the second group—Kim Yunho, Ahn Doojin, Lee Hoin, and Chung Seung Un—in September 2008. The current third group of residents—Kim Suyoung, Roh Choonghyun, Sungsic Moon, and Jungho Oak—are scheduled to remain in residence and work there for eighteen months through August 2011.
The residency program is operated flexibly, offering long-term residencies of eighteen months and short-term residencies of three months depending on the needs of participating artists. In addition to providing physical studio spaces, the program seeks to establish itself as a multidisciplinary creative platform through artist exchange programs, open studios, and other initiatives, bringing fresh vitality to the art community.
Since 2008, Mongin Art Space has expanded its international exchange activities through collaboration with Harlem Studio Fellowship by Montrasioarte in New York, operating the HSF–Mongin Artists Exchange Program as a platform for artistic exchange.
