Even without sharing their faith, I could feel the care and emotional investment behind this effort. The event ended with a performance by Kim Hyeon-seong, who played several songs including Letter from a Private, which he composed and was recorded by Kim Kwang-seok.

He also spoke about wanting to reclaim pride in a language still stigmatized by people from other regions.

Didn’t know much about Im beforehand either. He became a pastor in his 20s, partly as a way to protect himself while involved in the democracy movement, & this project came as he grappled with the pain of becoming a bereaved family member after losing two sisters in last December’s Jeju Air crash.

Jeon was the first artist imprisoned for violating the National Security Law, along with Lee Sang-ho, for creating subversive material, and I was surprised to learn he is also an ordained deacon. Hong was also a prisoner of conscience under the NSL.

It is one of only five Minjung-style murals I know of in the country, and it was produced in 1988 by 전북지역 청년미술 고동체 near the site of the death of Lee Se-jong, who has been recognized by the May 18th Truth Commission as the first casualty of the 1980 Uprising.

Very interesting. Makes me wonder how some South Koreans might have viewed these air raids, given the civilian casualties caused by U.S. bombing campaigns during the Korean War (e.g. Gumi, Iksan, and Pohang) and considering that, unlike Japan, R.O.K forces were also fighting for the U.S. in Vietnam.

Last week KoreaPro published an analysis I wrote about her tragic death and the government's aggressive tactics targeting undocumented workers. I’ve pasted the link below.

koreapro.org/2025/11/a-de...

Among the bereaved family members in attendance were the parents of the 25-year old Vietnamese worker (pseudonym Tuan) who died during the Oct. 28 immigration raid at Daegu Seongseo Industrial Complex.

“농악” was also produced in 1941 and appeared in the same exhibition. It is part of the Lee Kun-hee Collection. Kim was a self-trained Western-style painter. To earn a living, he initially worked as tram driver and store clerk. In 1925, he was hired by the Gov’t General as a draftsman and illustrator.

Rather he focuses on bringing in people who are open to learning through field expeditions and believes that one can quickly acquire the necessary knowledge about Hanok through modeling.

It was removed due to lack of space, but Cho said that while Hanok is what they are especially known for, he does not let Hanok knowledge guide hiring decisions.