A Companion to Korean Art Blackwell Companions to Art History Series

The only college-level publication on Korean art history written in English

Korean pop culture has become an international phenomenon in the past few years. The popularity of the nation?s exports?movies, K-pop, fashion, television shows, lifestyle and cosmetics products, to name a few?has never been greater in Western society. Despite this heightened interest in contemporary Korean culture, scholarly Western publications on Korean visual arts are scarce and often outdated. A Companion to Korean Art is the first academically-researched anthology on the history of Korean art written in English. This unique anthology brings together essays by renowned scholars from Korea, the US, and Europe, presenting expert insights and exploring the most recent research in the field. 

Insightful chapters discuss Korean art and visual culture from early historical periods to the present. Subjects include the early paintings of Korea, Buddhist architecture, visual art of the late Chos?n period, postwar Korean Art, South Korean cinema, and more. Several chapters explore the cultural exchange between the Korean peninsula, the Chinese mainland, and the Japanese archipelago, offering new perspectives on Chinese and Japanese art. The most comprehensive survey of the history of Korean art available, this book: 

• Offers a comprehensive account of Korean visual culture through history, including contemporary developments and trends
• Presents two dozen articles and numerous high quality illustrations
• Discusses visual and material artifacts of Korean art kept in various archives and collections worldwide
• Provides theoretical and interpretive balance on the subject of Korean art
• Helps instructors and scholars of Asian art history incorporate Korean visual arts in their research and teaching

The definitive and authoritative reference on the subject, A Companion to Korean Art is indispensable for scholars and academics working in areas of Asian visual arts, university students in Asian and Korean art courses, and general readers interested in the art, culture, and history of Korea.

About the Editors vii

Notes on Contributors ix

Editors’ Preface xiii

Series Editor’s Preface xvii

Introduction: The Contours of Korea’s Cultural History 1
Donald L. Baker

Part I Ancient to Medieval Cultures on the Korean Peninsula 27

1 Early Paintings of Korea: Murals and Craft Decorations 29
Minku Kim

2 Sculptures of the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla 57
Sunkyung Kim

3 Buddhist Architecture, Politics, and Gender in the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla 87
Youn-mi Kim

4 Art and Artifacts of Three Kingdoms Tombs 107
Hyunsook Kang

Part II The KoryŏDynasty 133

5 Introduction and Development of Koryŏ Celadon 135
Namwon Jang

6 Koryŏ Buddhist Sculpture: Issues and History 159
Sun-ah Choi

7 The Art of Salvation: New Approaches to Koryŏ Buddhist Painting 183
Yoonjung Seo

8 Establishing a New Tradition: Koryŏ Buddhist Architecture 205
Seunghye Lee

9 Arts of Refinement: Lacquer and Metalwares of Koryŏ 235
Charlotte Horlyck

Part III The Chosŏn Dynasty 261

10 The Emergence of Confucian Culture: Early Chosŏn Painting 263
Insoo Cho

11 Transformation: Three Centuries of Change in Late Chosŏn Painting 291
Chin-Sung Chang

12 Ceramics and Culture in Chosŏn Korea 321
Soyoung Lee

13 Ritual and Splendor: Chosŏn Court Art 343
Burglind Jungmann

14 Faith, Ritual, and the Arts: Chosŏn Buddhist Art and Architecture 371
Unsok Song

Part IV Modern & Contemporary Developments 403

15 Modern Korean Art in the Japanese Colonial Period 405
Jungsil Jenny Lee

16 The Long Breath: Postwar Korean Art 433
Joan Kee

17 Situating Contemporary Art of South Korea, 1980 to 2016 465
Young Min Moon

18 South Korean Cinema in the Age of Hallyu 497
Kyung Hyun Kim

Index 513

J.P. Park, June and Simon Li Associate Professor of Chinese Art History at the University of Oxford, UK.

Burglind Jungmann is Professor Emerita of Korean Art and Visual Culture at the University of California Los Angeles, USA.

Juhyung Rhi is Professor of Buddhist Art History at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.