Minhwa Folk Painting

Minhwa is the painting ordinary Joseon households actually lived with, made by unnamed craftsmen rather than scholar-artists, and its subjects are functional: a tiger and a magpie at the door to keep bad luck out, peonies for wealth, lotus for many sons, carp leaping for examination success, and chaekgeori - the shelves of books, brushes and imported curiosities that stood for learning and, quietly, for the owner's means. The style is flat, bright, unbothered by perspective, and often comic - the guardian tiger in particular is usually painted with a slightly foolish expression, which was not an accident but a way of making the fearsome friendly. Dismissed for a long time as unrefined, minhwa was reassessed in the twentieth century and now has serious collectors, museums and a large amateur painting movement in Korea. Workshops are widely available and it is one of the easier Korean crafts to try.

What you actually see

• The tiger and magpie - the doorway guardian pair.
• Chaekgeori - the painted bookshelf and its objects.
• The flat bright style - no perspective, strong colour.
• The symbols - peony, lotus, carp, each with a wish attached.

When to go

Any season. Museums and galleries mostly close on Mondays. Workshops run year round and are a common half-day activity in Seoul.

Honest expectations

There is no single place - it is spread across museums, small galleries and workshops. Much of what is sold in Insadong is modern reproduction rather than antique, which is not always made clear.

Nearby

Insadong galleries, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art and the National Folk Museum all show minhwa.