By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

 

“A house is not just a physical space. It is where our soul resides.” At the exhibition “Home, and the Landscape Beyond” held at Gallery 2 of the Sejong Museum at Sejong University, artist Han Kyung-won quietly yet resolutely shared her philosophy.

 

In her artwork, a “home” is not merely an architectural structure. It is a landscape that holds memories and a language that conveys emotions.

 

 

The exhibition ran from February 26 to March 9, presenting an artistic journey through over 40 paintings that expand the familiar theme of “home” into time, memory, nature, and sentiment.

 

A home drawn and built simultaneously

 

Han Kyung-won's creative process begins with tearing and layering traditional Korean hanji (paper) to construct the structure of a home. She sets up spaces, creates windows, and places roofs upon the canvas—giving birth to a home. It is painting, architecture, and an emotional sculpture all at once. She calls this process: “A home drawn and built at the same time.”

 

This work goes beyond simple forms, embracing the communal sentiment of the Korean people and harmony with nature. Her homes are never alone. They stand shoulder to shoulder with neighbors, forming a village. Between them, flowers, trees, wind, and sunlight flow endlessly.

 

She says, “Our ancestors had the wisdom to live with nature, rather than against it. Home and nature were never separate. I wanted to express that uniquely Korean sense in a way that speaks to the present.”

 

 

Emotions found in a room of memories

 

The exhibition was composed of three spaces. “The Room of Memories” reflected traces of time and family. “The World Beyond the Door” connected home with nature. And “Abstract Landscape” captured shapeless emotions and the flow of symbols.

 

In the final space, the physical form of the house fades away, leaving only color and texture—depicting how memory gradually transforms into pure emotion.

 

Han Kyung-won shared, “As I age, the precise image of the house becomes blurry, but the emotions I felt there grow clearer.” Through this, she presented her artistic exploration of the essence of memory and emotion.

 

As a natural extension of this journey, her “homes” will soon expand beyond gallery walls into a new setting of remembrance. On April 15, three of her works will be installed on the 12th floor hospice ward of Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul—one at the entrance hallway and one in each of two patient rooms where people spend their final moments.

 

For patients, families, and medical staff who pass through, her paintings will serve not just an aesthetic purpose, but become windows that evoke memory and gently cradle emotion.

 

The artist said, “A small landscape where their bodies and hearts can rest—that might be what ‘home’ truly is.”

 

Her “home” is now preparing to become the emotional backdrop connecting the beginning and end of life, warmly settling into someone’s final memory.

 

 

“My Home,” told by French students

 

One particularly memorable moment during the exhibition was an unexpected encounter with two French exchange students. Having just arrived in Korea for the new semester, they were strolling near their dormitory when they saw the exhibition flyer at the entrance and decided to step in.

 

After viewing the exhibition, their expressions carried a quiet, lingering emotion.
Chloé, from Paris, said, “At first, I came in just because the colors were beautiful. But as I looked at the paintings, I strangely began to think about the house where I grew up. These are Korean houses… but the emotions felt so familiar. Warm, quiet, and nostalgic…”

Manon, who was with her, nodded and added: “The homes in the artist’s paintings didn’t feel like buildings, but like something that holds something inside. I’m not exactly sure what I saw, but it made me feel at peace… and miss my childhood. It’s my first time in Korea, but it didn’t feel different from the warm home where my parents are.”

 

In this short conversation lay the universality and depth of Han Kyung-won’s art—showing just how profoundly the theme of “home” is tied to human emotion.

 

 

The sentiment of diplomacy through art

 

Through this exhibition, the artist demonstrated that “Art is the language of diplomacy that connects hearts to hearts.”

 

A Korean home is not merely a physical space—it is a way of life, an emotional refuge. And Han Kyung-won’s work tells that story in a language that needs no words, a language that speaks to the world.

 

Though the exhibition at the Sejong Museum Gallery has ended, the “home of the heart” that she built remains in the memory of each visitor.

 

Perhaps even now, we are all, in some way, rebuilding our own hometowns through someone’s painted home.