Three triumphant art exhibitions to visit on Korea's Liberation Day
by Korea JoongAng Daily
Visitors take pictures of the historic Taegeukgi from Jingwan Temple in Seoul at Korea Heritage Service's exhibition titled “The Radiant Heritage of Independence” at Deoksu Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO]
The streets of central Seoul this week were awash in red, blue and white, as giant Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, fluttered proudly from towering building facades in anticipation of Liberation Day on Friday.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of Aug. 15, 1945, when Japan surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II and 35 years of colonial rule over Korea.
Across the city, museums are commemorating this pivotal moment with exhibitions that offer a glimpse of the forces shaping Korean identity and the shared cultural heritage that underpins both Korea’s past struggles and its modern economic and cultural achievements.
“We want the viewers to not only remember the past and its significance, but also encourage viewers to reflect on what it means to be Korean,” a Korea Heritage Service official told the press ahead of the organization’s liberation-themed exhibit's opening on Monday.
From rare, never-before-seen artifacts from the anti-Japanese resistance movement to AI-revived faces of independence heroes, the Korea JoongAng Daily highlights three ongoing exhibitions in Seoul celebrating Korea’s Liberation Day.
Homeland nostalgia in landscapes: MMCA Deoksugung
Yoon Joong-sik's ″Spring″ (1975) is on display at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Deoksugung's new exhibition ″Landscapes of Homeland and Longing″ in Jongno District, central Seoul. [MMCA Deoksugung]
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s (MMCA) Deoksu Palace branch in Jongno District, central Seoul, is displaying more than 200 works of contemporary Korean art, mostly landscape paintings, to spotlight the country’s restored land and culture as an independent nation.
“Landscapes of Homeland and Longing,” which opened Thursday, features works by 75 contemporary Korean artists active between the 1920s and 1980s, including Kim Whanki (1913-1974), Yoo Young-kuk (1916-2002) and Lee Jung-seob (1916-1956). Their curated works depict Korea's collective nostalgic sentiments of home, experienced through the Japanese colonial rule, liberation, the division of the peninsula, rapid industrialization and urbanization in the postwar era.
Nostalgia for one’s hometown, a recurring theme steeped in the hardships of modern and contemporary Korean history, is an essential element of many contemporary works of Korean art and literature.
The extensive exhibition is divided chronologically into four sections, showing how landscapes across the peninsula and artists' painting styles change in relation to historical events.
Lee Sangbeom's ink landscape painting ″Returning at Dawn″ (1945) is displayed at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Deoksugung's new exhibition ″Landscapes of Homeland and Longing,″ in Jongno District, central Seoul. [MMCA Deoksugung]
It also features more than 100 literary works and artifacts, including the ink lyrics of the famous “Farewell Song Drenched in Tears” (ca.1940s) by Kim U-mo (1874-1965), which expresses the sorrow experienced when leaving one's homeland and the grief of a nation lost, as well as a copy of Yun Dong-ju’s poem “Another Hometown” (1948).
“We aim to evoke shared memories of our collective past and help rediscover the ‘lost home’ that resides within each of us through these evocative landscapes,” said an MMCA spokesperson.
“A Commemorative Exhibition for the 80th Anniversary of Liberation: Landscapes of Homeland and Longing” runs through Nov. 9.
Art is displayed at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Deoksugung's new exhibition ″Landscapes of Homeland and Longing″ in Jongno District, central Seoul. [MMCA Deoksugung]
Tracing the fight through relics: Korea Heritage Service
A visitor photographs activist Ahn Jung-geun's calligraphy at the Korea Heritage Service's special exhibition titled “The Radiant Heritage of Independence” at Deoksu Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO]
The Korea Heritage Service opened a special exhibition titled “The Radiant Heritage of Independence” on Tuesday at Deonduk Hall, Deoksu Palace, located in Jongno District, central Seoul. The exhibition features more than 100 artifacts, including national treasures, related to Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule.They span the open port era through the Korean Empire (1897–1910) and the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and culminate in Korea’s Declaration of Independence in 1945.
Among the highlights are the Late Joseon Righteous Army documents repatriated from Japan in July 2024, which detail the resolute resistance of Righteous Army leaders and provide tangible evidence of Japan’s harsh suppression tactics, including arrests and the seizure of correspondence.
Also featured is Nokjuk, a calligraphy work by renowned independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910), and Misailrok, a diplomatic diary of Lee Beom-jin (1852-1911), the Korean Empire’s envoy to the United States, providing rare insight into diplomatic efforts and contemporary Korean views of the West.
Pocket watches of activists Yun Bong-gil and Kim Gu are on display at the Korea Heritage Service's special exhibition titled “The Radiant Heritage of Independence” at Deoksu Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO]
Visitors can also see a range of documents and personal effects related to key independence activists, including medals awarded to female activists, prison letters, travel diaries and flags symbolizing resistance.
“We sought to newly shed light, through anti-Japanese heritage, on the process by which small rays of light come together to form a great wave of light,” Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min said Monday at the exhibition hall. “By gathering anti-Japanese heritage in one place, we aimed to retrace the fierce lives of our ancestors through the traces they left behind.”
“The Radiant Heritage of Independence” runs through Oct. 12.
Bringing freedom fighters back to life: National Museum of Korea
A surveillance card used by the Japanese authorities to spy on Korean independence fighters identifies activist Ahn Chang-ho. [National Museum of Korea]
The National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul, is hosting “Faces We Meet Anew,” which brings Korea’s freedom fighters to life through both historical artifacts and AI.
The exhibition, which opened last month, prominently features more than 100 “Surveillance Cards of Major Japanese Colonial Targets,” preserved by the National Institute of Korean History and revealed to the public for the first time.
Created by the Japanese colonial government, these cards systematically documented personal information, imprisonment details, and wanted records of Korea’s independence activists. Each card includes a photograph taken shortly after arrest, along with data used for surveillance and monitoring. Notable figures, such as Yu Gwan-soon and Ahn Chang-ho, are among those represented.
More than 6,000 such cards were discovered accidentally at the National Police Agency, formerly the Security Headquarters. In 2018, they were added to the National Registered Cultural Heritage list.
Korea's independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun comes to life through a video powered by artificial intelligence. [National Museum of Korea]
The exhibition also displays digital videos that use AI to restore and animate the faces of five independence activists: Ahn Jung-geun, Yu Gwan-sun (1902-1920), Lee Bong-chang (1900-1932), Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932), and Ahn Chang-ho. Though their original photos show solemn expressions and no smiles — reflecting lives cut short before witnessing liberation — the restored images portray moments of joy and hope, as if welcoming the independence they longed for.
“Faces We Meet Anew” runs through Oct. 12.
Reference Written by KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr] Provided by Korea JoongAng Daily
※ Picks respects the rights of all copyright holders. If you do wish to make material edits, you will need to run them by the copyright holder for approval.
more from
KoreaJoongAngDaily
KoreaJoongAngDaily
First panda twins born in Korea share final moments with mother before independence journey begins
2025-08-13 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
KPop Demon Hunters anthem 'Golden' hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 chart
2025-08-12 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
Animal wrangler behind Aeyongyi's purrfect turn on screen in 'Zombie' lets the cat out of the bag
2025-08-11 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
Seoul Plaza to host exhibits commemorating 80 years of liberation
2025-08-10 00:00:00
BEST STORIES
The Conversation
The world's longest marine heat wave upended ocean life across the Pacific
2025-08-10 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
KPop Demon Hunters anthem 'Golden' hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 chart
2025-08-12 00:00:00
Knowable Magazine
Uncovering the impact of artisanal fisheries
2025-08-10 00:00:00
Inven Global
Red Bull Home Ground Returns to New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom This November
2025-08-10 00:00:00
Health
KoreaJoongAngDaily
This virus has a 50% chance of killing you — and ticks that carry it are running wild
2025-08-09 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
UN warns millions will die by 2029 if U.S. funding for HIV programs isn't replaced
2025-07-15 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
Beat the heat — before it beats you
2025-07-06 00:00:00
KoreaJoongAngDaily
[WHY] How is traditional medicine surviving in Korea? Ask drivers.
Visitors take pictures of the historic Taegeukgi from Jingwan Temple in Seoul at Korea Heritage Service's exhibition titled “The Radiant Heritage of Independence” at Deoksu Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Monday. [JOONGANG ILBO] 
