The sum of small three-by-three inch efforts: Artist and poet Kang Ik-joong exhibits latest collection

Artist Kang Ik-joong's latest solo exhibition celebrating 40 years of his work, titled “Journey Home,” is currently being held at Cheongju Museum of Art.

Kang Ik-joong poses for cameras during a press conference for his solo exhibition ″Journey Home″ at the Cheongju Museum of Art on July 4 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

CHEONGJU — Kang Ik-joong is an artist who doubles as a poet. For over 40 years, he’s written over 3,000 poems, based on words of wisdom or insights from his day-to-day life. They tend to be written like diary entries, and although short in length, they get straight to the point.

He then turns them into visual art, as vibrant, crayon-colored blocks of single syllable hangul frames that are juxtaposed like a mosaic to produce full sentences.

The latest version of this “Hangeul Project” series (2001-), titled “Things I Know,” fills up an expansive room of the Cheongju Museum of Art, a space that used to be a studio hall for KBS. It’s part of his latest solo exhibition celebrating 40 years of his work, titled “Journey Home.”

The press conference for Kang Ik-joong's solo exhibition ″Journey Home″ at the Cheongju Museum of Art was held on July 4 inside ″Things I Know,″ which is part of the artist's ″Hangeul Project″ (2001-) series. [YONHAP]

The 3,000 words, or 200 sentences, are all completely random, with some reading, “The train doesn’t leave until it’s time” or “A Pensive Bodhisattva’s smile is one that has transcended everything.”

Being surrounded by these insightful phrases is almost overwhelming — like being stuck in an endless stream of consciousness themed after a children’s book.

“Lately, I’ve been thinking about how little I know,” Kang says.

After spending his childhood in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, Kang moved to New York in 1984 and has been living there since. He’s had a reputable career, with his works being exhibited all over the world, including the Korean Pavilions for the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997 and the Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

A close-up of ″Samramansang″ and ″Happy World,″ made between 1984 and 2020 by Kang Ik-joong, at the Cheongju Museum of Art [SHIN MIN-HEE]

But Kang has been homesick. He seemed particularly thrilled that “Journey Home” was being held at his hometown. The show looks back at the wide resume of his drawings, paintings and installations, making sure to feature some that were inspired by the city itself.

“I feel so much at ease,” he told reporters during a press conference at the museum last week. “My life in New York or even Seoul feels awkward sometimes. But I’ve always considered Cheongju as my real home — that although I’ve physically moved abroad, my heart remains here.”

His career was not always smooth sailing. During his years as a student at the Pratt Art Institute, he worked long hours at a grocery store and flea market. He used his commute time to draw on three-by-three inch canvases, approximately the size of his hand.

Installation view of ″Journey Home," the solo exhibition of Kang Ik-joong at the Cheongju Museum of Art. Here shows his moon jar-related artworks. [CHEONGJU MUSEUM OF ART]

But it was these small efforts to save time that skyrocketed him to global fame as an artist, making him the epitome of the saying, “Many a little makes a mickle.” In the first year alone, Kang drew 1,000 of these compact-sized paintings. The initial 1,000 steadily became tens of thousands and now, the number is uncountable.

“It was always fun for me to fill in those small canvases,” he said. “And I soon realized that they became documents of my life.”

Kang would neatly arrange them to fill the walls of the museums and galleries he would later hold exhibitions in. When he got “bored” of drawing alone, he would collect paintings made by children from all over the world to include in exhibitions. He now has over 1 million pieces of their “dreams” made into public artworks.

″Musimcheon″ by Kang Ik-joong [CHEONGJU MUSEUM OF ART]

″Uamsan″ by Kang Ik-joong [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Some pieces in the Cheongju exhibition are dedicated to Kang’s personal experiences of living in the rural city when he was younger. “Musimcheon” and “Uamsan” are acrylic on wood installations that represent the stream and the mountain, respectively, located in Cheongju.

He chose these two landmarks as they’re where he hung out often. He has so many cherished memories to the point that he had no trouble creating a whopping 8,000 palm-sized paintings that make up the entirety of “Uamsan.”

The same commitment is presented in his “Samramansang” and “Happy world” installations, both made from 1984 to 2020, except in this case, they’re not comprised of Kang’s mental recollections, but 10,000 small souvenirs that are each pasted onto his famed portable canvases.

″Samramansang″ and ″Happy World,″ made between 1984 and 2020 by Kang Ik-joong [CHEONGJU MUSEUM OF ART]

Kang Ik-joong explains the story behind his faux Rolex watch as part of the ″Samramansang″ and ″Happy World″ installations during a press conference for his solo exhibition ″Journey Home″ at the Cheongju Museum of Art on July 4. [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Most are toys that his son used to play with. And then there is a fake gold-and-silver Rolex watch, which Kang explained as the very timepiece that he wore when he once sold watches for a living.

If he’s not churning out small frames to form one grand composition, Kang is thinking about two of the nation’s struggles: the aftermath for comfort women under Japanese colonial rule (1910-45) and the division of the two Koreas.

Kang, as an artist, has a role of “casting the fishing line,” meaning, presenting the ideas. It’s why he’s so passionate about the “Bridge of Dreams” project that he has been proposing for decades. It is a circular bridge with a diameter of 250 meters (820 feet) and covered with 1 million of his hangul panels, connecting the North and South on the Imjin River. Symbolizing a “unifying link,” Kang hopes to manifest this bridge if both Koreas achieve unification someday.

A model image for the “Bridge of Dreams” project by Kang Ik-joong [CHEONGJU MUSEUM OF ART]

“After the artists cast the fishing line, the scientists are the ones who catch the fish with it, to which the economists cut the fish and the politicians allocate the pieces to the public,” he said. “You can’t expect anything if the artist doesn’t cast the fishing line foremost. It’s important that the artist’s imagination takes the initiative.”

“Journey Home” continues until Sept. 29. The Cheongju Museum of Art is open every day except Mondays, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regular admission is 1,000 won ($0.70).

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]