The Seoul Museum of Art and the Korean Cultural Center in Shanghai, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE) as part of the 2025 Touring K-Arts program, present the exhibition 《KITSCH & POP: Korean Pop Art Now》, on view at the Korean Cultural Center in Shanghai (3rd Floor Exhibition Hall) through September 13.

《KITSCH & POP: Korean Pop Art Now》 re-examines Korean Pop Art—a major yet relatively underrecognized current in Korean contemporary art history—within the expanded context of today’s global art scene, particularly in the wake of the worldwide rise of K-pop and K-culture.

Accordingly, the exhibition features works by emerging Korean artists of the post-Internet era—Don Sunpil, Chu Mirim, NOH Sangho, SIM Raejung, Sungsil Ryu, and Jeongsu Woo—alongside those by artists who shaped the context of Korean Pop Art in the early to mid-2000s, such as Kyoung Tack Hong, MeeNa Park, and Kim Sinhye. 

The exhibition poses critical questions about the intrinsic nature of the concept of “Korean Pop Art” within the landscape of contemporary visual culture in the post-Internet age. Focusing on the key terms “individualized pop” and “cool-kitsch”, it invites viewers to explore how this aesthetic has formed and evolved over time.

Meanwhile, 《KITSCH & POP》 is conceived as a prelude to a three-part exhibition series that aims to comprehensively explore the origins and transformation of Korean Pop Art over the past 50 years, from the 1970s to the present. 《KITSCH & POP: Korean Pop Art Now》 serves as preliminary research for this larger curatorial framework.

Part 1 (1970s–1980s) will examine the reception of international art trends in the 1970s and the emergence of visual avant-garde aesthetics within the Minjung art movement of the 1980s.

Part 2 (1990s–2000s) will explore how the explosive growth of mass consumer culture, urban sensibility, and everyday life shaped the development of Korean Pop Art.

Part 3 (2010s onward) will focus on works by younger artists born after the 1980s who are responding to the current conditions of a post-Internet media environment, thereby offering insight into the evolving meanings and trajectories of Korean Pop Art today.

In addition, the exhibition will continue at the Korean Cultural Center in Hong Kong from October 2 to November 22.

Further information about the exhibition can be found on the websites of the Seoul Museum of Art (sema.seoul.go.kr) and the Korean Cultural Center in Shanghai (s.kocenter.cn).

Participating Artists: Don Sunpil, Chu Mirim, NOH Sangho, SIM Raejung, Sungsil Ryu, Jeongsu Woo, Kyoung Tack Hong, MeeNa Park, Kim Sinhye, Donghyun Son

“KITSCH & POP: Korean Pop Art Now”
2025.06.27 - 2025.09.13
Mon-Sat 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Korean Cultural Center in Shanghai
3F, Huizhi Building, No.396 North Caoxi Rd., Shanghai, China