#03. <Cheongrue Soil> Spending one's time at a Bluehouse.
<<Hyewon jeonshincheop>>, a.k.a <<Hyewon Pungsokdocheop>> was produced by Shin Yun-bok (Pen-name is Hyewon), a painter of the late Joseon Dynasty, consists of a total of 30 genre paintings. Shin Yun-bok is a painter with a free spirit and left few records of him. His work only began to be recognized 100 years after his death.
His pictorial description of people, landscape, especially women are stellar. His series contain a critical view of the social status in the late Joseon Dynasty.
I'm currently working on a project to reinterpret his phenomenal series. Reinterpretation is a series of genre painting set in modern Korea, and it will be intriguing to find the same and different points between the two works.
A finished reinterpret piece
청루소일 (靑樓消日) - The original work of <Cheongrue Soil>
In direct translation, 'Cheongrue' means a Bluehouse, but in this case, it means 'a Brothel'.
Unlike the other paintings by Hyewon, this piece has a simple background, so it feels dry and sunny. Therefore, the four characters are all the more eye-catching, and the kisaeng on the right seems to be a fashionable "it girl" of the time.
The most noticeable thing in the kisaeng's fashion on the right is the Jeonmo, a hat used by low social status, such as kisaengs and doctors in the Joseon Dynasty to cover the sun when they go out. It plays the same role as a parasol nowadays. Direct sunlight would have been the worst enemy for kisaengs who needed to keep beautiful fair skin. Since there was no SPF 50+ sunscreen at the time, Joenmo is the only choice.
The most mysterious situation of this work is the 'shoes'. There are two people sitting inside, but why do they only have one pair of it? A man wearing a tanggun appears to be a guest, and a kisaeng with Saenghwang is sitting on the floor and looking at a kisaeng in a Jeonmo and her child servant entering. (The child's body size seems to have shrunk the adult body to the same proportion.)
The reinterpretation work was set as parents who shocked at their daughter's appearance who came home after plastic surgery. They have a beloved baby, bulldog.
One evening tea time, a daughter who covers her face and neck with bandages wearing a large-brimmed hat walked in. The unforeseen parents might think the mummy walked in alive, but it was their daughter coming in after taken a big-plastic surgery transformation. The bulldog kept barking in surprise as if a stranger came in.
One evening tea time, a daughter who covers her face and neck with bandages wearing a large-brimmed hat walked in. The unforeseen parents might think the mummy walked in alive, but it was their daughter coming in after taken a big-plastic surgery transformation. The bulldog kept barking in surprise as if a stranger came in.
The family lives in a luxury-and-great-view condominium, and their daughter, who had everything but was always dissatisfied with her appearance, eventually decided to take the face transformation. From the family photo in the back, it is clear that the only child is loved and expected, and the dog is another loved one too. Picasso's painting of a woman, which expresses the two worlds of "reality and dreams" on the right porch, plays a symbolic role. The spiky plants represent parents' surprised and angry feelings, and their daughter who would have endured various pains before and while taking the plastic surgery.
It must not easy to wake up from such a dangerous operation and walk in alone without any help. How much courage did the daughter, who was secretly hosting everything, need for this day? Can any parents say, "It's a relief, you woke up safely" in this situation?
Korea is the leader in plastic surgery. I'm so proud that there are no countries has such surgeons, and also attracted a large amount of foreigners.
In the 2000s, when plastic surgery began to spread like a trend in Korea, it was a mom's gift for daughters when they got accepted into university admissions. (But most dads disagreed to do that...)
Today's plastic surgery has become a very light and simple procedure. Good appearance makes a good impression. Through the plastic surgery, people can turn into a confident. - it is really positive, but all plastic surgery has 'side effects'.
Lookism is rampant in our society for a long time, but the standard is changing little by little. There is a voice that focuses on the essence. I hope 'Naturally grow old' and 'love my natural look' should be it.