Master of Korean Painting Who Painted Yulgok Yi I and Shin Saimdang for Currency, Jong-Sang Lee, Passes Away

Portraits of Mother and Son on the 5,000- and 50,000-won Bills Drawn by a Single Artist
Devoted to Dokdo and Goguryeo Murals... A Lifelong Exploration of the Self-Sustaining Essence of Korean Painting
A 71-Meter Installation Mural at the Louvre.

The portraits of Yulgok Yi I on the 5,000-won note and Shin Saimdang on the 50,000-won note, both widely recognized faces in our wallets, were painted by Korean artist Jongsang Lee. Lee, who drew both the mother and son featured on South Korea's currency, passed away on September 8 at the age of 88.

Artist Jongsang Lee. The Asia Business Daily DB

Born in 1938 in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do, Lee began his artistic career as a member of the art club at Daejeon High School, founding the 'Lubul' art group. He went on to study Oriental Painting at Seoul National University’s College of Fine Arts. While still a student, he submitted the piece "Jang (Artisan)," featuring a blacksmith’s workshop, to the 10th National Art Exhibition of Korea (Gukjeon) in 1961, where it was selected for a special prize. He went on to win special prize honors for the next three consecutive years, becoming the youngest artist at the time to be recommended for the Gukjeon.

His most widely known works among the public are his currency portraits. In his thirties during the 1970s, Lee was commissioned to paint Yulgok Yi I’s portrait for use on currency. At the time, his teacher Eunho Kim was unable to complete the task due to health issues and is said to have recommended his student, Jongsang Lee, for the job. This portrait was used beginning with the 5,000-won note issued in 1977.

In 2007, at the request of the Bank of Korea, Lee began work on a portrait of Shin Saimdang for currency use. The completed portrait was introduced with the issuance of the 50,000-won note in 2009. Thus, mother Shin Saimdang and son Yulgok Yi I became the faces of South Korea’s banknotes through the brush of a single artist, albeit several decades apart.

Portraiture was just one core aspect of his artistic contributions. Lee created government-standard portraits of numerous historical figures, including Ureuk, King Gwanggaeto the Great, Wonhyo, Yun Gwan, Jang Bogo, Kim Hong-do, and Yun Seon-do. He studied Goguryeo tomb murals and traditional Korean materials and techniques, exploring how Korean painting can achieve modernity without relying on the grammar of Western art through his series "Contemporary True-view Landscape" and "Archetypal Images." The central question guiding his lifelong work was "the autonomy of Korean art."

The scale of his work also extended far beyond the confines of traditional Korean painting. In 1975, he held his first solo invitational exhibition in Texas, United States. Then, in 1997, at the invitation of the Association Francaise d'Action Artistique (AFAA), he presented a monumental 71.3-meter-long installation mural utilizing medieval castle walls at the Charles V Hall, Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. This work drew attention for its architectural expansion of traditional ink and brush techniques.

Dokdo was another important subject in his oeuvre. After visiting the islets in 1977 and sketching their landscape, Lee continued to create works featuring Dokdo for decades. He led the Dokdo Culture Planting Movement Headquarters and took an active role in promoting Dokdo through arts and culture. In 2008, when asked to withdraw a Dokdo-themed piece from an art fair in Japan due to local opposition, he chose to boycott the event entirely.

Lee also taught future generations at Seoul National University's College of Fine Arts and served as director of both the university’s museum and art museum. In 2003, he was awarded the Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit for his contributions to the advancement of Korean art, and in 2004, he became a member of the National Academy of Arts of the Republic of Korea.

The funeral is being held at Korea University Anam Hospital in Seoul. The procession is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on the 11th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.