by RUTH KIM
Take a step back into a Korea of a bygone era at the upcoming exhibit titled, “Sketches of Korean Rural Life in the ’70s: A Peace Corps Volunteer Remembers,” presented by the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. and Friends of Korea.
The exhibition, on display Sept. 5-30, at the Korean Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., features original paintings by U.S. Peace Corps Korea veteran Neil Landreville, who using ink and brush on rice paper, captured the everyday scenes of a 1970s Korea, from portraitures of rural farmers tending to their land to a rooftop landscape of drying chili peppers.
Landreville served as a Peace Corps volunteer for a total of six years in the cities of Kimje, Jeonju and Seoul, as well as other farming regions in Korea in the 1970s. He adopted a Korean name, No-Yeol Na.
For 33 years, Landreville’s artwork sat undiscovered in a bureau drawer. Their revelation is timely and nostalgic during a period when a modern South Korea continues to grow its global and dominating presence in technology and popular culture.
His artwork will be accompanied by a collection of photographs that reflect the personal experiences of American Peace Corps volunteers in Korea from 1966 to 1981.
The exhibition opening on Sept. 5 will feature a talk by Landreville starting at 6:30 p.m., as well as remarks by Nancy Kelly, president of Friends of Korea who also served with the Peace Corps in Korea. Admission is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required to attend: www.KoreaCultureDC.org.
Here’s a peek at some of the images on display at the exhibition:
Photos courtesy of the Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. and Friends of Korea.
