Renowned Korean modern and contemporary artists Kwon Young-Woo, Park Seo-Bo, Lee Ufan, Yeondoo Jung, and Ha Chong-Hyun participated in the group exhibition Art between Korea and Japan since 1945 held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Gwacheon, Korea. Co-organized by the MMCA and the Yokohama Museum of Art to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan, the exhibition revisited 80 years of enduring cross-border artistic exchange sustained despite the two countries’ complex history.

Spanning five chronological sections, the exhibition presented approximately 200 works by 43 artists and collectives from both nations. It traced the intersections of Korean and Japanese art against key historical milestones—such as Korea’s liberation and Japan’s defeat in 1945, as well as the 1965 diplomatic normalization. Beyond official institutional exhibitions, it tracked multifaceted channels of interaction, including personal networks, informal contacts, and acts of collective solidarity, framing the artists’ transnational journeys as a vivid, multi-layered narrative akin to a “road movie.”

The opening section, “Art Between the Borders: The Perspectives of Zainichi Koreans,” retraced the trajectories of Korean artists who remained in Japan following liberation, examining their historical context through contemporary artworks alongside previously unreleased archival materials. The second section, “Nam June Paik and Japanese Artists,” centered on Paik’s pioneering satellite projects and technical and artistic collaborations with Japanese artists from the 1960s onward.

The third section, “A Broadened Path: Korea-Japan Relations after the Normalization,” charted the artistic exchanges between South Korea and Japan following the 1965 normalization of diplomatic relations. Notably, works by artists of Japan's Mono-ha movement were juxtaposed with Lee Ufan’s acclaimed From Line series—underscoring Lee’s pivotal role in bridging contemporary art across both countries and reflecting the close ties of the era. This section also brought together Park Seo-Bo’s Hereditarius 1-68 (1968) with 1960s–70s early works by Kwon Young-Woo and Ha Chong-Hyun, capturing a dynamic period in which Korean contemporary art actively forged its own identity.

The fourth and fifth sections—“Art of a New Generation in a Period of Transformation” and “Living Together: Solidarity Beyond Art”—turned their focus to evolving relationships and shared solidarity between the two nations. Tracing collaborative initiatives back to the group exhibition MUSEUM (1987), which brought together young Japanese artists alongside Korean figures such as Koh Nakbeom and Lee Bul, the works chronicled how post-2000s Korean and Japanese artists have engaged with shared historical issues, trauma, and solidarity. A notable highlight was Yeondoo Jung’s A Walk with a Magician (2014), which stood in solidarity with the suffering of others by documenting the lives of Japanese citizens affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, offering a multifaceted record of peaceful coexistence through art.

Furthermore, this presentation highlighted how the opening of the MMCA in Gwacheon in 1986 served as a catalyst for artistic exchange, by featuring seven outdoor sculptures by artists who were active in Japan at the time—including Lee Ufan’s From Four Directions (1985), which was originally installed for the museum’s inauguration. Following its presentation in Japan last year, the exhibition at MMCA Gwacheon closed on September 27.