North Korean Human Rights Museum
‘L__: Free Will’ Exhibition
PART 4: Special Exhibition: “L__: Free Will”
Does ‘L’ in ‘L__: Free Will’ represent Lee or Liberty?
Artist: Woonsik LEE
North Korean artist Woonsik LEE was born in Yongbyon, North Pyongan Province. The future shines brightest at the juncture of the past and present. This special exhibition at the Museum of North Korean Human Rights organized by NKDB showcases the works of Woonsik LEE, an artist and educator who began his journey during the Korean War. Lee's sculptures express suppressed "free will" through curves and circular forms. His works resist the oppression of freedom, evoke nostalgia for his homeland and family left in North Korea, and signify the future of a reunified Korea.
SeungKyoo (Peter) Han, the artist's grandson who curated this exhibition, strives to share messages of peace and resilience through art and culture. He hopes that the merging of art and NKDB's work will inspire the next generation's commitment to improving North Korea's human rights situation.
The gate of national reunification (1991)
Bronze | 82X114X34
Representation of the yearning for unification based on a free democracy and denunciation of the dictatorship of the deceased Kim Il Sung and his grandson Kim Jong Un.
Phoenix (1970)
Bronze | 65X15X15
Reflection on one's survival and resistance against the bloody violence of the Battle of the Nakdong River Defense Line (Korean War, 1950-53)
Artist LEE has also expressed that the spirit of North Korean escapees, who risk their lives to escape, reminds him of the resilience of the Phoenix.
Killer (2010)
Marble | n.a.
Representation of North Korean society as fish preying and being preyed upon.
Legend (1973)
Welding | 70X30X35
Manifestation of the journey towards unification alongside a sense of longing for one's hometown and family remaining in North Korea.
