Korean Graphic Art

Ahn, Chung-un
1942 – Professor of Fine Arts, Sookmyung Women’s University.
1976 – 2007 Founded All Communications, a design firm 1981 Inducted into the Korea Design Promotion Agency’s Designer Hall of Fame.
2015 Invited artist and jury member, Korea Design Exhibition.

Ahn, Sang Soo
Visual designer and typographer. In 1985, he led the digitization of Korean fonts by designing ‘Ahn, Sang Soo Che’, and later introduced ‘Ideal Che’, ‘Mirche’, and ‘Mano Che’. In 1988, he founded the experimental magazine Report/Report, experimenting with avant-garde typography, and has been presenting works based on Korean typography ever since. He has participated in solo and group exhibitions in many countries around the world and received the Gutenberg Prize from the city of Leipzig, Germany in 2007 and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Design For ASIA Award (DFA) organized by the Hong Kong Design Center in 2016. In 2012, he left Hongik University, where he had been a professor for more than 20 years, to focus on establishing PaTI (Paju Typography Institute), an independent design school in Paju Publishing City.

Baik, Kum-Nam
1948-Professor, College of Fine Arts, Sungkyunkwan University, 1976-201316th Gabrovo Biennale Grand Prize Winner, 2003 Korea National Art Exhibition Design Category, invited artist and jury member, Korea Association of Industrial Artists, Korea Contemporary Design Association Advisor, 166 solo exhibitions since his first solo exhibition in 1971 (as of 2017)

Chae, Byungrok
Art Director & Graphic Designer
CBR is constantly presenting graphic works that unravel existing objects or Korean images in a new and original way using “accumulation” and “overlapping” as motifs of its works. His work is all shaped, changed, and developed through form and texture, including experience, civilization, knowledge, and relationships. All of the densely generated elements will deliver a story that combines overlapping, stacking, and spreading phenomena into his own accumulated memories and visualizes them.

His work has been exhibited all over the world and is part of the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Die Neue Sammlung and the National Hangeul Museum. He has recently collaborated with a number of cultural organizations and corporations, and teaches typography and graphic design in university level. He is member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 2022.

Cho, Euihwan
Graduated from Hongik University, Department of Visual Design in 1976, and majored in photography design and newspaper publishing in graduate school. He worked as a designer at an advertising agency in 1978 and as an art director of various magazines since 1981. From 1984 to 2007, he was the art director of Chosun Ilbo, head of the design research center, and a member of the editorial board. Since 2011, he has been working as a photographer.

Han, Jae Joon
Based on the principle of the creation of Hangeul (Hunminjeongyum), he created a new alphabet combination system and emphasized that Hangeul is a new form of communication system that has never existed in human history. He is currently exploring the infinite possibilities of Hangul.

Hong, Sung Taek
Hong has been running Hong Design Studio since 1994. He has been an adjunct professor at Sangmyung University and Korea National University of Arts, and vice president of the Visual Information Design Association of Korea (VIDAK). He has participated in exhibitions such as Korea Contemporary Poster Design Exhibition (Beijing, China), Tokyo 24 Hours in Seoul (Tokyo, Japan), Graphic Design in Korea (New York, San Francisco, USA), International Typography Biennale (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea), and Korea-China-Japan Paper Road (Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea).

Kang, Byung In
Kang, Byung In is the head of the Calligraphy Research Institute and has been working on loading the sound and meaning of words with calligraphy and design since the end of the 90s.He has participated in solo exhibitions and many graphic and calligraphy group exhibitions.He graduated from Hongik University, Graduate School of Industrial Arts and Design, Department of Advertising Design, and Chungnam National University, Department of Visual Design.He is a member of the National Hangeul Museum Sponsorship Committee and a member of the Handwriting Culture Spreading Committee of Kyobo Bunko.Work 1/2Hangeul group dance 1, 2Hangeul group dance 1, 2.

Kim, Alex
Mr. Kim, Alex is the CEO of CDR, the first identity design firm in Korea, founded in 1974. Since 1989, he has worked on more than 800 various brand design projects and has consistently won design awards in Korea and abroad.

Kim, Chang Sik
Art Director & Professor. Chang Sik Kim is a professor at San Jose State, a typographer, and a visual communication designer. His specialty is type and image integration, especially in the use of visual metaphors and methodologies to conceptualize complex ideas. Chang has published three complete books, written multiple articles, and has held ten solo exhibitions in Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Armenia, Japan, Korea, and the United States. He has also been a juror of several International design competitions. Chang’s clients have included Samsung, Yahoo, Hyundai Motors, Hammer Theatre and Amazon among others. His research papers and works have appeared in professional conferences and publications including Graphis, Print, How magazine Baseline mag-azine, ICOGRADA conference, Granshan conference, AIGA Munich Design Week, etc.

Kim, Hyun
Kim, Hyun was the CEO of Design Park from 1984 to 2017
‘Designer of the Year’ by Design magazine in 1988
Inducted into the ‘Designer Hall of Fame’ by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion in 1988
Invited artist and jury member of the 2020 Korea Design Exhibition

Kim, Joo Sung
After completing both his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Hongik University, Joo-sung Kim established a design studio called Typohouse, and performed various successful visual design projects. He is currently a professor at the Department of Communication Design at Myongji College, and his works around experimental typography design have been invited to numerous international exhibitions. He served as the 12th president of the Visual Information Design Association of Korea and as the vice-chairman of the Academic Discourse Division of the Korean Society of Basic Art and Design. He is currently a member of the Korean Society of Design Studies and the member of the Korean Society of Typography.

Koo, Dong Jo
Koo, Dong Jo was the Art Director of Design company CDR, All Communication, Cultural Environment CI Research Team from 1970s to 1990
Professor, Dongdeok Women’s University from 1981 to 2002
President, Korea Visual Information Design Association from 2002 to 2003

Kwon, Myung Kwang
Kwon Myung-kwang is a leading Korean visual designer and the 15th president of Hongik University. He is recognized as a pioneer of graphic design in Korea, and the logos of Korea’s first integrated corporate CI, Ssangyong Group, Korea’s first Korean BI, Chilsung Saida, Korea’s first public CI, KEPCO, MBC, and Nongshim Group were created by his hands. He taught as a professor of design at Hongik University and served as the 15th president of Hongik University, and after retiring, he became a Distinguished Professor of Visual Design at Sangmyung University.

Kwon Myung-kwang’s name is often labeled as one of the de facto leaders of the revival of Korean design. A pioneer who expanded the scope of Korean graphic design, an educator who emphasized the holistic education of designers and their participation in society, a design executive, an association president and jury chairman, the first designer to serve as a university president, and a recipient of the Cheongjo Geunjeong Medal, the Hwangjo Geunjeong Medal, and the Presidential Award are enough to earn him a place in the Korea Institute of Design Promotion’s Designer Hall of Fame. But at the center of all this outward activity, Kwon’s inner conviction is one of constant experimentation and challenge.

“As a graphic designer, I want to see myself as a great ‘storyteller’ of visual language, which can convey facts and ideologies more effectively and deeply than any other means of communication,” he says, “while always keeping in mind that visual language, like the languages of mathematics and science, is based on human psychology, which is oriented toward unity. From this point of view, she strives to fulfill the role of a surrogate observer who pre-coordinates the expression of order with limited visual elements, such as different ways of expression, different shapes, and colors, so that smooth communication can be achieved.

Lee Se-young
Graduated from Hongik University, Graduate School of Industrial Art
Ahn Graphics Designer from 1988 to 2006
Currently, Representative of design studio

Studio Navi
3f, 8-9 myeong nyun 2-ga jongnogu, seoul, korea
p. 742 8742 / m. 010 8976 8065 / e. nabiooo@empas.com

Lee, Bong Sup
Professor Lee, who retired in 2014 after 35 years of service as a professor at Yeungnam University since 1979, is one of Korea’s 1.5 generations of graphic designers who played an important role in the development of Korean graphic history by expressing Korean culture and beauty in a unique visual language. A graduate of Hongik University College of Fine Arts, Department of Applied Arts, and Hongik University Graduate School of Industrial Arts, where he majored in advertising design, he designed the Lucky Geumseongsa Calendar, the CI and poster for the Gyeongju World Culture Expo, and the poster for the 1st Korea Design Exhibition.

He has also won the Chairman’s Award of the National Federation of Businessmen and Women and the Special Prize (Korean Tourism Poster) at the Korea Industrial Design Exhibition, the Prime Minister’s Award for the Tourism Photo and Poster Contest, the Recommended Artist Award at the Korea Industrial Design Exhibition, the Minister of the Interior and Local Government’s Commendation for the 1998 Gyeongju World Culture Expo, the Gold Medal for the Poster Category at the Gwanggwang Promotional Product Contest, the Gyeongsangbuk-do Cultural Award, and the Prime Minister’s Award for Design.

Lee, Sang Hyun
Visiting Professor, Department of Calligraphy and Letter Arts, Wonkwang University
Vice President of Korea Visual Design Information Association, Executive Director of Korea Calligraphy Design Association
2009, Gwanghwamun Plaza “The Story of King Sejong” Opening Exhibition, 4 Korean artists invited to participate in the exhibition
2010, Selected artist for the Korean Experience Center at the 2010 Seoul G20 Summit
2014, Invited artist for Arirang Performance in New York Times Square
Google Hangeul logo artist for Hangeul Day commemoration

Park, Kum Jun
He studied graphic design at Hong-ik University and is president of 601bisang. He has won red dot: agency of the year 2012, red dot award (Grand prix), the New York ADC (Gold Medal), The One Show (Gold Pencil), I.D. Annual Design Review 2009 (Best of Category)and China International Poster Biennale (Grand Award). He participates in various international exhibitions and his works are housed in museums all around the world.

Ryu, Myeongsik
Ryu studied visual design and advertising design at Hongik University and graduate school. and served as a professor at Hongik University Graduate School of Industrial Art. He served as the president of the Korean Visual Information Design Association (VIDAK) and the president of the Korean Federation of Design Associations (KFDA).

Shur, Ki Heun
Shur, Ki Heun taught as a professor in the Department of Visual Design at Gachon University (1988-2018) and served as the dean of the College of Art and Design. As a designer and creative director, he established a design studio ‘I&I’ (1988-2016). Mr. Shur has designed over 2000 books and numerous monumental publica-tions (1979~present). In addition, he served as president of the Korean Society of Basic Art and Design (2012- 2014) and president of the Visual Information Design Association of Korea (2006-2007). He won the Korea Design Awards (Geunjeong Packaging, Medal for Merit, 2015 and Korea Culture and Art Award (Art Category President Award, 2008). In 2018, Kiheun Shur held a solo exhibition at the Interpaper gallery of Doosung Paper C.O. called Design School, Kiheun Shur, which summarizes his comprehensive design work archives.

Yeo, Hong Gu
Yeo, Hong Gu studied visual design and advertising design at Hongik University and graduate school. He served as a professor at the Graduate School of Industrial Art at Hongik University for more than 30 years. He is recognized as a Master of Korean ink painting and realism by the Korean Design Society. Currently, he is the owner of Hong Gallery and works on diverse subjects of artworks in his studio.