Korean Artist Lee Qoede After the Divide: Mexico, Socialism, and Another Modernism

Schedule

Tue Nov 17 2026 at 05:00 pm to 07:00 pm

UTC+00:00
Location

SOAS University of London | London, EN

Advertisement
Venue: Room BG01, SOAS Gallery, SOAS University of London
Speaker: Jinyoung Anna Jin (author)
Further details/registration: https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/korean-artist-lee-qoede-after-divide-mexico-socialism-and-another-modernism
Lee Qoede is a well-known name in modern Korean art—but how much do we really know about him? Much of what we do know ends with his time as a prisoner during the Korean War and then his move to North Korea. Drawing on her book Art, War, and Exile in Modern Korea: Rethinking the Life and Work by Lee Qoede, Jinyoung Anna Jin picks up the story where it usually stops, tracing Lee’s life and work after the division of Korea.
This talk explores how Mexican muralism and socialist artistic networks offered another way of imagining modern art—one that developed alongside, and often challenged, European-centered and Cold War ideas of modernism. Following Lee beyond the familiar story reveals an unexpected map that stretches from Korea to Mexico, asking us to reconsider where modernism happened and who shaped it.
Advertisement

Where is it happening?

SOAS University of London, School of Oriental & African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, London, WC1B 5, United Kingdom

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
SOAS (CKS) Centre of Korean Studies
Host or PublisherSOAS (CKS) Centre of Korean Studies

Ask AI if this event suits you