{{Short description|Korean folk art}} {{distinguish|Manhwa}} {{Title language|ko-Latn}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Citation style|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox Korean name/auto |image = Minhwa-Tiger and magpie-03.jpg |caption = Magpie and Tiger is one of the representative paintings of Korean folk painting. |hangul = 민화 |hanja = 民畵 |}} '''{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}}''' ({{Korean|hangul=민화|hanja=民畵}}) refers to Korean folk art produced mostly by itinerant or unknown artists without formal training,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yoon |first=Yul‑soo |year=2020 |title=My Love of Minhwa |journal=Koreana |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=12–15 |quote={{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} is a traditional art form that was intimately connected to the lives of the Korean people.}}</ref> emulating contemporary trends in fine art for the purpose of everyday use or decoration.<ref name="Beauty">{{cite book |publisher=Korean Culture and Information Service |title=Korean Beauty |date=2011 |isbn=978-89-7375-120-4 |page=272 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rjVvBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA272 |access-date=3 December 2017 |language=en }}</ref> The term {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} was coined by Yanagi Sōetsu.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:민화 |trans-title=Minhwa |url=http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%EB%AF%BC%ED%99%94/6572 |work=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture |publisher=National Folk Museum of Korea |access-date=15 September 2018 |archive-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915225815/http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%EB%AF%BC%ED%99%94/6572 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} means "painting of the people" or "popular painting".{{cn |date=September 2025 }} This type of painting was often the work of anonymous craftsmen who faithfully adhered to the styles, canons and genres inherited from the past. {{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} also involved a magical dimension. They were believed to possess beneficial virtues and to protect the owner and his family from evil forces. They feature popular themes such as cranes, rocks, water, clouds, the sun, moon, pine trees, tortoises, insects and flowers. {{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} means popular painting or people's art{{cn |date=September 2025 }} and is traditional Korean folk art from the Chosun era (1392–1910) painted onto paper or on canvas. Yoon (2020) mentions that "{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} is a traditional art form that was intimately connected to the lives of the Korean people, so it best embodies the Korean sentiment" (p. 14).
{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} began being used in palaces by royal court painters before anonymous artists adopted and dispersed their art to the populace to convey messages, ward away evil spirits, and wish for good things to happen. {{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} art developed into its present form in the 17th century. The artists were common people who went from place to place, often following festivals, where they would paint for the locals, fulfilling their commissions on the spot. The artists are mostly unknown commoners of the low and middle class and some were traveling visitors usually attending festivals who followed trends in fine art to develop the crude {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} style artwork that expressed its emotions using symbolism, optimism, humor, and satire. Important stages in life were also marked by the painting of a {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} picture. Both common people and nobles would commission these artists.
The paintings worked on a number of levels. They show figures from folk mythology and legends, symbols of happiness, wealth and health, and scenes of everyday life. The most common figures were animals that represented power, such as the tiger, or providential circumstances, such as carp, which represent success. The paintings were done on paper and on canvas.
{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} colorfully represents the perspectives, religions, symbols of daily life and desires, and folk mythologies of its time. It featured robust animals as supernatural such as tigers, dragons, insects, and cranes, and featured colorful natural backgrounds with peonies, clouds, lotuses, water, or the sun. The unique symbolism blended Buddhism, shamanism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
After a decline during the colonial rule, the art form experienced a short boom until laid low by the Korean War. In the 1980s, though, there was a revival of {{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}}, the interest and popularity of which persists to this day.
{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} was hanged by the front door to bring about happiness and luck. {{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} was a detailed process from scratch. It consisted of making the pigments from natural ingredients and coloring {{lang|ko-Latn|hanji}}, or Korean paper.
{{lang|ko-Latn|Minhwa}} is still around, but can mostly be seen at museums, as street art in older neighborhoods, and crafts. It is seen on the {{lang|ko-Latn|hanbok}}, folding screens, tee shirts, car stickers, dishes, fans, and more. {{lang|ko-Latn|Minwha}}'s simplistic, yet brilliant style and unconventionality combined with bold colors make it aesthetically important and a strong expression of the daily lives of Koreans. The combined wit, humor, happiness, informality, exaggerations similar to caricatures, and freedom of expression aligns even with contemporary art pieces to exhibit an understanding of Korean culture.
Some notable {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} artists are Yi Am who was the great-grandson of King Sejong the Great, Sin Saimdang, and Byeon Sangbyeok.
==Genres== There are several categories of {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} art styles. {{lang|ko-Latn|Morando}} showcased paintings of peonies that were popular with ceremonies, marriages, and royal events. {{lang|ko-Latn|Morando}} was the most popular and represented honor and wealth. {{lang|ko-Latn|Yunhwa-do}} were paintings of lotuses to represent noble characters and included fish, birds, and insects. Lotus and ducks represented familial happiness, marital love, and were used for decorations.
{{lang|ko-Latn|Chaekgeori}} was the popular book and stationary paintings and {{lang|ko-Latn|munjado}} is paintings of Chinese characters. {{lang|ko-Latn|Hwajodo}} was paintings of flowers and birds such as the peacock that represented advancement. Flowers and butterflies seen in {{lang|ko-Latn|hwajodo}} styles represented hope for love and domestic unity between married couples, harmony, and balance. It also encouraged prosperity and relates to shamanism's protective features. Religion was exhibited in {{lang|ko-Latn|ssanghak pandodo}} with a painting of two cranes and peaches to symbolize Korean Taoism.
{{lang|ko-Latn|Hojakdo}} is paintings of tigers, magpies, and pine trees with the Hopeedo style featuring paintings of tiger stripes. The tiger imagery indicated government and was drawn to look less fearsome. Magpies were drawn to bring good news or friendly company. {{lang|ko-Latn|Chochungdo}} is paintings of flowers and insects. {{lang|ko-Latn|Yongsudo}} is the paintings of divine animals. Furry animals were represented in the {{lang|ko-Latn|Yeongmodo}} paintings. Fish, as seen in {{lang|ko-Latn|eohaedo}} paintings, symbolized fertility, warded off and warned of evil, and could be found in a bride's room. {{lang|ko-Latn|Sipjangsaengdo}} was the painting of the 10 symbols of longevity. {{lang|ko-Latn|Sogwado}} showcased vegetables and fruits that symbolized the continued family lineage. The representation of longevity included images of the sun, clouds, rocks, pine trees, bamboo, deer, and turtles, mountains, fish, peaches, or the moon. Chung (2006) noted that "in the case of animal imagery, this strong preference for conveying warm relations must also have developed through the affection for various living things in nature that were held by the artists themselves" (p. 65).
{{lang|ko-Latn|Yonghodo}} is paintings of powerful animals such as the tiger and dragon who protected people from bad luck. The royal court artists created paintings of the sun and moon over trees ({{lang|ko-Latn|Ilwolbusangdo}}) early in the Choson era to signify royal protection over all of the people.
===Magpie and tiger=== {{see also|Tigers in Korean culture}} {{lang|ko-Latn|Kkachi horangi}} ({{Korean|hangul=까치호랑이|labels=no}}) is a prominent genre of {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} that depicts magpies and tigers. In {{lang|ko-Latn|kkachi horangi}} paintings, the tiger, which is intentionally given a ridiculous and stupid appearance (hence its nickname 'idiot tiger' {{lang|ko|바보호랑이}}, {{lang|ko-Latn|babo horangi}}), represents authority and the aristocratic {{lang|ko-Latn|yangban}}, while the dignified magpie represents the common man. Hence, {{lang|ko-Latn|kkachi horangi}} paintings of magpies and tigers were a satire of the hierarchical structure of Joseon's feudal society.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:까치호랑이 |url=http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%EA%B9%8C%EC%B9%98%ED%98%B8%EB%9E%91%EC%9D%B4/6565 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture |publisher=National Folk Museum of Korea |access-date=1 December 2017 |archive-date=2 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202052632/http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%EA%B9%8C%EC%B9%98%ED%98%B8%EB%9E%91%EC%9D%B4/6565 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=KOREA Magazine March 2017|date=2017 |publisher=Korean Culture and Information Service |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y3M-DgAAQBAJ&pg=PT29 |access-date=1 December 2017 |language=en }}</ref>
===Flower writing=== {{lang|ko-Latn|Munjado}} ({{Korean|hangul=문자도|hanja=文字圖|labels=no}}), also known as 'flower writing' ({{Korean/auto|hangul=꽃글씨|rr=yes|labels=no}}), is a genre of {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} that enjoyed popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries, in which large Chinese characters associated with Confucian philosophy are painted as a representation of their meaning, with depictions of related stories and themes painted into the characters themselves.<ref name="Beauty" /><ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:효제문자도 |url=http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%ED%9A%A8%EC%A0%9C%EB%AC%B8%EC%9E%90%EB%8F%84/6603 |website=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture |publisher=National Folk Museum of Korea |access-date=3 December 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204114614/http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%ED%9A%A8%EC%A0%9C%EB%AC%B8%EC%9E%90%EB%8F%84/6603 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==={{lang|ko-Latn|Chaekgeori}}=== {{lang|ko-Latn|Chaekgeori}} is a genre of still-life painting that features books as the dominant subject. Originally a court art embraced by the upper class, {{lang|ko-Latn|chaekgeori}} spread to the {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} folk art of the common class in the 19th century, resulting in more expressionist and abstract depictions, and the diminished prominence of bookshelves as a primary motif.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ko:책거리 |title=Chaekgeori |url=http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%EC%B1%85%EA%B1%B0%EB%A6%AC/6591|website=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture |publisher=National Folk Museum of Korea |access-date=30 November 2017 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119125534/http://folkency.nfm.go.kr/kr/topic/%EC%B1%85%EA%B1%B0%EB%A6%AC/6591 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==In popular culture== * The animated musical film ''KPop Demon Hunters'' (2025) features a pet tiger and magpie duo based on the classic {{lang|ko-Latn|minhwa}} motif.<ref name="Salon-2025a">{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Hanh |date=July 2, 2025 |title=''KPop Demon Hunters'': Jinu's seriously derpy tiger origin story |url=https://www.salon.com/2025/07/02/kpop-demon-hunters-derpy-tiger/ |access-date=July 2, 2025 |website=Salon.com |language=en-US |archive-date=July 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250725121140/https://www.salon.com/2025/07/02/kpop-demon-hunters-derpy-tiger/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Mesmer | first=Philippe | title=The tiger and the magpie, from Korean mythology to Netflix screens | date=November 11, 2025 | url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/11/11/the-tiger-and-the-magpie-from-korean-mythology-to-netflix-screens_6747324_4.html | access-date=April 3, 2026 | url-access=subscription |newspaper=Le Monde |language=en}}</ref>
==Literature== * Korean Tiger: An Exhibition of Korean Folk Painting; To Commemorate the Dedication of the Olympic stadium; Seoul, Sept.29-Oct.14, 1984. Zayong Zo [editor]. Seoul: Emilie Museum, 1984. * Yoon, Yul Soo, 2005, ''Minhwa'', designhouse.
==Gallery== {{Commons category|Minhwa}} <gallery> File:강-2 1~1.JPG|{{lang|ko-Latn|Hwanjogujado}} (picture of puppies and flowers, birds) File:Gukjeongchumyodo.jpg|''Cat'' File:Gammo yeojaedo-03.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Gammo yeojaedo}} ({{lang|ko|감모여제도}}, {{lang|ko-Hani|感慕如在圖}}) File:Songhamaenghodo.jpg|''Tiger'' File:Korea-Minhwa-Magpie and tiger.jpg|''Magpie and tiger'' File:Korea-Minhwa-Ssanghak.bandodo.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Ssanghak pandodo}}, literally "picture of two cranes and peaches in Sungyeong", paradise of Korean Taoism File:Korea-Minhwa-Eohaedo-01.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Eohado}} (picture of fish and crabs) File:Minhwa-Chaekgeoli-01.JPG|{{lang|ko-Latn|Chaekgeoli}} File:Korea-Minhwa-Hwajodo-flowers and birds-01.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Hwajodo}} (flowers and birds) File:Korea-Minhwa-Jangsaeng.hwarakdo.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Jangsaeng hwarakdo}} File:Minhwa-Munjado-05.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Munjado}} File:Minhwa-Munjado-03.jpg|{{lang|ko-Latn|Munjado}} </gallery>
==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist}} ===Sources=== *Chung, S. P. (2006). Turning toward Each Other: Warmth and Intimacy in Chosŏn-Dynasty Animal Paintings. ''Acta Koreana'', 9(1), 53–87.
{{Joseon}}
Category:Korean art Category:Korean painting