Kang Chun-hyok

Kang Chun-hyok is a rapper and artist working out of Seoul, South Korea. Originally a native of Onsong, North Korea, he defected and arrived in South Korea in 2001. He has been active as an artist and musician for several years, and he released his first hip-hop single, "For the freedom," in 2016. A graduate of Hongik University's prestigious Fine Arts department, he has exhibited extensively in South Korea, Europe, and Asia. He is the Creative Director of Oreum Arts.

 

Artist statement

As a visual artist and rapper, my art is heavily influenced by my background and country of birth. The fact that I was born and a citizen of the only remaining divided country in the world, the division of Korea as well as the human rights violations and hunger present in the north are never far from my mind. I'm continuously examing the ways in which the north and south have been separated but the ways in which we are the same as a people.

Our division, survival, resistance, and freedom are the themes that are constant in my art. Through my rap lyrics and visually, using oils, acrylics, watercolor, and ink, I examine the ways in which surviving famine and crossing borders was the only way to live in freedom. So as a survivor living in freedom I use my craft to explore in depth the themes that never leave my mind.

I have been influenced by several artists and musicians. Artistically, my artistic are Kim Jung Gi, Gerhard Richter, and Banksy. Musically, my influences are Biggie Smalls, Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan, and Jay-Z.

My vision for my body of work is that I will plant a seed in the mind: a seed of awareness. I am driven to create art about the realities of the suffering faced by people living in North Korea and the future of Korea. Etched on my arms in ink are my hopes for my country's future, "Spring revolution," a wish for a revolution to bloom, and the date I left North Korea with the reason why: "1998 0309 For the freedom."