Graphics Art Exhibition held at the Seoul Press Center, KTV 418, May 25, 1963, KTV Archive
The Korean Graphic Art Club [Hanguk grapic ateu cleop; KGAC] is an organization founded in 1963 by a group of active graphic designers who graduated from the Department of Applied Arts at Seoul National University. Its name, which excluded terms like applied art or commercial art, and its practitioner-oriented membership set the KGAC apart from other organizations of designers at the time. The KGAC consisted of seven members, all of whom were working in corporations, national or public institutions, and schools after graduation. They were Bong Sangkyun and Jeong Nampil at National Film Studio, Kang Huisu at Yuhan Corporation, Yim Iseop at Dongin Dyeing, Kim Seonyeong at Daehan Travel Agency, Kim Geunbae at Deoksu Commercial High School, and Kim Hongryeon at Beomyang Chemicals. The KGAC held the group exhibition
Graphic Art from May 11 to 19, 1963 at the Press Center of Korea in Taepyeong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. A total of thirty works were displayed at the exhibition, including record jackets, title designs for films and TV programs, calendars, medicine packages, and posters. The KGAC pioneered the concept of graphic art in the 1960s when graphic art was slowly emerging as a specialized field. Its members received modern art education that was initiated from the late 1950s by the faculty who studied abroad in the U.S. and returned to Korea, including Kim Choungza, Kwon Soonhyung, and Min Chulhong. After graduation, they worked in the field of graphic art. After the emergence of the KGAC, the term “graphic art” was eventually used widely, as seen in the
Han Hongtaik’s Graphic Art, a solo exhibition held by the industrial artist Han Hongtaik in 1966.
* Source: MMCA
