Episode 40: Becoming the First
A barbecue restaurant enjoying popularity as hot as the sizzling grill.
Kang Lim and his team members were grilling meat while seated at an outdoor table.
With the sizzling sound of the meat and the boisterous chatter of people around them…
The night in Seoul is quite cool.
Thick and tender pork neck, savory pork jowl, and succulent pork skirt meat.
While wrapping the meat with marinated onions and fresh vegetables, Lee Hyunseong spoke.
“Wow, the food here is really good. But isn’t beef more suitable for a day like this?”
Yoon Jangmi, moving the cooked meat onto the team members’ plates, replied.
“No. I always find that what I usually eat tastes the best.”
Kang Lim poured soju and filled the glasses of his teammates.
“But the soju tastes really good today. Though there are days when it naturally tastes sweet…”
Yoon Jangmi chuckled as she spoke.
“In popular places, the tables turn over quickly, so they get new batches of alcohol every day. In short, places with good meat also have good soju.”
“Oh? Really? I always thought the best food was what you eat after hard work.”
“Well, there’s some truth to that too.”
As Lee Hyunseong laughed along with the two, he suddenly became curious about the article photo that was taken earlier.
In this day and age, articles get uploaded in real-time… It’s been a few hours already, so it must be online by now.
He turned on his phone and searched for “Koreal Fresh,” and sure enough.
Several articles were already up.
“Hey, hey, hey! Our article is up. Noona, look at this.”
Lee Hyunseong clicked on the top news article and then shouted again.
“What the heck! Damn. Why do I look so ugly? What’s wrong with my face shape?”
Yoon Jangmi couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the photo Lee Hyunseong had clicked on.
Lee Hyunseong’s face appeared overly round due to the ample space beside his eyes.
Only Kang Lim and Yoon Jangmi looked decent in the photo.
Lee Hyunseong muttered in disbelief.
Though Yoon Jangmi had always been a pretty noona, he couldn’t accept that Kang Lim also looked good.
“Seriously, Kang Lim, why do you look so handsome? This is ridiculous.”
“What? It just came out looking neat and clean as I am. Cameras don’t lie.”
“Noona… Does that mean I really look like this? Sniffle-“
Kang Lim laughed and filled Lee Hyunseong’s glass.
“This is the difference between you and me. Accept it.”
“…”
While grilling garlic, Yoon Jangmi said.
“But you know, Kang Lim is indeed handsome.”
Lee Hyunseong shook his head and said.
“Nah, Noona. Honestly, guys like Shin Taemin are the real handsome ones.”
“Hmm… Sometimes Taemin is so handsome that it feels greasy. Kang Lim is better.”
Kang Lim burst out laughing so hard at the absurdity of the statement that he almost spat out the wrapped meat he was eating.
After barely managing to chew and swallow, he said.
“Pfft. I must’ve done a great job. You’re treating me very nicely.”
“Well, anyway. That’s not what’s important. What are you guys going to choose for your major? The new semester is starting soon.”
Lee Hyunseong tilted his head at Yoon Jangmi’s question and asked.
“Noona… we still have a month left of vacation, right? And isn’t major selection done in the second year?”
Unlike other schools, Han Ye University doesn’t predefine and recruit students into specific departments such as Western Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Printmaking, etc.
There are no department names to begin with.
They are collectively referred to as the Department of Formative Arts.
In the first year, students experience various majors based on material studies.
Modern art itself involves expressing through various media such as painting, sculpture, video, installation, and performance art, making such a curriculum necessary.
However, in the second year, students have to choose their main subjects, broadly divided into three-dimensional and two-dimensional majors.
Watching Kang Lim ponder, Yoon Jangmi spoke.
“I want to do crafts, so I’ll follow Professor Gu Haeyoung, who specializes in three-dimensional art.”
“Whoa… Professor Gerald Moore will become irrelevant then.”
“Hyunseong, are you going to major in two-dimensional art?”
“Of course. Drawing is relatively easier.”
“I don’t think so…”
Listening to Yoon Jangmi and Lee Hyunseong’s conversation, Kang Lim envisioned the entirely different faces of the two professors.
After some thought, he told Yoon Jangmi.
“Well… Even if we choose a major, I don’t think the professors will stop us from doing other works. These days, many artists work on both three-dimensional and two-dimensional art simultaneously.”
“Really? I heard differently. Professor Gerald is known to be a staunch painter who has dedicated his life to painting. Painters, in particular, tend to dislike mixing because a painter’s signature is very important. It requires long-term research. It’s difficult to establish a signature if you delve into multiple fields.”
The signature Yoon Jangmi mentioned refers to the distinctive features that come to mind when thinking of a particular artist.
It’s the irreplaceable image of that artist.
Like the rough impasto associated with Van Gogh or the fantastical horses and flying lovers in Chagall’s works.
Kang Lim was well aware of this as well.
Art requires a lifelong subject of research.
Only by determining this can one become a unique individual in the world.
Seeing Kang Lim’s serious expression, Yoon Jangmi laughed.
“Well. There’s no need to decide now. You’re just a first-year. I was just curious about what kind of work you’d want to do because you’re special.”
After much deliberation, Kang Lim spoke.
“Although I haven’t defined the form of my work yet, one thing is clear. I want to use the characteristics of contemporary art, where anything can become art, to communicate with the public. Whether that can become a signature, I’m not sure…”
Yoon Jangmi smiled with interest at his intriguing response and looked at Kang Lim.
His eyes were like Go stones, clear black and white.
Eyes filled with determination.
“Contemporary art has failed to communicate with the public. If you become such an artist, you’ll be the first.”
Lee Hyunseong, who had been idly watching their conversation, suddenly got chills.
He felt that Kang Lim might not become a mere derivative of existing art forms.
But rather, an artist who will create a new genre.
Geneva, Switzerland.
Seoyeon attended a Sotheby’s auction with Ryu Miyeon.
The attendees ranged from billionaire art collectors to corporate executives.
Sotheby’s, along with Christie’s, dominates the global auction market.
They primarily deal with artworks, but items like antique artifacts, jewelry, wine, and instruments also come up for auction.
No one would have predicted that a company started by a bookstore owner selling rare books would become this prominent.
‘As expected of Pierre Delio…’
Seoyeon was watching the nail-biting auction.
Pierre Delio, the top auctioneer, was slicing through the heavy atmosphere, swiftly progressing the auction.
Every time someone raised their hand,
“$7 million.”
He confirmed the amount and,
“$8 million.”
Quickly turned his head for the next bid.
“$10 million on the phone.”
“$11 million on the phone.”
At the peak of tension,
“$15 million.”
He immediately struck the gavel.
Announcing the sale to the highest bidder.
In auctions dealing with such high-priced works, phrases like “Any more bids?” do not come up.
In the midst of skyrocketing prices, the momentary silence that ensues…
Is when the best offer emerges.
At that moment, the auctioneer must promptly conclude the sale, leaving a sense of regret in people’s hearts, which naturally raises the price of the next item.
‘Should have bid more then… Won’t miss it this time.’ It’s such a psychology.
This psychology, by not limiting the price of already sold works, contributes to further increasing the price of paintings.
The wealthy, awed by Pierre Delio’s relentless progress, moved on to the next item.
Auction staff, wearing white gloves, placed a new painting on the stand.
Only after confirming the work did people take a breather, slightly easing their tension.
Fortunately, this piece was by an artist whose work didn’t evoke strong ownership desire.
“This is a painting by Chinese contemporary artist Yan Chun. The auction starts at $10,000 (10 million KRW).”
The bidders,
“$30,000.”
Were much more relaxed than before,
“$50,000.”
Raising their hands with calm expressions.
“$60,000.”
As if it didn’t matter who took it.
“$80,000.”
Seoyeon shared their sentiment.
Not all lesser-known artists’ works receive such treatment.
But Yan Chun’s painting was undeniably poor.
Even considering the Chinese market.
A painting where the artist had pressed his red-painted hand onto the canvas.
Since Yves Klein, who made body parts into paintings, such works weren’t surprising anymore.
“$100,000.”
If you want to become an expensive artist, you need to be the first.
“$1 million (1.1 billion KRW).”
At that moment.
Seoyeon was shocked by the absurd price and looked at Ryu Miyeon.
The auction price was over ten times higher.
A brief silence fell over the auction room.
Pierre Delio, without exception, declared it sold.
Once again, Seoyeon couldn’t understand her mother’s choice.
Seeing the painting in the hotel, it seemed even more hopeless.
Thinking about moving the seemingly worthless painting to the storage, Seoyeon felt a headache coming on.
Buying a painting involves many factors.
It represents the company’s image and level of discernment.
Many billionaires who value culture and art don’t want to do business with people with poor taste.
Hence, every piece must be carefully selected and purchased, considering implications for corporate management.
However, Seoyeon was more concerned about something else.
The articles.
Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at the hotel and she checked her phone, the articles were already plastered on the portal site’s front page.
[Jeil Group buys a red handprint for 1.1 billion KRW. I could make that too.]
The provocative headline made her angrier.
The comments were filled with criticism.
- Rich people wasting money, what’s new.
- They buy paintings for tax evasion and slush funds. What other reason could there be?
- Tsk tsk, I could paint that too.
Seeing Seoyeon’s pouty lips, Ryu Miyeon said.
“Daughter, you seem unhappy with today’s deal.”
Seoyeon mustered the courage to speak up.
“Mom, I really can’t understand today’s decision. That was a piece with absolutely no aesthetic value.”
Ryu Miyeon chuckled and patted Seoyeon’s head.
“You’ve grown. You can even give your mom advice now.”
“…”
“But you still have a long way to go.”
Seoyeon looked up at Ryu Miyeon with a confused expression.
“If I hadn’t bought it, another billionaire would have taken it for the same price. He just yielded.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Perhaps he was planning to buy something else. I was just lucky.”
“Mom, look at this article…”
“Of course, it’s natural to be criticized. It’s deserved.”
“…But why!”
Ryu Miyeon gently covered Seoyeon’s eyes with her soft hands and began to speak.
This was the most important thing she wanted to teach her daughter, who would eventually run the Heyum Museum.
