Episode 56: Into the Wide World
Gerald hurriedly entered Go Haeyoung’s lab after finishing his class.
It was time for dinner, but this portfolio was far more important.
He was eager to show Haeyoung the portfolio containing hundreds of drawings submitted by Kang Lim.
Kang Lim, who was always too calm during class, seemed annoyingly composed, and Gerald tried hard to hide his surprise…
But no matter how he thought about it, it was beyond his imagination.
“Haeyoung! This is huge!”
His voice rang loudly.
Go Haeyoung raised an eyebrow as he looked at Gerald, who had burst through the door.
He was about to leave for the day, and his expression showed that he found this interruption bothersome.
As he put on the jacket draped over his chair, Go Haeyoung spoke.
“Did you come because of Junhee? I know he recently returned to Korea. I also know he’s holding a seminar with juniors next week.”
Gerald shouted, misunderstanding Haeyoung’s assumption.
“No, it’s not that! Junhee is not the issue right now!”
“Then what is it?”
“I told the students to bring the drawings they’ve been working on during class, right?”
“Yes, you did.”
“But, Kang Lim submitted a portfolio with 200 pieces! And he says he has ten times more at home! Isn’t that crazy?”
“…What?”
Go Haeyoung’s expression asked if it was true.
Seeing the disbelief in Haeyoung’s eyes, Gerald shouted louder.
“That’s what I’m saying! I couldn’t believe it at first either! I honestly thought there would be a few hundred pieces, but not to this extent! And it’s not just the quantity; you have to see the quality of the drawings. Look at this right now!”
Gerald thrust four thick binders into Haeyoung’s chest.
Taking the binders, Haeyoung sat back down in his chair.
As he carefully turned the cover, his hands began to tremble.
Haeyoung’s eyes gradually darkened as he turned each page for a long time.
He couldn’t help but nod slowly at the depth of the drawings, which seemed endless.
His usually upright posture slackened.
Gerald was buzzing around, complaining about why Haeyoung was taking so long to look at the works.
Though he was usually talkative, he was noisier than usual, and his eyebrows were raised the whole time.
Eventually, Gerald couldn’t take it anymore and shouted.
“Ugh! You saw it all, right? Why are you so slow!”
“Yeah, it’s really astonishing. There are many works that are much better than the ones you bought…”
Gerald nodded vigorously with a bright smile.
“Right? First, let’s get him exempted from the military.”
“What nonsense is that?”
Seeing Haeyoung not catching on, Gerald shook his head.
“In our country, everything is great except that you have to go to the military during your prime years. It’s so sad… If he could hold exhibitions in famous international galleries during his youth, he could bring a lot of attention and national prestige. It’s such a waste!”
“It’s strange to hear you say ‘our country.’”
Gerald’s Korean was excessively fluent.
“I’ve lived here too long!”
“Hmm…”
“Anyway! If he wins the grand prize at the National Art Competition, he can get exempted from the military. I’ll make sure Kang Lim participates when the announcement is out. You should recommend him for next year’s Biennale. He needs to be known by more people and go into the wider world.”
“…The Biennale is held every two years. The participants for next year must have already been decided. Even if you recommend him, it would be for the Biennale three years from now.”
“Damn it!”
“And I believe this is the last year the National Art Competition offers military exemptions. They plan to abolish it next year.”
“Why?”
“Because of too much corruption.”
In fields like music, dance, sports, and fine arts, those with distinct talents receive exemption benefits under the military service law.
For example, the Yoon Yi-sang Competition held in Tongyeong sees fierce competition among musicians each year.
However, in the visual arts, there are few competitive events, and it’s a field where it’s difficult to score objectively.
Thus, the state provided exemption benefits to only one person who won the grand prize in the National Art Competition.
The issue was that, as expected, there was significant lobbying.
Since only one person could receive the prize nationwide, the competition was incredibly fierce.
People started offering tens of millions of won to the judges to win the award.
Especially, students, family members, and relatives of officials running the National Art Competition began to share the awards…
As a result, genuinely talented artists didn’t receive the benefits, and many didn’t even know the system existed.
This led to a decline in the quality of the winning entries, and the state decided to abolish this military exemption.
This year was the last.
With his fingers intertwined and a serious expression, Haeyoung spoke.
“Of course, Kang Lim can participate in the National Art Competition, but winning the grand prize is impossible. That’s already decided; it can’t be changed.”
“Damn it! That’s absurd! If he doesn’t win the grand prize, then who does?”
“It’s true. Even I didn’t win the grand prize.”
“No! That’s because you were too young and not good enough! Kang Lim can do it now.”
“……”
“And Junhee was exempted too! He won the grand prize with his skills. There’s no way he bribed anyone; he’s such a cool guy.”
“Junhee himself is a form of lobbying. Think about how many people want to get in the good graces of Jeil Group.”
“Aargh!”
Haeyoung ignored the loud Gerald and turned his upper body to the side.
He looked out the window and reminisced about his early twenties when he enlisted…
Closing his eyes as if deep in thought, Haeyoung spoke.
“Actually, it might be good for him to go. It could add more depth to his work. There, he’ll encounter a diverse array of individuals and deeply think about the relationship between individuals and groups. And if he goes, Kang Lim will draw well and be liked by people.”
“What nonsense!”
“What do you know? As a foreigner, don’t meddle. Every man should serve in the military; it’s a noble duty to protect the country.”
“You old fogey!”
“……”
“Get out of my lab!”
“…This is my lab. I’d appreciate it if you could leave now.”
“Even if you say that, I’ll make sure Kang Lim participates in the National Art Competition once the announcement is out! Just wait and see.”
Ignoring Haeyoung’s indifferent reaction, Gerald stormed out.
After Gerald left, Haeyoung continued to examine Kang Lim’s portfolio.
He carefully analyzed each image…
Then leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.
Closing his eyes again, Haeyoung began to think about a new task.
A task to bring out Kang Lim’s masterpiece…
The next day.
After getting off at Gangnam Station, Kang Lim took a deep breath.
Speeding cars, tall skyscrapers.
Banks, corporate buildings, and college prep academies made it a prime location to meet people of various ages.
When he recently had an exhibition in Insadong, he never thought he’d hold a solo exhibition so soon…
Things had gone better than expected, and he felt good.
Kang Lim quickly reached Baekyeon Gallery after passing a large intersection.
The geometric building stood prominently on the main road.
Its striking design made it clear it was an exhibition hall without having to go inside.
‘It’s too large to be called a gallery; it feels more like a museum…’
Upon entering, he saw the paintings of the artists currently on exhibition.
A fantasy world painted in cold magenta and ultramarine tones.
Endangered animals happily playing in a landscape where poisonous mushrooms grew.
The paintings were beautiful yet bizarre.
‘Oh, this artist has great imagination… The theme seems very intuitive…’
Kang Lim slowly admired the paintings.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet exhibition hall, and another set of footsteps joined in.
When he turned around, he saw Ha Baekyeon smiling brightly.
“Are you Kang Lim?”
“Oh, are you the curator?”
“Yes, I’m the curator and the director here! I’m Ha Baekyeon. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah! Nice to meet you. How did you recognize me? I didn’t attach a photo to my portfolio.”
Kang Lim was surprised that she recognized him, thinking he could have been just another visitor.
Ha Baekyeon smiled and said,
“Oh, I looked you up, of course. You have a unique life story. You also won the grand prize at the Corial Fresh competition, right? Your face is the same as in the newspaper article. You look great in person too.”
“Oh, you saw it there. Haha, thank you.”
This feels similar to when I met the publishing editor…
Without realizing it, Kang Lim was becoming well-known here and there.
After all, the exhibitions and competitions he participated in had all made the news.
“Let’s go into the meeting room and talk.”
Entering the curator’s room, he saw the piles of portfolios submitted for this competition.
Seeing how much there was, he realized just how valuable the opportunity he had was.
But Ha Baekyeon thought the opposite.
She considered it a stroke of luck that Kang Lim had come.
She spoke with shining eyes.
“Kang Lim, thank you so much for applying to our gallery competition. It’s been a long time since I met an artist who made my heart race.”
“Thank you. Baekyeon Gallery is a wonderful place.”
“Really, your work fits perfectly with our exhibition theme, the work is excellent, and your personal story is fascinating. Anyone can see you are destined for great things.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
“I mean it. Now, let me explain the details of the exhibition!”
“Sure.”
“The paintings you saw earlier will end their exhibition in two weeks. Once those paintings come down, the solo exhibitions for this competition will start the following week. So, you have four weeks left.”
“Ah, I see. How many artists are participating in this relay solo exhibition?”
“We selected five artists. You will be the first to open the exhibition. The first artist’s work sets the tone for the relay exhibition, so it gets the most attention. That’s why we send the best image first.”
“Oh…”
“So, the 24 series paintings you created are being made into a catalog. It will be provided on the opening day of the exhibition. We will also support the transport, so just send us your studio address on your phone, and we will take care of it.”
“Thank you.”
“And how should we set the prices for the works?”
Anticipating the question, Kang Lim shook his head and answered.
His eyes were firm.
“Oh, I don’t want to sell these works; they are very precious to me. We don’t have to sell them, right?”
“Of course not! There are no such rules. It’s just something we must ask during the exhibition process.”
The paintings from Picasso’s Blue Period, which he mentioned yesterday, are closely tied to the artist’s life and are few in number, making them rare and expensive.
Similarly, this series of works by Kang Lim reflects his own life and consists of only 24 pieces, so selling them cheaply like his previous group exhibition paintings would be foolish.
That would be like giving them away for nothing.
Moreover, for Kang Lim, it wasn’t about the money; he cherished the series itself.
He didn’t want this to be the only exhibition for these works.
‘I want to hold exhibitions in other places and share my work with as many people as possible. This series has significant meaning as the starting point of my artistic career…’
Ha Baekyeon, as if reading his mind, smiled and spoke.
She liked that he understood his own value.
“I also think it would be absurd to sell these paintings at a price typical of a student. I hope you keep them and put them up for auction when your name becomes more well-known.”
In fact, Ha Baekyeon wanted to propose an exclusive contract to Kang Lim.
Having such an artist would mean splitting the profits 50:50, and the gallery would make a lot of money.
However, her conscience as someone who loved art didn’t allow her to bind him.
She knew better than anyone that he needed to go out into a bigger world.
As she checked his portfolio, she spoke.
“Oh! Lastly, I have one question regarding the exhibition planning. Why are there 24 pieces in the series?”
Kang Lim was surprised by Ha Baekyeon’s sharp question.
He had indeed hidden a meaning in that number.
“Wow, you noticed I intentionally made it 24 pieces!”
“No, I don’t know the significance, but it seemed like a peculiar number, so I wondered if it had any meaning.”
“Yes! It has significance. These paintings capture the various emotions of human life, and while emotions like joy can branch into many types like delight, hope, satisfaction, and peace… they can also mix with contradictory feelings like sorrow.
Humans experience multiple emotions simultaneously, and I thought these complex stories resembled the weather. Even on a sunny day, it can suddenly rain.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“The landscapes outside the windows in these paintings depict Korea’s 24 distinct seasonal divisions. I chose scenes that closely matched my mother’s emotional state. That’s why there are 24 pieces.”
Ha Baekyeon, shocked by the unexpected content, said with a surprised expression.
“Wow, that’s incredible. So, you painted the 24 seasonal divisions of emotions?”
“Oh, I like how that sounds.”
Hearing his words, ideas for the exhibition preface and planning concept started forming in Ha Baekyeon’s mind.
“Indeed, I’m glad I asked. I will refer to your portfolio and set up the exhibition accordingly.”
“Thank you. So, all I have to do is transport the paintings?”
“Yes! Since you’re here, how about dinner together?”
Kang Lim looked at his phone with a troubled expression.
It would be tight to make it to Pyeongchang-dong in time.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I already have plans for dinner tonight.”
“Ah, that’s unfortunate. Let’s talk more when we transport the paintings next time.”
“Yes, thank you. See you then.”
Kang Lim said goodbye and stood up.
Ha Baekyeon could only watch as he left the gallery.
For a 20-year-old, his shoulders appeared remarkably broad. How much more could he grow in the future?
She felt a slight regret at not being able to keep such an artist.
