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Minhwa refers to Korean folk art produced mostly by itinerant or unknown artists without formal training, emulating contemporary trends in fine art for the purpose of everyday use or decoration. The term "minhwa" was coined by Yanagi Muneyoshi.
Minhwa literally means "painting of the people" or "popular painting". This type of painting was often the work of anonymous craftsmen who faithfully adhered to the styles, canons and genres inherited from the past. 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. Minhwa means popular painting or people’s art and is traditional Korean folk art from the Chosun era (1392-1910) painted onto paper or on canvas. Yoon (2020) mentions that “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).
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. Minhwa art developed into its present form in the seventeenth 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 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 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.
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 Minhwa, the interest and popularity of which persists to this day.
Minhwa was hanged by the front door to bring about happiness and luck. Minhwa was a detailed process from scratch. It consisted of making the pigments from natural ingredients and coloring hanji, or Korean paper.
Minhwa is still around, but can mostly be seen at museums, as street art in older neighborhoods, and crafts. It is seen on the hanbok, folding screens, tee shirts, car stickers, dishes, fans, and more. 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 famous known minhwa artists are Oh Soon-Kyung, a modern professional, Jung Seung Hui also a modern professional, Seongmin Ahn, Yi Am who was the great-grandson of King Sejong, Sin Saimdang, Kim Sik, and Byeon Sangbyeok.