Kim Koo's calligraphy 'Long Live Independence' heads to auction on Liberation Day anniversary

Kim Koo's "Long Live Independence." [Provided by Seoul Auction]

A calligraphy work by independence activist Kim Koo is heading to auction to mark the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Seoul Auction will offer Kim's calligraphic work "Long Live Independence" at its 194th art auction, to be held Aug. 25.

The piece was written on Jan. 8, 1948 — the day representatives of the UN Temporary Commission on Korea arrived in Seoul, a body established after the United States brought the question of Korean independence before the UN in 1947. Kim wrote the work amid the division of the Korean peninsula following liberation, expressing his longing for complete unification and self-determined independence. The bold, upright brushstrokes convey his unwavering resolve. An inscription on the left reads: "January 8, the 30th year of the Republic of Korea (1948), on the occasion of the UN Commission's arrival in Seoul — Baekbeom Kim Koo, Office of the Provisional Government President." The work carries added significance this year, as 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of Kim's birth. The estimated price is 20 million to 40 million won ($14,100 to $28,300).

Twelve genre paintings by Kim Jun-geun, known by his pen name Gisan, will also go under the hammer. The works capture a wide range of Joseon-era life — from everyday labor such as plowing fields and weaving cloth, to leisure activities including swing rides and ssireum wrestling, scenes at a tavern, and a family carrying bundles on their backs.

Kim Chang-yeol's "Waterdrop." [Provided by Seoul Auction]

Works by major figures of Korean modern and contemporary art will also be available at this month's auctions.

Kim Chang-yeol's 1981 "Waterdrop" will make its domestic debut. The large-scale canvas — size 100 in Korean convention — was shown at FIAC, the Paris art fair, in October 1981. Of the nine works displayed at the Stampfli Gallery booth, eight sold, including this piece, and Kim was named one of four featured painters by the French daily Le Soir. The composition — a rectangular window set at the center of the canvas with semicircular waterdrops arranged within — showcases the artist's formal experimentation and generates a sense of tension. The estimated price is 600 million to 1.2 billion won.

Kim Whan-ki's 1966 work "3-II-66" is also seeking a new owner. The large canvas, size 150, was painted three years after the artist settled in New York, during a period when he was forging a new visual language. That year marked a transition in which concrete forms — the moon, jars, mountains and birds — gradually receded from his canvases, giving way to dots, lines and planes, a shift that would lead to his signature full-dot paintings.

A total of 117 works will be offered, including pieces by Yun Hyong-keun, Lee Ufan, Byun Shi-ji and Roy Lichtenstein, with a combined low estimate of approximately 9.15 billion won.

Park Soo-keun's "Tree and Women." [Provided by K Auction]

K Auction's August sale, to be held Aug. 26, will feature Park Soo-keun's "Tree and Women" — the work's first appearance at auction in 40 years. The piece was once held by Margaret Miller, Park's most important patron and collector during the 1960s.

The work belongs to a series centered on Park's recurring subject of a bare tree and women, which he produced continuously from the mid-1950s until his death. The series is believed to number around ten works. One piece on the same subject was shown at the 1956 National Art Exhibition, and another became the cover of novelist Park Wan-seo's debut novel "The Naked Tree," cementing the motif as one of Park Soo-keun's most iconic. The work, a symbol of ordinary life in postwar Korea, carries an estimated price of 400 million to 800 million won.

Three works by Lee Dae-won, known as the "painter of orchards," will also be offered. Lee developed a distinctive style by reinterpreting nature through pointillist and linear techniques, devoting himself to his "Orchard" series well into his later years. On offer are a size-30 "Orchard" rendered in vivid pointillist strokes and free brushwork, estimated at 55 million to 100 million won; "Pine Tree," estimated at 30 million to 60 million won; and "Tree," estimated at 14 million to 30 million won.

Lee Dae-won's "Orchard." [Provided by K Auction]

Chun Kyung-ja's "Bird and Woman" distills the artist's worldview — one defined by vivid color and an idiosyncratic narrative vision of femininity. Its estimated price is 290 million to 500 million won.

Kim Whan-ki's "Untitled," a gouache on newsprint from the 1960s estimated at 60 million to 150 million won, reflects the formal language of a period when the artist was experimenting with the materiality of his medium before fully entering abstraction.

Lee Jung-seob's "Children," estimated at 70 million to 140 million won, is a work in which the artist etched his longing for family onto humble materials.

A total of 102 works valued at approximately 6.5 billion won will go under the hammer, including pieces by Takashi Murakami, David Hockney, Ugo Rondinone and Alex Katz.

pink@heraldcorp.com