KCC said Wednesday it supplied 23 colors of paint to artist Park Mina, who is participating in the special exhibition "From Commemoration to Landscape" marking the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and France, currently on view at the Soma Museum of Art. [KCC]
KCC said Wednesday it supplied 23 colors of paint to artist Park Mina, who is participating in the special exhibition "From Commemoration to Landscape" marking the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and France, currently on view at the Soma Museum of Art. [KCC]

KCC collaborates on Soma Museum's special exhibition 'From Commemoration to Landscape'

Last year restored four-guardian mural at World Peace Gate with 40 colors

AI color-matching technology aids public art preservation

The colors of the four guardian spirits painted on the World Peace Gate at Olympic Park — built to mark the 1988 Seoul Olympics — have been reborn as a contemporary artwork, thanks in part to paint supplied by KCC, the company that helped restore and repaint the mural last year.

KCC announced Wednesday that it provided 23 colors of paint to artist Park Mina, who is participating in the special exhibition "From Commemoration to Landscape" at the Soma Museum of Art, held to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and France.

The exhibition centers on the Olympic Sculpture Park, which was developed around the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and traces the history of artistic exchange between South Korea and France. It focuses particularly on the World Peace Gate, designed by architect Kim Chung-up, and the four guardian spirits mural created by artist Baek Geum-nam.

The mural depicts the four mythical creatures that symbolize the cardinal directions — the Blue Dragon of the east, the Vermilion Bird of the south, the White Tiger of the west and the Black Tortoise of the north. For the exhibition, Park set aside the four creatures themselves and worked instead with the remaining colors from the mural, arranging all 23 hues in a spectrum across a U-shaped partition wall installed in the gallery, reinterpreting the mural's palette as an independent sculptural element.

KCC's connection to the mural began with a restoration and repainting project last year. Working with a local dealer, the company analyzed historical photographs and archival materials to estimate the original colors, then used its AI color-matching system KCC Smart 2.0 to reproduce a total of 40 paint colors. KCC also provided technical advice on surface preparation, adhesion and paint selection based on the condition of the existing coating.

KCC has since introduced KCC Smart 3.0, which uses AI and big data to reduce color variation across different paint product lines — including water-based, oil-based and specialty coatings. The technology has potential applications in construction and industrial settings where the same color must be reproduced across multiple paint types, as well as in public art conservation work requiring precise color matching.

"It is meaningful that, after taking part last year in reproducing the colors of the four guardian spirits mural, we are now joining in the effort to extend those colors into a new work of art," said Kim Gwang-ju, executive director of KCC's retail paint division. "We will continue to support diverse creative activities in the cultural and arts sector."

The World Peace Gate [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
The World Peace Gate [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

"From Commemoration to Landscape," which opened Saturday, runs through Feb. 14 next year at Gallery 1 of the Soma Museum of Art. The exhibition features about 200 works spanning drawing, painting, sculpture, video, photography and archival materials.


hong@heraldcorp.com