“The war broke out in the distant past, but it is not just a story of the past for me. Because I could see the deep scars that Japanese colonization threw into Korean people, as painting under the theme ‘Korea’. “

• Tomiyama Taeko, 『Girls who never come back – Military Sexual Slavery and Japanese culture』, 1992.

War

The era of madness

Yoon Dongju, poet sang about human life

, comparing clear heart to starlight

He might have become a star.

• Tomiyama Taeko, 『Be dissilient, gardenbalsam』 (Movie that contains 『The grudge inside the wall – Dedicated to Yoon Dongju, a poet who died in Fukuoka Prison』), 1984.

Yonsei University Museum and Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia The University of Tokyo prepared jointly the exhibition ‘To Turbulent Seas of Memory: The World of Tomiyama Taeko’ (2021.3.12. ~ 6.30.). Ahead of the exhibition opening, former museum director Baek Youngseo will tell you the story of Japanese painter Tomiyama Taeko who has lived for 100 years pursuing human rights, opposing war and hoping peace. The world reality seemed like a series of violent storms to her, and this gaze remains as a historical testimony in her artworks.