LEE BONG WOOK

I was born in China in 1983. My grandfather and grandmother immigrated to China because of the war in Korea. My father is a painter and I was good at drawing. My father forbade me to paint because I was told that painting while growing up would make me poor. However, I drew a lot of pictures secretly because I didn't need any materials and there was nothing physically left to draw on a computer. I was told that if I dance, I can get a job at a national art organization, so in 1998, my teachers at the Arts High School suggested that I enter a dance school. So, until 2004, I graduated from dance college and came to Korea to study in Korea because it was not fun to do art under the communist system. I studied choreography at Korea National University of Arts and received various art education at that school. It allowed me to think about what real art was and gave me a sense of freedom and freedom.

Especially in Korea, I was an international student and the school was very special, so there were not many restrictions for me. Even if he behaved differently because he was a foreigner, there was little pressure from the professors. So, after graduating in 2007, I started my artistic career in earnest and created my own art group. In 2009, my wife got pregnant and got married in a hurry, and I had to support my family. At that time, we were poor and had to earn a living right away, so I couldn't continue my art. My wife is Korean and I am Korean from China, so there was a conflict between the family. 

Most of my family was in China, and they also moved further away from each other in search of a better and better life. So my family gradually dispersed and lived far from each other. Many families have died. My best friend in Korea also died in 2018. In 2020,my wife and I ended up getting divorced for unknown reasons.In this way, most of the people I loved or who loved me went away. The harmonious, loving family atmosphere of my childhood has become impossible again, and I even feel like I am alone in space. Although I share the same Korean blood, there was subtle discrimination in Korea.

Because I was a Korean from a communist country called China, strange discrimination always existed. Relationships with people and relationships with peoples became a very big topic for me. I always dream of life before the age of 12. It was the happiest time, and I had a lot of loving family around me and it was fun. No matter how hard I try, no matter how much the world gets better, my life at that time cannot be restored. I think art is what I do with a strong desire and longing even though I know it is not possible. The important thing is that it is unrealistic, but still, the moment I make a work is because I can dream of it.