The life of Bae Dong-shin, “the pioneer of Korean watercolor painting”

“Bae Dong-shin,” he was an artist who completed his image in paintings through the essence of formative art. In an era when everyone produced works using oil paintings, he focused on creating works using only watercolors, insisting on his own pictorial formativeness. Instead, he considered ridicule and poor treatment as a compliment that recognized his originality, and had an attitude of never being servile. He is a painter who walked his own path.

Lee Kyung-seong, who served as the first director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea and was the first pioneer of art criticism in Korea at the time, called Bae Dong-shin “an unrivaled figure in Korean watercolor painting, an artist who walked his own path.”

It is recorded that Bae Dong-shin was born as the third son of his biological father, Bae Seong-jae, who ran an herbal medicine shop in Gwangsan-gun, Jeollanam-do (currently Songjeong-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju), and his mother, Jo Ok-jin.

He had two older brothers, one younger brother, and two younger sisters. However, Bae Dong-shin's biological mother was "Cheon Ok-hee."

Cheon Ok-hee was from Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do. At the age of 17, she was dissatisfied that the person her father had chosen for her marriage was not the groom she had in mind. She continued to let her parents know her wishes and beg, but when she only heard her father’s stubborn scolding, one day she just left home with her servant. Cheon Ok-hee received lessons as a daughter of a noble family and was able to read the Thousand Character Classic, displaying outstanding wit and eloquence. On the other hand, she was a rare beauty with pale skin and a very cute smile, and she was a new woman who rejected the culture of hereditary women at the time.

She ran away from home with her maid for a day and arrived at an inn to rest her tired body at sunset. The place she arrived at was Beolgyo, Jeolla Province. While she stayed at the inn for a few days, rumors spread and after moving to a few places, she decided to open a small shop and run a restaurant to make a living. She opened the restaurant by selling money and jewelry she had brought with her maid. Rumors about the beautiful restaurant owner running the restaurant with her maid spread throughout the neighborhood, and many customers from far away came to visit, making the restaurant very popular.

At that time, Dongshin's biological father Bae Seongjae came to Beolgyo from Gwangsan-gun on a big horse to buy medicinal herbs. He frequented the famous Cheon Ok-hee's restaurant, married Cheon Ok-hee, started a household, and had Bae Dong-shin (June 16, 1920). And two years later, she gave birth to her second son, “Donghee.”

In front of the house, Cheon Ok-hee ran a restaurant and Bae Seong-jae ran a herbal medicine shop. They lived in a wealthy family living in a hanok house with a large jar and granary to store fermented side dishes such as soybean paste and red pepper paste used in the restaurant in the yard next to the house. Cheon Ok-hee, as the mother of two sons, lived happily with Bae Seong-jae as her husband.

On the other hand, Dongshin's father, Seongjae, a doctor of oriental medicine, was busy going back and forth between Gwangju and Beolgyo, and decided to have his young son Dongshin do or teach him the work of the pharmacy that he had to do when he was away, and taught him how to handle and classify medicinal herbs and record them. Dongshin, who enjoyed reading while looking at picture books, learned Chinese characters and studied the components of medicinal herbs before he even entered elementary school, and was on the path to becoming a student of oriental medicine. Dong-sin's younger brother, Dong-hee, who was two years younger than Dong-sin, was a fat kid who loved to eat and was known for being an immature troublemaker, but perhaps because he was from a rich family, everyone did not treat him carelessly and loved him.

Then one day, when Dongshin's biological father, Bae Seongjae, was away from home for a few days as usual, a guest from the family home of Seongjae, Cheon Okhee's husband, came to visit.

It was the 12th year since she and Seongjae got married, and it was the summer of the year Dongshin was attending Beolgyo Elementary School.

That day, Cheon Ok-hee learned for the first time that Dong-shin's biological father, Bae Seong-jae, was already a married man with a family. She was shocked and filled with anger.

Cheon Ok-hee couldn't control her rage as she thought about how she had been deceived by her husband for 12 years and why she had run away from her stubborn father and left home. Cheon Ok-hee finally followed her emotions and started to break the jars in the jar storage unit one by one. She destroyed and scattered the jars and flower beds that she had carefully prepared and tended over the years as if erasing all the years she had spent there. Then, she madly entered the house and destroyed and threw away the household items and kitchen items. She was absorbed in this for a long time. Then, she gathered her clothes and belongings, abandoned everything, and ran out of the house.

Dongshin saw his younger brother Donghee, who had returned from school first, standing in front of the gate, surrounded by neighbors, crying. He hurriedly went inside to look around the house, only to find that the whole house was a mess and when he called out for his mother, he found that she was gone.

Dong-shin took his younger brother to his mother's restaurant for dinner and spent the night at the restaurant waiting to see if his father, who had left home a few days ago and went to various places to get medicinal herbs, would come back tonight with the intention of going with his younger brother to look for his mother early the next morning. Dongshin fell asleep, absorbed in the thought of having to take his younger brother to Naju on an early morning bus to find his mother. He thought about how many times he had gone to Naju with his mother to visit his aunt’s (Cheon Ok-hee’s younger sister) house, who was married.

The next morning, Dong-shin woke up his younger brother who wanted to sleep more. Leaving behind the restaurant run by his mother, Cheon Ok-hee, the happy house with the front yard that his mother had tended, and his father’s herbal medicine shop, he headed to the bus stop to catch the bus to Naju. The bus stop was close by. His younger brother seemed to be in a good mood and was enjoying the bus ride, while Dong-shin’s mind was in a very complicated state.

Since he always went there with his mother, Dong-shin got off with his younger brother at the destination right away. And the way to his aunt’s house wasn’t that difficult. He got on the back of an empty oxcart that passed by, got off, walked, rested, and walked again. Dong-shin held his younger brother’s hand tightly, who was crying because it was hard to walk, and walked and walked toward his mother.

Finally, Dong-shin and Dong-hee stood in front of their aunt’s front door, where they thought their mother would be, and called out for their mother. The front door opened, and while someone was leading them to the front porch, their aunt ran down and hugged Dong-shin and Dong-hee, saying, “Oh, my.” However, their mother was nowhere to be seen, and their mother’s voice was heard, yelling. She was telling them to let the children out again. I don’t want to see you. Why did you come all the way here? Go back to your father. Send them out quickly.” She appeared on the porch and threw something at Dong-shin. Dong-shin and Dong-hee were shocked, and they cried out for their mother, sobbing and trying to run to their mother, Cheon Ok-hee, but they could only stop crying under their mother’s terrifying swearing. The aunt took the children to the back, wiped away their tears and faces, comforted them, and fed them. Their mother’s angry yelling became louder, and Dong-shin and Dong-hee had to stay close to their aunt, trembling in fear.

The next morning, the aunt, with tears in her eyes, fed Dong-shin and Dong-hee breakfast and told them to go home, and sent someone to escort them to the bus stop. When Dong-hee was tired of crying and throwing a tantrum, Dong-shin realized that he had no choice but to go back. Sensing the darkness of the future for the first time, the young Dong-shin again held Dong-hee’s hand and followed the escort out the front door as instructed by his aunt.

While walking for a while, the three arrived at a busy marketplace, which seemed to be a big market day. There, they saw their father passing by on a large horse, so they called out to him and ran after him. The three of them met dramatically on a market day. Perhaps because of the shock she received from her mother, Dong-shin held on to her father, crying, begging him not to abandon her and her younger brother, asking how we should live, and refusing to let go of his father's sleeve. Dong-shin and Dong-hee told their father what had happened, but their father soothed them by telling them not to worry, fed them soup and rice at the market, and went with their father to their main house in Gwangsan-gun. At the main house, Dong-shin and Dong-hee met their stepmother Jo Ok-jin, their eldest brother Dong-seong, their second brother Dong-hwa, and Dong-shin's younger sisters, An-soon and Dong-suni, for the first time. However, Dong-shin’s life, which had been reorganized for the first time, did not last long, and many things changed again.

After some time, their father had Dong-shin and Dong-hee live in an herbal medicine shop that he ran a little away from the main house, and transferred them to Seoseok Elementary School. Then he packed up everything he had lived in Beolgyo and took Dong-shin to Yeosu to work at the herbal medicine shop and go to school. And the younger brother Dong-hee was decided to be raised by Cheon Ok-hee's mother. Dong-shin and Dong-hee ended all their happy times and experienced the sadness of brothers breaking up with the scars of unforgettable painful memories.

The confrontation between his father's reckless desire to possess women, which was his father's lifestyle that followed the men's customs of the time, and his extraordinary mother's absolute resistance, was an event that foreshadowed great pain and agony for young Dong-shin.

Young dongshin would stare into the distance alone or pick grass and flowers and observe them blankly all day long, and seemed to have no interest in anything else. After a big change in the family, he started working at a herbal medicine store with his father, and whenever he looked at picture books with shapes of herbs, this phenomenon became worse, and he could not see or hear anything else. As a result, he often got scolded by his father.

On the other hand, Dongshin was cruelly abandoned by his mother, and perhaps because he desperately wanted his mother to come find him again, he would picture such a longing in his head countless times, and he would look at all things with affectionate eyes as if they were his mother's warm embrace, and would quietly call out to himself, "Mom."

Bae Dong-shin inherited from his mother the desire for self and the emotion of resistance that rejected the discrimination of human rights at that time. On the other hand, from his father, he studied herbal medicine and worked in a pharmacy, and through the illustrated guide, he learned about the shape and properties of medicinal herbs. In order to distinguish and mark them, he ground ink and used a brush to draw the shape of medicinal herbs and recorded their characteristics in Chinese characters. This became an opportunity for him to encounter symbolic painting through the experience of expressing the shape and properties of medicinal herbs without realizing it. Painting may be the basis of knowledge.

From some point on, Dong-shin's father took him everywhere to teach him how to work at a herbal medicine shop. After returning to Gwangju and graduating from elementary school, he wanted to learn how to work at a herbal medicine shop from his father rather than going to a higher level school and take over the family business as a great oriental medicine doctor, and he thought that would be the best thing for Dong-shin. However, Dong-shin's thoughts were different. He wanted to draw, so he told his father that he really liked drawing. If you want to make a living and feed your family, you should never do something like that. Such a thing is meant to live like a beggar, and you should never dream of doing it again. He shouted. However, Dong-shin had an experience where his happy childhood was destroyed. Dong-shin's earnest wish was to return to a happy time. And he thought that he had to escape from the present. It was like a formula deeply engraved in Dong-shin's heart. Just as his mother Cheon Ok-hee left home for the first time, in Dong-shin's mind, I must leave too, so that I can paint. He kept promising himself.

In fact, did Bae Dong-shin know that the moment he decided to ignore his father's advice and follow his own path, he would destroy the worldly happiness he had hoped for as a child? The thoughts and actions of Dong-shin, who resembled her mother, were like riding a train bound for unhappiness and waiting for it to depart. Did he know that it was not only him who would become miserable, but that those who had deep relationships with Dong-shin would also enter the dark pit where even more misfortune would follow, creating an unhappy existence together with Bae Dong-shin?

Dong-shin thought it was time to escape from his father's herbal medicine shop. Although he was still young, he had been through enough misfortune, and Dong-shin thought it was only right that he, who had suffered so much, should now do what he wanted to do with pride, painting. He helped out at the herbal medicine shop, saved up some money from his father, and set off on his way with his own painting supplies. Dong-shin was only 15 years old.

I packed my supplies to paint a landscape painting in Geumgangsan, but all I had was a sketchbook, an easel, and a few colored pencils. The foolish sketching trip that I took by train, bus, and foot led to an incident that made my father extremely angry, but for Dong-shin, it was the most exciting time of his life, filled with new hope. After finishing the two-week sketching trip, Dong-shin returned home, was caught by his father and scolded and scolded for a long time, and then went back to helping out at the herbal medicine shop. His father was deeply troubled by how to persuade Dong-shin to stop painting, and he kept telling him that he must become a doctor of oriental medicine and that he must not live a difficult life. Dong-shin pretended to follow his father's wishes while helping out at his father's herbal medicine shop, but he never gave up on painting, and instead, he made up his mind to study in earnest and planned to study abroad in Japan. However, whenever he had time, he would make up excuses to his father and go around drawing, but that only quenched Dongshin’s thirst a little and he felt suffocated. He was only regretful of his current situation, and his head was full of thoughts that he had to leave. Dongshin’s father wanted Dongshin to live separately in a herbal medicine shop so that he would not have to live with his stepmother and half-brothers, and wanted Dongshin to become a doctor of oriental medicine and continue his family line so that Dongshin could live comfortably, but Dongshin hated everything about it. Dongshin was ashamed of his situation as he suddenly became the child of a concubine overnight due to his father's behavior. So, as time went by, Dongshin found a breakthrough that would change his thoughts, and that was to draw pictures.

Dongshin had met Park Su-geun, Jang I-seok, and Moon Hak-su several times while traveling around. They recognized Dongshin’s talent and recommended that he study abroad in Japan. Therefore, he now knew for sure what he had to do to become an artist. Lee Je-hak, whom he had met as a customer when he was working at his father’s herbal medicine shop in Yeosu, was a student at Tokyo Medical University in Japan. If he met him and discussed his future with him, he would get the answer. Dongshin returned to Yeosu and diligently helped out at his father’s herbal medicine shop. Now that he had some experience working at the herbal medicine shop, his father was satisfied. He stopped by Je-hak’s house, found out Je-hak’s address in Japan, and wrote to Je-hak, asking him to tell him about his preparations for studying art abroad in Japan. He saved up some money and prepared for his studies while waiting for Je-hak to return during the vacation.

Lee Je-hak returned home during the vacation. Je-hak gave Dong-shin information about the school he had to enroll in in Japan and how to enter Japan. The biggest problem was entering Japan. Je-hak suggested that Dong-shin use his student ID. Dong-shin was touched by his friend’s kind consideration. Je-hak decided to report the loss of his student ID to Tokyo Medical University in Japan, and for now, he made Dong-shin’s student ID by pasting Dong-shin’s photo on the photo space on his current student ID and suggested that they go on a boat. Now, Dong-shin’s dream of studying abroad in Japan is slowly becoming a reality. During Je-hak’s vacation, Dong-shin often met Je-hak and listened intently to his stories about school life in Japan and the area around his school, and talked about Dong-shin’s future life in Japan. Then one day, Je-hak ran to Dong-shin and told him that his new student ID from the Japanese university had arrived, and that he should prepare to leave since vacation was coming to an end and he had to prepare for the next semester. Dongshin was so happy that he waited for the day when he and Jehak could take a boat to Japan.

The way to get to Japan is to stow away using Jehak's ID card. If I tell my father that I will smuggle to Japan, study art, and return as a great artist, my father will absolutely oppose me and do whatever it takes to get in the way, and I will never have another chance. Dong-shin thought. I must go my own way with a determined heart. Only then can I heal the wounds I received from being abandoned by my mother and change my current situation, whether I return to Joseon or stay in Japan. Why on earth did I suddenly fall into the family's lowly class and live under my father? Should I be the only one working at an herbal medicine shop and sacrifice myself for the people who don't even treat me as family? Why should I be sacrificed for people who do not treat me like family? My half-brothers and sisters do not have to work like me. They are living comfortable lives, going to the schools they want to go to with the money my father and I earned. If my mother had been there like she did in Beolgyo, would it have been this hard to go to study abroad in Japan? It was all because of my father’s lies. It was because of my father’s fraudulent marriage. In the wounds of Dongshin, who was abandoned by his mother, there was a mixture of anger, sadness, a miserable sense of inferiority, a victim mentality, and an inexplicable longing.

Dong-shin was 17 years old. He had already opened his eyes to the world after parting ways with his mother. He knew how the women he met while selling medicine at a herbal medicine shop were used by his father’s greed, and he also knew that the 12 years of happiness Dong-shin had thought of in Beolgyo were actually a path to destruction for his mother, Cheon Ok-hee, who had been deceived by his father, Bae Seong-jae. Her mother, Cheon Ok-hee, could not overcome her emotions and left her father's house, creating a shadow of unhappiness, and her father, Bae Seong-jae, completely tore Cheon Ok-hee's life into pieces. However, Cheon Ok-hee also left home at the age of 17 and was ruined, but she was still young and had a long future ahead of her. Whenever Dong-shin thought of his mother out of longing, he would stare at something for a long time as a habit, thinking about his reunion with his mother and what his future would be like. In August 1937, Dong-shin and Je-hak met at Busan Port and stood in a long line waiting to board a passenger ship to Tokyo. Dong-shin planned to pass through the gate first, way ahead of Jae-hak. This is because if Jae-hak stands in line way behind Dong-shin, he can see Dong-shin pass through safely in advance. If he fails, Jae-hak will have to take the next boat. However, if Jae-hak passes through the gate first and Dong-shin's fake ID is discovered, Jae-hak will be trapped on the boat and may be wanted or investigated.

Finally, the line began to move forward. Dongshin followed the person in front of him and slowly took a step forward. Dongshin’s heart pounded as if it was going to burst. When he turned around to look at Jehak to calm down, someone right next to him spoke to him in Japanese, “Are you a student?” Dongshin, startled, replied, “Yes! Well?” with all the Japanese he had studied. He asked again, “What school do you go to?” Dongshin answered without hesitation, “Tokyo Medical University.” Then he looked around at the others and passed by, thinking, “Oh! You’re going to be a doctor.” He was a Japanese police officer working at Busan Port. Dongshin felt his whole body fill with confidence as he brushed away his surprised chest.

The passenger ship carrying Dong-shin and Je-hak arrived safely at the Tokyo Port. The moment Dong-shin set foot on Tokyo soil, he had no worries about his future life in Tokyo, and he was very happy that he had made his decision to leave his past misfortunes behind. However, the beginning of life in Japan was a difficult path where everything was unfamiliar and awkward. At first, Dong-shin unpacked his luggage at Je-hak’s boarding house, lived with him, and enrolled in the art school of his dreams. The art school Dong-shin enrolled in was Kawabata Art School in Tokyo. At the time, it was a five-year art school where many Korean students studied art. It was named after its founder, Kawabata Kyokusho, in 1909. The founder was also a Japanese painter. Kawabata Art School produced many famous Japanese and Korean painters of the time.

Dongshin was encouraged to study in Japan by his senior painters in Joseon, including Park Su-geun, Jang I-seok, and Moon Hak-su, and with the help of his hometown senior, Lee Je-hak, he entered the era of studying in Japan and became friends with many Joseon students studying in Japan, including Lee Jung-seob, Yoo Young-guk, Park Go-seok, and Kim Hwan-ki, as well as many Japanese students who went on to become famous painters in Japan.

Dong-shin's time studying abroad in Japan began with a relatively easy life thanks to the money he had prepared for his studies abroad. While staying in the same boarding house as Je-hak, he received a lot of important help from Je-hak, such as receiving essential information about studying abroad. Je-hak returned to his hometown of Yeosu during vacations, and Dong-shin stayed in Tokyo and devoted himself to studying art. When Je-hak returned after vacations, the two sat down and Je-hak told Dong-shin about his hometown. Two years passed like that, and Je-hak graduated from a Japanese university and left for his hometown. Although he has many other friends now, Je-hak was Dong-shin's closest friend, senior, and helper who had supported him both materially and spiritually from the beginning of his studies abroad in Japan. After parting ways with Je-hak, Dong-shin had to stand alone in Tokyo, and now he encounters yet another change, new adversity, hope, and fateful love.

After Jehak left, Dongshin ran out of money to study abroad, and he had to work at a billiard hall and do whatever he could to make money. He got up at dawn, delivered newspapers, went to school, and after school, did all sorts of work at the dock and billiard hall. It was so hard that he thought about sending a letter to his father and asking for help, but then he suddenly remembered how his father threw away and smashed a plaster statue that he had bought after asking around to study painting at a herbal medicine store. He was telling him to work at the pharmacy so that he could live well. If he put that white ghost-like monster in the pharmacy and drew it, would he make money or a living? He must have been wasting money and time on useless things. Come to your senses, you idiot. He threw all the other art supplies he had acquired with difficulty outside, yelling at him, and he remembered that, so he gave up writing the letter. He knew that asking for help like that would only lead to him getting scolded. So, somehow, after graduating from the school I was attending, I had to make up my mind and endure. In such a difficult situation, I was always hungry and my body was tired. On the other hand, during practical classes at school, I would often give up on drawing and fall asleep while sitting on a chair. One day, a professor who came into the practical class took off his clothes and covered Dong-shin’s back while he was half asleep. The professor covered his lips with his finger and told the students around him to be quiet while he stood there looking at the work Dong-shin had drawn. When Dong-shin woke up in surprise, the professor acknowledged Dong-shin’s skills and encouraged him. Perhaps because of this, Dong-shin was a student who did not lose favor with his classmates as he studied hard to find his own painting skills and formative style even in the midst of his difficult financial struggles. Sometimes, he was treated to lunch by his classmates, and at restaurants, a waitress would serve him food that he had not ordered. Anyway, fortunately, Bae Dong-shin, a hard-working high school student, was neat and polite, and was kind to many people, including his classmates, so there were many people who cared for him and helped him.

"Watanabe Masae" She was attending medical school, but she liked drawing, so she wanted to study drawing, so she went to Kawabata Art School where Dong-shin was attending. She studied in the same class and kept a close eye on Dong-shin. Masae inherited her father's aesthetic genes, who was a professor at an art college. Was that why she recognized Dong-shin's talent? Was it a twist of fate? It was very dangerous to be taking classes in the same class as Dong-shin, to have her eyes on a poor Korean student studying abroad, but she couldn't hide her feelings for Dong-shin. Masae felt sorry for Dong-shin's difficult life, so she packed him a lunch box. Dong-shin also felt the kindness of the beautiful Masae, who had a strange charm, as if it was a gift from God, a reward for her life of struggling to overcome her unfortunate fate, and she suddenly felt a sweet happiness that came over her. Ah! How long has it been since I felt such a warm and lively happiness! However, Dong-shin still has a wound in his heart that has not healed yet, making it difficult for him to simply accept Masae's pure feelings. He remembered the time when he went to visit his younger brother, holding his hand tightly, on a long journey, but was scolded and beaten by his mother, Cheon Ok-hee, whom he believed would welcome him unconditionally, and was kicked out. Dong-shin's instinctive caution, like a puppy with memories of being abandoned, stimulated Masae's maternal love even more. However, Masae's loving kindness gradually healed Dong-shin's sick emotional line, and the two had already crossed the line and fallen in love. Masae made Dong-shin known to her family. The family did not accept Masae's actions or Dong-shin. Masae's father's opposition was so stubborn, but Masae's love for Dong-shin only grew stronger. Masae's family was a family that was a model of Japanese families at the time, pursuing the idea of ​​Japanese supremacy to the point of symbolizing the orthodox "Yamadodamashii" of Japan and respecting manners and dignity. Masae decided to do everything she could to make Dongshin recognized as her husband in her family and to support him so that he could become the best painter in Japan, and tried to get her father's permission, but it didn't work out as she wanted. Even in such a situation, Masae, who loved painting, couldn't just watch Dongshin, a hopeful person like her, collapse from mere financial difficulties. Masae was devoted. Dongshin received all the support from Masae and devoted himself to painting. Then, he followed Masae to Masae's house to greet her several times, but when he returned without being able to enter the main gate, he held Masae's sad hand tightly and promised her. I have to make Masae happy. I will paint only for Masae. And I will definitely succeed. With these promises, the two lovers entered Dongshin's cold boarding house.

Then one day, Dong-shin heard news that would become the stepping stone for his success. He heard about the contest held by the Japan Free Art Creators Association from his classmates and decided to enter the contest. This contest, hosted by the Japan Free Art Creators Association, was the most prestigious contest in Japan at the time as an avant-garde that led to the modernism of Japanese art. It was also a gateway for famous Japanese painters. Meanwhile, Lee Jung-seop and Moon Hak-soo won prizes at the Japan Free Art Creators Association, which helped them establish their pride as Koreans and made them regular members of the Japan Free Art Creators Association. The Japan Free Art Creators Association and the Japan Free Art Creators Association are the largest art competitions in Japan that all Japanese art students aspire to win. Bae Dong-shin completed his work by demonstrating the skills he had honed over the years. The figures in his work were a single, intertwined mass. It was a full, nude woman’s body painted in a pure and noble color scheme with a very unique form. At the point when the painting was completed, Dongshin and Masae looked at the work they had done and hugged each other in an instant, cheering.

When the results of the Japan Free Artists Association's judging were announced, reporters rushed to the second floor of the boarding house where Dongshin and Masae were staying to cover the story. When the first reporter to rush up to congratulate them and ask for their thoughts, other reporters followed suit, and there was no room to stand at the entrance of the boarding house. Each person asked for an interview with their newspaper business card and asked about their thoughts on winning the award.

That day, the evening newspaper reported Dongshin's winning a contest with the title, "A young man from the peninsula blossoms in Ueno." That year, Dongshin was the only Korean student to win a contest held by the Free Art Creators Association, and he became a regular member of the association.

At that time, Japan was being pushed back by the Allied Forces in the Pacific War, and the Japanese security authorities were keeping a strict watch on not only foreigners but also Japanese citizens. Nevertheless, about twenty Korean students gathered to congratulate Dongsin on winning the contest. That day, in a back alley in Ueno, Tokyo, Lee Jung-seob sang Arirang with a trembling voice to congratulate Bae Dong-sin on winning the prize. That day was also a gathering for the unity of patriotic students who had lost their country. It is said that after that meeting, which was centered around Lee Jung-seob and Moon Jae-soo, the exchanges among the students there became much more active, as they shared art supplies that they lacked. In this way, Dongsin graduated from Kawabata.

That year, Masae was pregnant with Dongshin's child and she couldn't stop thinking about informing her father of her marriage to her husband Dongshin and getting his permission as a son-in-law in the family.

Masae always asked Dongshin to meet Masae's father together according to her will, if only for the sake of the child's fate. And Masae begged her father to accept Dongshin, who had won a prize in a contest and was a proud member of the Free Artists Association in the Japanese art world, into her family, but her father stubbornly refused to open the door every time. Masae hoped that Dongshin would be protected by her family and achieve greater success, but she desperately needed her family's approval because she thought that it would be difficult for a Korean to succeed in Japan without the help of her family. That's why she had to return to the boarding house with heavy steps every time.

At the end of World War II, Allied bombers flew across the night sky of Tokyo, and shells exploded. Tokyo was turning into a city of terror that it had never experienced before. Dongshin and Masae had a son, "Yong". He became a regular member of the Japan Free Artists Association, and now dreamed of success while traveling all over the Japanese art world, but he couldn't tell when or where a bomb would fall and explode, and he had nowhere to rely on in Japan, where he had raised a family, so he thought he had to get out of Japan. Dongshin decided to take Masae and his son to the dangerous Japan and return to his hometown.

In 1944, Dong-shin returned to his hometown with his wife and children on a ship that he had difficulty finding. He heard that his father was running a herbal medicine shop in Yeongsanpo, Jeolla Province, and left Masae and Yong at the Yeongsanpo Inn to visit his father’s herbal medicine shop. Dong-shin greeted his father. Dong-shin’s father, Seong-jae, who met his son who had returned from studying in Japan, asked his son. What did you study in Japan? Dong-shin answered. Yes, I studied art. What? You went all the way to Japan to learn painting just to be a swindler? You should learn something useful, but you are a useless person. He told him to get out of here. Dong-shin’s father, Seong-jae, had a deep-rooted sense of betrayal toward his son, who had abandoned his intention to pass down his business to Dong-shin and ran away.

Dong-shin had Masae expelled from Japan, and upon returning to Joseon, he was also expelled by his father. At the time, Yeongsanpo was an important base on the Jeolla-do sea route, forming a large market bustling with merchants. Still, Dong-shin set foot on his vibrant hometown, and spent the travel expenses he had prepared generously for Masae in Japan, and enjoyed the clear scenery of his homeland with his beloved wife and son. After spending a few days there, he happened to hear news of Cheon Ok-hee’s mother. She was living in Naju. Dong-shin’s heart ached when he heard the news of his mother. And Dong-shin’s heart was filled with longing, and he wanted to see her.

Naju is a region right next to Yeongsanpo. For Dongshin, it was Naju, where he was kicked out by his mother when he was young, and where he walked a path of a sad and tragic fate. Dongshin recalled those old memories and said to himself, "Going to see my mother, Cheon Ok-hee, really!... Fateful relationships don't linger far away."

Dong-shin met his mother. It had been 16 years since he last saw his mother when he was 13. However, Dong-shin and his mother, Cheon Ok-hee, recognized each other right away.

The atmosphere between the two was really awkward. Then Dong-shin called his mother. He just cried without realizing it. His mother also hugged Dong-shin and cried.

The two of them cried for a long time, caressing each other again and again. That day, Dong-shin could feel the scent of his mother whom he had missed so much. However, the last trace of anger did not disappear from Dong-shin’s heart. Masae watched the mother and son reunion while holding her young son Yong tightly.

With the reunion with his mother, Dong-shin was able to provide his wife Masae with a stable and normal home for the first time at his mother Cheon Ok-hee's house. Naju is a region right next to Gwangju and is now part of Gwangju Metropolitan City. The place where he lived with his mother, Masae, and young son Yong was "Geumsan-myeon" in Naju. At the time, it was the place where Geumjeongsan Mountain and the nameless Hwangto Mountain, which Dong-shin enjoyed painting because of their clear scenery, were located. Unlike the gloomy atmosphere of Tokyo, the clear and refreshing scenery of that place opened Dong-shin's vision to a refreshing and cool atmosphere. And it tempted Dong-shin's gaze with a completely different appearance every time the season changed. Dong-shin suddenly wanted to capture the mountains and fields of the Namdo, which change from moment to moment, on his canvas with his own emotions. Dong-shin interpreted the essence of the subject he wanted to paint with a sense of form. And he deformed it. He filled the center of the screen with the shape (shape) of the object composed in such a completely different and unique way, creating an absolute composition. This is Dongshin's aesthetic philosophy, which rejects the ambiguous dissatisfaction of the golden ratio. On the other hand, Dongshin's insistence on a composition that seeks perfect stability shows the confidence that was created as a reaction to Dongshin's passive real life in his paintings. He tried to express the dissatisfaction with the instability that existed inside him as the most complete stability in his works.

Dongshin's mother, Cheon Ok-hee, left the house in Beolgyo where she had lived for 12 years, where she had found out that she had been deceived by Dongshin's father, Seongjae, and lived in the house of her younger brother who had married here in Naju. She then opened a gomtang restaurant in Naju and became independent. Meanwhile, Cheon Ok-hee married a new spouse and had another child with a different surname from Dongshin. Cheon Ok-hee's new husband worked at a Japanese trading company. With her husband's salary, Cheon Ok-hee lived an easy life until she was discharged from the army. Meanwhile, Dongshin was able to live in that house with Masae because Cheon Ok-hee had just acquired a small shack with the income she earned from running the gomtang restaurant. She met Dongshin's wife and children and learned about their situation in advance, and because she felt sorry for Dongshin and felt sorry for him, she thought it was right to let Dongshin's family live there rather than renting it out to someone else. Moreover, Japan was in the final stages of World War II, forcibly conscripting young Koreans and sending them to the battlefield. Dongshin was also a target of conscription. However, Dongshin’s biological mother, Cheon Ok-hee, had arranged for a conscript officer to help Dongshin avoid conscription, citing the fact that her son would be hired as an art teacher and that he would have to support his Japanese wife and children. Dongshin reportedly learned of this fact only after meeting his younger brother, Donghee, who had secretly heard about his biological mother’s care for him. However, whenever he met his younger brother, Dongshin would always raise his voice and express his dissatisfaction by pointing out his biological mother’s faults one by one. Dongshin was introduced to the Japanese Study Abroad Alumni Association and became an art teacher at Jeonnam Girls’ High School. This event also led to the most fateful encounter in Dongshin's life.

Just before liberation, Dongshin taught at Seojung High School and Wookgo Girls (Jeonnam Girls' High School) in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do. At the time, there was a shortage of art teachers, so one teacher had to teach at several schools. In the midst of this, while Dongshin was a fun and friendly teacher to his students, he was also a headache administratively. For example, he would jump out the window and enter the classroom during class, or he would lecture on Western art history while sitting at the podium talking to students during class. Or, he would draw faces of people on the blackboard, from the principal to the janitor, and write down their nicknames, and then he would tell interesting art stories in his own way, making him extremely popular with his students as a very entertaining teacher. One day, while we were teaching as usual, there was a day when a superintendent from the central office came to inspect each classroom to check the class situation. Even though we were strictly instructed by the principal's office to strictly discipline the teachers' attitudes in class, we were still sitting on the podium and waving our feet in the air while teaching as usual, when the superintendent, the principal, and other class inspectors rushed in.

However, Dong-shin continued his lecture by just sitting on the desk and swinging his feet back and forth in a funny way, and even though the classroom suddenly became empty, he shamelessly continued his art history lecture as if it were normal. At that moment, the principal was embarrassed by the absurdity of Dong-shin and tried to lead the superintendent out of the classroom by grabbing his arm, but the superintendent resisted and looked at him for a long time as if it was new to him and that he was seeing such a rare class for the first time. There was also an incident where he motioned for the class to continue and left the classroom with his group. After that, Bae Dong-shin was designated as the problematic teacher and became the subject of the principal's surveillance, but such things continued to happen as usual wherever Dong-shin passed by.

One day, it was the school's opening anniversary. It was the most important day of the year, when parents, external guests, and educational figures were invited. Therefore, the school thoroughly prepared for the event by planning and practicing various events for a month in advance. The highlights of the important events that day were a choir concert and a play. The choir sang several songs with piano accompaniment, and when the choir finished, the curtain fell between the piano on the stage close to the audience and the choir behind the piano. The piano player was visible, and the choir exited behind the curtain, which was not visible to the audience. While the audience was watching Chopin's piano piece being played by the piano player, the stage for the play had to be set up behind the curtain. Then, when the piano performance was over, the curtain rose and the first scene of the play appeared, and the play had to begin. The piano player who decorated the finale of the concert that day was Kim Yeon-gyu, a 4th grade student. At that time, the Japanese colonial era education system was operated as a 6-year system that combined middle school and high school. Kim Yeon-gyu was the only piano-playing student at that school, Wookgo Girls’ High School (Jeonnam Girls’ High School). And the stage director who had to prepare the next play was Dong-shin, an art teacher. However, the incident that should not have happened that day was triggered by the appearance of Kim In-gyu, a close friend of Dong-shin’s during his time studying abroad in Japan. Kim In-gyu heard that Bae Dong-shin was teaching at this school and came from far away to visit. That day just so happened to be the school’s anniversary, the day Dong-shin was assigned as the stage director. However, Dong-shin was so happy that he took In-gyu to a restaurant in front of the school and drank while talking about the things that happened during his time studying abroad. He had forgotten everything while doing that.

And at school, the last part of the piano performance was being played on the concert stage. At that moment, pianist Kim Yeon-gyu was the first to sense the strange atmosphere on the stage. It was not the stage of the play that had been practiced repeatedly, but a stage that was so messy that it seemed like something big was going to happen. However, it was too late, and the play had already started. The props on the stage were not placed properly, so the actors were running around, sound effects were playing out of control, the curtains on the stage were not properly lowered and then suddenly raised again, and there were many strange scenes such as the hangings falling. The stage of the play without the stage director was like a ship without a captain who was caught in a storm. The play finally ended and the curtain closed. Kim Yeon-gyu, who witnessed that situation, remembered that day as the most shocking thing that had ever happened to her. She spent a while thinking about why the teacher who had been so devoted to practicing suddenly disappeared today and created such a mess on the stage. Meanwhile, Dong-shin was busy singing and dancing happily at a restaurant right in front of the school, not even realizing that the play was ending, and was having a really fun drinking party with a friend he hadn't seen in a long time. When Dong-shin and In-gyu were about to finish their exciting drinking party, Dong-shin suddenly had a thought in his head, "Why am I here, leaving the stage empty?" And then he collapsed.

The next day, Dong-shin had no choice but to resign without hesitation. So Dong-shin and In-gyu drank again.

Dongshin thought. I am a useless person except for drawing. He lamented his own inability to live well in society, and felt sorry for his family. Masae’s disappointed expression and his son’s face came to mind. And he remembered his father’s words, saying that living while drawing meant carrying a fate of starvation with no future. Now, he thought that it was not just him who would starve, but his entire family would starve.

Dong-shin left In-gyu and hurriedly went home. At home, Masae was waiting for Dong-shin with her eldest son Yong-i. Masae said that her mother had brought Dong-shin side dishes while he was away, and she set the table for Dong-shin. She then sat down next to him and asked him to tell her what had happened outside. Dong-shin told her about what had happened when he went to school and complained about his incompetence, saying that he couldn’t be a teacher. Masae listened to what Dong-shin had to say and said to Dong-shin, “Do what you want to do. You were born to draw, so you should draw. The reason you can’t be a teacher is because you can only draw and can’t do anything else,” and comforted Dong-shin. Dong-shin seemed to be encouraged by Masae’s words and hugged Masae, saying, “Ma-chan!! You are the only one who knows my true feelings!” and rejoiced like a little child. Masae’s lips seemed to smile as she looked at Dong-shin, but Masae couldn’t help but worry about Dong-shin, her family’s livelihood, and her son’s future. Whenever Masae saw her husband Dongshin no longer going to school and just standing around the mountains and fields of Naju, staring blankly at the sky for a long time, she thought that he was starting to draw in his head. Masae looked at her husband and thought that we were happy now anyway.

Dongshin promised himself that he would paint wonderful pictures for his wife Masae, who understood and trusted him. He matched countless subjects and his own emotional lines with those on the canvas, sketching or croquis of the nature of the place, the scenery, his wife's face, people passing by or gathered together, barking dogs, cows, calves, images in his head, and even himself. He showed them to Masae and asked her what she thought of the pictures he had drawn. Masae told Dongshin what she thought about them, and the two of them spent each day lovingly embracing each other in their hearts.

Dongshin thought that the paintings he would paint had to be watercolors. Among the oil paintings and watercolors he had learned while studying abroad in Japan, he thought that watercolors would be the best way to express the atmosphere of his hometown’s climate and natural forms that were transparent, clean, and refreshing. He wanted to paint with watercolors, using a brush that was rich in moisture enough to make the colors of watercolors faintly show through the empty space of his hometown, and pouring them out onto the paper in a flowing state from the palette, or by crushing the primary colors of watercolors with clear and vivid saturation to bring out the contrast, emphasize the sense of form, and find balance. Dongshin was obsessed with this thought.

Then one day, Dong-shin received good news. At a time when there was a shortage of teachers for all subjects, there was an even greater shortage of art majors, but Dong-shin was a special person who had studied abroad and majored in art, but had been kicked out of school. Dong-shin received an offer to become an art teacher at Dong-jung High School in Gwangju. For Dong-shin, who had no other job than drawing for a while, being offered a teaching position again was a very good thing. Jang Jun-hwan, who was the principal of Dong-jung High School at the time, saw Dong-shin as an artist with pure humanity, and a person with artistic talent unlike ordinary teachers. That was why he thought that he sometimes acted unrealistically.. However, I called Dongshin an art teacher because I thought he was a teacher who could inspire creative thinking in the students he taught. However, Dongshin was worried.

He was no longer confident in his teaching profession. Dongshin decided to focus solely on drawing and informed Masae of his intentions once more.

Masae thought it was a pity to turn down the opportunity to make a stable living. However, she thought that she was the only one who should respect Dongshin's artistic spirit, and she should not let Dongshin hesitate. When Masae agreed to her idea, Dongshin's heart felt free like a flock of crows flying in the sky and was filled with excitement. Dongshin left the house in a hurry, telling Masae that he would visit for a while. Then, on the day of the school's founding anniversary, he drank like crazy and went to see Kim In-gyu, the mastermind who had caused him to be kicked out of his art teacher position. Kim In-gyu was a senior Hwawoo who had shared his difficulties with Dongshin in Tokyo and relied on each other. That day, Kim In-gyu had come to Dongshin to ask for help because of extreme financial difficulties. He had to feed his wife and children. He had six young children. He had come to see Dongshin, hoping that he would be able to find a teaching position like Dongshin. But he was already blaming himself for cutting off Dongshin's teaching skills. Dong-shin went to meet Kim In-gyu with the intention of handing over the art teacher position he had been offered to In-gyu, and through Dong-shin's introduction, In-gyu met with Principal Jang Jun-hwan and was hired as a teacher at Gwangju Dong High School.

During his study abroad, Dong-shin believed that the expression of art was the true crystallization of the era and the key to opening the future. And he was obsessed with how to draw pictures, thinking that art should be something new that he discovered that was not included anywhere else. And he thought that rather than becoming an artist, Dong-shin Bae, he should develop his own creative aesthetic philosophy as an artist. Dong-shin was always alone, mumbling and searching for something.

There is no answer. When will my war with my tiring agony end? Well, with these thoughts, I would exhaust myself and fall asleep, then suddenly get up and go for a walk or have a drink. But then, Dongshin thought that in order to paint, one must always treat everything with a clean mind and honest emotions, and not be caught up in the ups and downs of joy and sorrow.

On August 15, 1945, the World War ended with Japan's unconditional surrender, and Korea was liberated. Japan was mercilessly destroyed by the Allied Forces' merciless bombing, and fell to the status of a defeated nation. The voice of the Japanese Emperor reading the surrender document was broadcast to the entire world via the radio. Masae listened to the broadcast and cried endlessly. Dongshin comforted his wife, Masae. Since Masae's family pursued the orthodox Japanese "Yamatodamashii" Japanese supremacy, Masae also had Japanese pride through her family's upbringing. Dongshin guessed at the shock his wife had received. This was because Dongshin could not forget the memory of having consoled her sorrow in the midst of a ruling country as a colony that had lost its country. The world, like human affairs, is a "blessed and blessed" world.

Liberation brought change to Dongshin’s family and her mother, Cheon Ok-hee. Japanese who had established a livelihood in Joseon fled back to their home country, and Koreans who had worked there as employees either lost their jobs or took over their jobs and became rich. Cheon Ok-hee’s husband lost his job and became unemployed. Now, Cheon Ok-hee could no longer afford to take care of Dongshin’s family. Dongshin had to support her family on her own. She sold apples. When she had time, she would put unsold apples on a tray and draw or eat them. There was a place called “Bia” next to Naju, and her father’s large orchard was there.

Donghwa, Dongshin's half-brother born from his father Seongjae and stepmother Jo Okjin, guarded the orchard and harvested fruits such as apples, pears, plums, and peaches.

Dongsin would receive fruits there, load them on his bicycle, and travel from neighborhood to neighborhood to sell them. However, Donghwa was greedy and would not give Dongsin the money he received from his younger brother’s sales, but would only repeat that he would pay him tomorrow. Dongsin was angry, but he continued to sell fruits because he could freely choose expensive fruits with fleshy flesh, good color, and voluminous seeds, such as apples and peaches, to paint. Many of Dongsin’s works are still lifes. However, he did not paint any other fruits, and there were many still lifes of apples and peaches.

When Dongshin drew still lifes, he gathered apples and peaches and arranged them in groups of five or six or seven or eight on a tray. And just like when he was a child and played by examining things alone, he stared at them for days and days. Then, he enjoyed smelling the fruit when it was crushed and rotted. It was a process in which Dongshin studied the essence of composition while examining the form of still lifes.

One day, while Dong-shin was painting, Masae came running into the house, carrying her son Yong-i on her back, crying. Dong-shin was surprised, hugged Masae, and asked why. Masae cried and said that while she was standing in front of the gate carrying Yong-i, the children were pelting her with stones, calling her a Japanese woman, and she was almost hit by stones. Dong-shin was shocked and hurriedly looked outside, but the children had all run away, and a few women were standing there, clicking their tongues and looking this way. Dong-shin and Masae went into the room and stared at each other for a long time in silence, sharing their despair. Then the two decided to leave the neighborhood. It had been three years since Dong-shin had brought Masae from Japan and lived at his mother’s house.

Dongshin moved his family to Yeongsanpo and got a part-time job as an art teacher. Dongshin traveled around Yeongsanpo, Naju, Gwangju, and Songjeong-ri, making friends and searching for subjects for his paintings. The scenery of these places was filled with natural scenery and images that each suited Dongshin’s artistic style, so it was as if he had a rich storehouse of paintings in his heart, and paintings would come out whenever he opened the door. Ah, here, the paintings drawn by Dongshin, the son of Namdo, depict the light and wind of his hometown, and the landscapes and people, and he drew a fantasy that they were hanging on a canvas in a distant other world, and Dongshin opened his artistic heart as a painter and savored the great nature of Namdo and devoted himself to creating his works.

On June 16, 1947, Dongshin held his first solo exhibition. However, Bae Dongshin's first solo exhibition was a failure. No one recognized Bae Dongshin's watercolors. The public, as well as artists, only spread sarcastic rumors about Dongshin's watercolor solo exhibition, saying that some crazy guy painted on paper in Gwangju and hung it on the wall. However, that art exhibition is recorded as the first art exhibition held in Jeolla Province.

Dong-shin was poor, but he had many friends from all walks of life. He liked drinking, and he was kind and generous, and he knew how to be considerate of others and create a cheerful and enjoyable atmosphere. People around him liked him and envied his artistic temperament. He made friends with many different professions: poets, politicians, office workers, reporters, professors, prosecutors, judges, doctors, musicians, directors, film directors, photographers, cooks, police officers, pastors, priests, monks, and carpenters. Among them, Dong-shin's close friend Lee Won-jae was from Beolgyo and was a reporter for the Dong-A Ilbo culture section in Seoul. He liked Dong-shin's philosophy and paintings, and met Dong-shin several times to cover local artists. And when the newspaper suggested an exhibition, Dong-shin was thrilled. He sent dozens of paintings to Seoul, thinking that his first exhibition would be a success in the central city of Seoul. A few days later, the Korean War broke out. Meanwhile, around that time, Dong-shin gave birth to his second son, "Un," in Gwangju. And life continued to get harder. His father's prophecy was right. "If you paint, you won't be able to support yourself, let alone your family." As he said, Dong-shin's circumstances were very difficult, and his wife Masae could not raise the children and support Dong-shin without a penny. There was no way to live on the part-time teacher's wages that Dong-shin was taking. Masae, who could not even speak Korean properly, had no choice but to step forward to help out. All she had to do was carry bricks. Dong-shin had only thought about the peaceful world, met new people, drank alcohol, and talked. However, he could not just watch Masae, who wanted to solve his financial difficulties, carry a child on her back and carry bricks. Dong-shin thought that he should move to Jindo. During that time, he had been asked to take the position of art teacher at Jindo Middle School by Sojeon Son Jae-hyung, the master of Korean calligraphy, but he had held off because he did not want to go to the island. However, he had decided that he had no choice now. Dong-shin took Masae, the three-year-old, and the newborn children and went to Jindo, a small island in the southern part of the country.

At that time, Sojeon Son Jae-hyung was one of the few true supporters of Dongsin who recognized and respected the painting world of Dongsin, who was a junior of his. One time, many artists gathered together for a banquet and introduced Dongsin, and it is said that he personally wrote a signboard for Dongsin that read “Dongsin Hwaju,” which made everyone in attendance envious. Sojeon suggested that he meet Dongsin in his study with the writing he had written. 

Meanwhile, Dongshin sent the painting to Lee Wonjae for an exhibition in Seoul at Lee Wonjae’s suggestion, and Bae Dongshin’s exhibition was scheduled to open in Seoul two months later. Dongshin safely moved his family to Jindo and was touring around here and there, intoxicated by the clean air and scenery of Jindo, when he heard news that war had broken out and troops were coming down from the north.

Dongshin spent the period when the Korean War broke out and the entire country was embroiled in war with his family in Jindo without any trouble. There was no great disturbance in Jindo during the war. For Dongshin, who painted there, the hardships of life were not limited to the Dongshin family. However, Dongshin sometimes remembered the 100 or so paintings he had sent to Seoul, and he wanted the war to end quickly and find out where the paintings were. However, even after the war ended, there was no trace of the paintings. During that time, Dongshin had two daughters and was about to have another son. Dongshin and Masae had five children in total. When Dongshin moved to Gwangju with his family again, it was a year after the war ended. During that time, many things had changed due to the scars left by the war, and life was indescribably miserable. Dongshin’s family was also having a hard time enduring these days. In the midst of all this, the National Student Competition hosted by the Japanese University Alumni Association was established in Gwangju. Dongshin served as a judge, and the contest was held for five years before being abolished.

One day, Dongshin was rushed to the Gwangju Red Cross Hospital with severe abdominal pain and was admitted. The diagnosis was acute liver cirrhosis. Masae's suffering in Korea was very painful.

The future of the children was also bleak. Dong-shin was lying in the hospital, and he took care of her alone, unable to sleep. The director of the Red Cross Hospital was Dong-shin's brother-in-law, Kim Ki-chang (the husband of his youngest sister). Dong-shin's father, Bae Seong-jae, hated Dong-shin. Furthermore, he didn't want his son-in-law to take care of him because of his child. He told Kim Ki-chang to send Dong-shin away as soon as he thought he had recovered. At his father-in-law's request, Ki-chang had a nurse move Dong-shin to a general ward and charge him for the hospital bill. Knowing that Dong-shin couldn't pay the hospital bill, he created a situation where he had to stay in the hospital. Around that time, Dong-shin's hospitalization was reported in the newspaper. Many of Dong-shin's acquaintances came to visit him after hearing the news. Dong-shin's hospital room was crowded with acquaintances who came to visit him. While Masae was worrying about the hospital bill, one day, a woman came to greet Masae while holding her hand. She was Kim Yeon-gyu, a student of Bae Dong-shin. She was said to be the student who played the piano on the school's anniversary. And he handed over a white envelope. Then he immediately turned his gaze towards the bed where Dongshin was visible. At that time, Dongshin was talking to another visitor on the inner bed. Kim Yeon-gyu suddenly avoided the bed in the narrow hospital room and greeted Dongshin, who was half-lying down, while cutting off the conversation he was having with someone. Dr. Bae! I found out in the newspaper that you were hospitalized. It seems you’ve gotten a lot better! Your wife seems to be very worried. After finishing his greetings in one breath, he held out his white hand. Huh!!? Who are you? Dongshin grabbed Kim Yeon-gyu’s hand and sat up from his half-lying body. Yes, I greeted your wife too. Huh? How do you know my wife? Dongshin asked, looking even more puzzled.

Ah! Yes, on our school anniversary, your wife came to see a play with your child, and I guided her to the auditorium. I thought your wife must have been anxious because you hadn’t been seen that day, but… Ah! That happened! A lot of time has passed since then. I remember you too. You’re the student who played the piano back then! If I look closely, your face is popping up! Dong-shin looked closely at Yeon-gyu’s face and said. You played the piano so well that I remember you!

Kim Yeon-gyu, right? Haha. He was the first from that school to be accepted to Seoul National University of Music. Where are you now? Yes, you are a music teacher at a girls' high school. Haha. Masae interrupted Yeon-gyu and Dong-shin's conversation this time. Oh no. This person, Do-woo-shin (Dong-shin).. Ah! I remember going to see a play at school 10 years ago. While talking to Dong-shin, he suddenly turned to Yeon-gyu and thanked him. Thank you.

Kim Yeon-gyu was born in Songjeong-ri, Jeollanam-do in 1927 as the third daughter of the fourth of seven children, with an older brother and younger brother on top and bottom, to her father Kim Hyung-ju and mother Go Myeong-ju. Yeon-gyu's father was born in Joseon and received a modern education in Japan. He was a pro-Japanese collaborator who worked as the vice president of a company similar to the current Korea Land Corporation. However, Yeon-gyu's father Kim Hyung-ju valued the education of his children and ignored the educational discrimination against women at the time, and had all five daughters graduate from high school.

Among them, Yeon-gyu insisted on her own stubbornness and persuaded her parents to go to college and major in piano. However, after graduating from college, she had to get married to a person chosen by her strict father. And after only a few months, she got divorced and became a divorced mother with a young daughter.

After the Korean War, everyone had a hard time. Masae, who came to Korea with only Dongshin in mind, had a harder life. She wanted to do something good for her husband and children.

However, everything did not go as planned. He set out to earn money for his family, but because of his awkward pronunciation, he was always frustrated by racial discrimination. Finally, Dong-shin gave up his pride and met his father, Seong-jae, for the sake of Masae and his young children. Seong-jae gave Dong-shin a few pennies and suggested that he work at a herbal medicine shop.

Dongshin's pride was rekindled then. He silently bowed his head and handed the money he received to Masae. Dongshin had another daughter (Hwaja). Masae's worries only grew. Would Dongshin be able to succeed as a painter in Korea? Masae saw greater love and hope in the paintings Dongshin drew. However, she could not recognize Dongshin here yet. Dongshin had to succeed before it was too late for the sake of her children's future. Masae told Dongshin to go to Japan again. Dongshin did not want to. But Masae kept nagging Dongshin. Masae said, "Dowshin (Dongshin), you are a recognized painter in Japan. No one here will recognize your wonderful paintings. And for the sake of our children, we have to go back to Japan. We have suffered enough here." "I want to stop now so that they will recognize you and for the sake of our children's future." Dongshin was troubled. He had just discovered a painting that matched the scenery of the southern provinces well with his watercolors. I have to become a painter!! If I have to go the way of a father and husband now, what was I until now? Dong-shin understood Masae’s feelings so well. But Dong-shin thought again. Isn’t it different from the essence of our love for each other? What has changed now? Is this reality? Why does reality block my path like this? Dong-shin and Masae had three sons and two daughters: the eldest son (Yong) in 1943, when he debuted in the Japanese art world, the second son (Un) in 1947, when he had his first solo exhibition in Korea, the third son (Myeong-ja) in 1950, when the Korean War broke out, the third son (Hwa-ja) in 1954, and four years later in 1958 (Du-seong). Dong-shin loved Masae and the children as always. And he believed that Masae truly loved her work. However, Masae desperately wanted her family to be happy together.

One day, a woman came to see Masae. She was Kim Yeon-gyu. The two of them had an unusual expression. They had talked a lot. After their long conversation, Masae decided to leave Korea. It was a few months after the birth of her youngest son, Du-seong. Now, she was about to end her journey with Dong-shin, who had been pure. Dong-shin could not stop Masae’s firm decision. The passion of the two, which was clear and eventful, tried to go against the rough waves of the world, but eventually sank into the foam of the storm. In 1963, Masae arrived in Japan with her five children. Japan had already escaped the crisis of collapse and was entering the ranks of advanced countries. Masae and her children were all taken in by Masae’s “Watanabe” family. Then, they got an apartment and started a new life in Tokyo with their children. A few years later, Masae changed all of her children’s surnames to Masae’s surname, “Watanabe,” and decided to live as Japanese. However, the second son, "Un", refused to change his name and insisted on Korean citizenship.

This happened when Dong-shin, who had become weaker and weaker, was hospitalized for six months under Masae's care. Kim Yeon-gyu provided living expenses and sent her maid, who he had brought with him, soybean soup and health food every day. Thanks to this, Dong-shin was able to regain his energy. Yeon-gyu occasionally met Masae at the hospital and had deep conversations in Japanese. Yeon-gyu felt a strong curiosity about how Masae Watanabe, a typical Japanese woman and daughter of a family that upheld the spirit of "Yamado Damashii" that symbolizes Japan, could throw away her life for Bae Dong-shin, a Korean. And he was endlessly drawn to this interest, which seemed like an inexplicable inevitability. When a dignified woman he had first met in the hallway in high school asked him in Japanese for directions to the auditorium, he wondered who she could be.

When Yeon-gyu heard the rumor that she was the Japanese wife of art teacher Bae Dong-shin, he remembered being drawn into her curiosity. Masae also felt a sense of familiarity, as if she was meeting a friend and talking to him for the first time when she followed Dong-shin to Korea and lived there. Yeon-gyu was 27 years old. Masae had the illusion that she was seeing her past self in Yeon-gyu, who was 7 years younger than her. Yeon-gyu liked Dong-shin’s paintings. When Dong-shin’s first solo exhibition was held at the student center, Yeon-gyu went to see Dong-shin’s paintings with his best friend, Won-yeong Kook (an obstetrician and gynecologist). Whenever he met Won-yeong, he would recall the paintings he had seen that day and talk about teacher Bae Dong-shin. Masae was so happy to hear that he liked her husband’s paintings. She also wanted to meet Yeon-gyu’s friend who liked Dong-shin’s paintings. Yeon-gyu remembered the portrait of a woman he had seen at the exhibition and asked about the history of the painting. Oh! That painting was a painting of me. I have always been my husband’s exclusive model. The subject matter of Dongshin's paintings is always fixed. The mountains are Mt. Mudeung, the still lifes are apples and peaches, and the models for the people are all me. Hohoho... It had been so long since I had seen Masae smile like that. Dongshin was lying in his hospital bed that day, pretending to be asleep and closing his eyes to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Dong-shin was discharged from the hospital. Dong-shin went around to various places to express his gratitude to those who visited the hospital, and came to the girls' high school where Yeon-gyu was a music teacher. He came to see Yeon-gyu and Han Yi-jik. Han Yi-jik had been a teacher at Jeonnam Girls' High School with Dong-shin, and is currently the principal of the girls' high school Yeon-gyu attends. He came to express his gratitude to him as well. Dong-shin, Yeon-gyu, and Han Yi-jik had lunch and chatted at a Chinese restaurant next to the school. After finishing the meal, Han Woo-jik left first. Dong-shin thanked Yeon-gyu sincerely and also conveyed Masae's greetings. Dong-shin still looked gaunt, but as always, he entertained Yeon-gyu with his cheerful and sparkling wit. Dong-shin suddenly made a very serious expression and said. Mr. Kim... Masae said that... Mr. Kim also said that he wanted to be my model. Is that true? He asked. Oh my!? Hohohoho... Did your wife really say that? "Well... my wife was talking about Mr. Kim," Dongshin said, imitating Masae's voice and saying, "Do-shin (Dongshin)... you must never use Mr. Kim Yeon-gyu as your model. Remember that!!" Huh! Hahahaha... Hohohoho... The two parted ways after laughing heartily.

A few days later, Principal Han Yi-jik, who had lunch with Yeon-gyu that day, asked Yeon-gyu to meet him in the principal’s office because he had something to talk about. Principal Han Yi-jik was Yeon-gyu’s high school Korean teacher, and he respected and cared for Yeon-gyu Kim as a student and as a musician. He was also a great teacher who treated Yeon-gyu Kim as a special guest teacher at the school where he was the principal, using the fact that he was the first piano major in Jeolla Province to graduate from Seoul National University. Yeon-gyu entered the principal’s office, greeted Han Yi-jik, and asked, “What’s going on?” It was none other than Mr. Bae Dong-shin. He wanted to teach art at our school, so I wanted Mr. Kim to meet him, talk to him, and bring him over. What if Mr. Kim made some time? Oh! Yes. Principal, that sounds like a good idea! I’ll go and talk to him. Yeon-gyu felt so good that he was the one to deliver this good news. He thought he had to meet Masae first.

One Saturday afternoon, Yeon-gyu stopped by a bakery to pack up some castella for a gift and went to Dong-shin’s house to visit Masae. He called out, “Is Mr. Bae Dong-shin here?” as he stood in front of a shabby shack that looked like a Japanese-style shop on the side of the road at the foot of the hill in Yangnim-dong. He could hear children talking inside. He knocked on the sliding door with glass windows and tried to shout out loud once more, but Masae’s voice answered, “Hi, hi,” from inside. The sliding glass door, which was like a front door, slid open and Masae, wearing a white towel on her head, poked her face out. When Yeon-gyu saw her, she greeted him in Japanese, took off the towel on her head, and asked him to wait a moment, closing the door. When Masae said something inside, the children were seen running around and playing. After a while, Masae made a friendly gesture for him to come in and took his hand. As soon as you enter the house, you can take off your shoes and step on the floor, and beyond the threshold connected by a sliding door, there is a space that seems to be divided into two halves, and judging by the easel and chair on the window side that lets in plenty of light, I thought that this must be where Dongshin paints. The children stood side by side, pressed as close as possible to the opposite wall, watching Nyeongyu and Masae’s movements and giggling at each other.

Yes.. I feel better when you say it’s a good thing. Masae also smiled. The high school I go to is hiring Mr. Bae as an art teacher. So the principal told me to go and talk to him directly and get his permission. I thought I should talk to his wife first and get his permission. I wonder what Mr. Bae thinks, so tell his wife and tell him to teach art classes to our students. When I was a student, Mr. Bae’s art classes were the most popular among the students. Yeon-gyu told Masae about his school days when Dong-shin was teaching. Masae and Yeon-gyu laughed together. At first glance, Masae’s face looked anxious and dark. But my husband hates teaching students at school.

Huh? Why? Of course I teach students, but… more than that, I have to send the kids to school and get what they need… Yeon-gyu’s expression also became distorted. Please explain it well, ma’am. Mr. Bae's health has recovered a lot now, and he will need a larger studio, so I think he will agree.

Dongshin came home late that night after drinking. Masae took off Dongshin's clothes and socks, laid him down next to the two of them while they were sleeping, covered him with a blanket, and stared at Dongshin's face for a long time, lost in thought. If only our whole family could go and live in Japan! If only you, Dowooshin, would allow it, our family's future would be bright. And the time we spent loving each other and coming here together would be a good experience to settle down in Japan, so we could live happily before anyone else. If we show your paintings in Japan, it's clear that you will become a famous artist who is respected in the neighborhood. We must take our children back to Japan and educate them, and do the important work for our children. I'm sorry, Dowooshin. You think differently, but it's a shame that I'm the only one who thinks that way. I think you would definitely reject what Mr. Kim Yeon-gyu said this afternoon. Ah.. Ah.. Then how can our children really dream of the future? Please just accept that. Dowooshin.. I love you..

The next day, Dongshin seemed to have had a relatively moderate amount of alcohol. Dongshin sat down with the children at the breakfast table that Masae had prepared for him. On the table were soybean paste soup, soybean paste cucumber kimchi, and barley rice in a large bowl. On one side of the table was the castella cake that Kim Yeongyu had brought yesterday, still unwrapped. Castella cake in fancy packaging on top of the poor man’s shabby table… It was one of Masae’s favorite foods in Japan. Masae seemed to be silently protesting against Dongshin this morning. Masae felt sorry for the children and spoke to Dongshin in a trembling voice. We’ll talk about the details after dinner. Then she carefully removed the wrapper from the castella cake and opened the box. The children’s eyes followed Masae’s fingers, sparkling. Masae cut the castella cake into pieces for each person, dividing them into their own bowls with a knife. Masae always ate this favorite food when she was growing up in Japan, but... she had completely forgotten about it. At the thought of feeding it to her children for the first time, a suffocating pain filled her heart. Masae quietly got up and went outside to cry.

No one knew that the Castella box that Kim Yeon-gyu took would divide Dong-shin's fate like that. Masae left for Japan, and Dong-shin's disciple Yeon-gyu married Dong-shin. They got married in a sacramental wedding at a church in 1965. None of their relatives attended their wedding. That day was two years after Dong-shin sent Masae and the children to Japan. On the other hand, Yeon-gyu and Masae had a long talk before Masae left for Japan.

It was about Masae's return to Japan. Masae wanted to ask Yeon-gyu for help more than anyone else in preparing for her departure. She needed the most reliable guarantor because of the passport and visa issues, and because the children were all Korean citizens. Yeon-gyu asked Yeon-gyu's older brother Kim Woong-yong, who lived in Japan, to introduce her to a travel agency that would handle everything Masae and the children needed for their departure from Korea and entry into Japan. Yeon-gyu decided to take care of all the costs and procedures as Masae asked, and he kept his promise. And the people close to him were greatly shocked and impressed by the fact that Yeon-gyu, who had helped Masae and Dong-shin break up, ended up marrying Dong-shin.

Yeon-gyu quit his job after getting married. And like Dong-shin, he decided to open a private piano studio so that he could practice piano freely without being tied down by work. He first got a small house and set up a studio for Dong-shin and set up his own piano studio next to it. However, Yeon-gyu’s piano studio quickly grew in number of students and had to move to a larger place. When he heard that a piano studio taught by a graduate of a prestigious university in Seoul had opened, all the rich kids in Gwangju rushed to Yeon-gyu, and the number of students increased rapidly. Then Yeon-gyu got a Japanese-style house with a larger space for piano lessons and Dong-shin got a larger studio space for painting. The entire interior was about 60 pyeong, with a hallway running down the middle, three rooms on one side, and all the doors leading into the hallway. On the other side of the hallway, there was a large ondol room connected to the kitchen, two tatami rooms with four-panel sliding doors, and an “L” shaped room connecting to another room of the same size across the hallway on the other side. At the end of the opposite room was a bathroom and toilet, and outside was a garden with camellia, pine, and paulownia trees growing. At the edge of the garden, a small pond led to a moderately large yard. Dongshin had been working in shabby spaces for so long, so it felt like a dream to have his own neat workspace for the first time.

Students taught by Yeon-gyu were accepted to prestigious universities and art high schools in Seoul and won prizes in many competitions. In addition, Yeon-gyu’s parents wanted to buy Dong-shin’s works, and high-priced transactions took place. The number of students at Yeon-gyu exceeded 150. The number of pianos increased to three, and Dong-shin became increasingly famous as a painter.

One day, Dong-shin received a call from the police station. An old woman had filed a complaint against him. They told me to take a copy of the family register and come to the police station for an investigation. When he got to the police station, a detective knew that he was a famous painter, so he politely greeted him and offered him a chair. The person who filed the complaint was Cheon Ok-hee, and he asked if she was his mother. She kept coming without a copy of her family register and making a fuss, so he had no choice but to ask Mr. Bae to come check. He said that she seemed like an old woman with a stray mind. Dong-shin’s self-esteem suddenly collapsed and he was at a loss. She was my biological mother. The detective looked at Dong-shin with a surprised expression. “My son doesn’t serve his mother,” he said, and filed the complaint. Dong-shin left the police station. He had an appointment to meet Su-ha (Yang Su-ha) today. On any other day, he would have been talking about art and painting, but he didn’t say anything in front of Yang Su-ah, his classmate from his time studying abroad in Japan. Suha touched Dongshin. Oh my!!.. It seems like he has lost all his strength!!. Dongshin talked to Suha, who was his most honest classmate, about what happened today. Suha looked at Dongshin and said. Somehow, it seems like today is a different story, but I think that it is more important than anything else! Dongshin tried to appease his upset stomach by drinking alcohol with Suha. When Dongshin came home, he told Yeongyu the story of Cheon Ok-hee's mother while drunk. He whined and collapsed, saying that his son was trying to become famous and that she was trying to embarrass him in front of the neighborhood. Yeongyu went to the police station the next day. He asked for Cheon Ok-hee's mother's address, so he went to her house. When he introduced himself as Dongshin's wife and greeted her, Cheon Ok-hee held Yeongyu's hand and cried loudly. "Honey, that bastard's son brought his wife and children from Japan, so I took him in. For three years, she lived well in my arms, but then she went out and suffered like crazy, saying she wanted to live on her own. I heard a rumor that she got married and lived well. Now I’m old and weak. Shouldn’t she find this mother and take care of her, whether she likes it or not? Oh my life!!. She held Yeon-gyu’s hand for a long time, talking about the turbulent times she had lived through, and wouldn’t let go. Yeon-gyu gave Cheon Ok-hee money as much as he could that day and said, “Mother, get ready to move. I’ll come back to pick you up in a few days.” and they parted ways. A few days later, Yeon-gyu admitted Dong-shin’s mother, Cheon Ok-hee, to a private nursing home and visited her every month until she passed away. Years passed and Cheon Ok-hee’s health deteriorated and she was transferred to the hospital, and Dong-shin’s mother, Cheon Ok-hee, passed away. Dong-shin sat in front of his mother’s corpse, reminiscing about the events of the past and shedding tears.

Dongshin believed that he had to build a castle of "Dongshinism" that would not be swayed by any trend of the times. When he discovered that his image had become mixed up with evil foreign substances in Dongshinism, he would destroy the works he had drawn as if he were performing a desperate confession ritual like a monk's repentance. He had to break away into a new, unique image. I don't need anything floating around in the world. I have to let you hear what I'm talking about. I will show you who I am. Dongshin was busy establishing his own painting style. When he got tired of wandering around in his own agony, he would sometimes meet friends who he could understand and have a drink with and discuss art.

At that time, Oh Ji-ho, Bae Dong-shin, Kang Yong-un, Yang Su-ah, etc. left a special history of art culture in Gwangju, the center of the southern region, with their conflicting opinions on abstraction and figuration. The debate was so fierce that it often escalated into violence in the excited audience of Yang Jin-yeong. At that time, several bars in Gwangju would become heated arguments like a blast furnace as soon as they entered, and the content of the debate was reported in detail. Intellectuals at the time who read the newspapers would gather at the bars they appeared in, and without realizing that it was late at night, they would gather together and play along, or they would take sides and argue fiercely, creating a cultural scene. And some of them would sometimes gather at Dong-shin's house late at night, unable to calm down.

When three or four drunkards suddenly follow Dongshin into his house across the street from the wall of Gwangju Girls' High School in Jang-dong, Gwangju, a large table is set up in Dongshin's tatami room, glasses of soju and beer are placed, and simple food and one or two bottles of alcohol are added. Slowly, food is served and side dishes are placed one by one on the alcohol table.

The group that followed Dongshin to his house were famous drinking painters in Gwangju, including Choi Yong-gap, Son Dong, and Jo Gyu-il, and were mostly members of Hwangtohoe, but countless others came and went without a single moment. Not only painters, but also artists, poets, writers, and reporters who had come from Seoul or other regions to work, would come together and have a drinking party where they would talk, sing, and dance for several days. On days when Dongshin brought guests into his house like this and had a drinking party, Yeon-gyu would call the kitchen staff to look after the food. One day, a police officer from the neighborhood police station would come with two large bottles of alcohol and ask them not to go out to buy alcohol or hang out after 10 p.m. on that day. On such days, the highest-ranking person in the central government came, so the jurisdiction would manage it so that no big fuss would occur at Dongshin’s house, which was the noisiest in the neighborhood.

Dongshin's house was a place where artists often gathered and was therefore subject to surveillance. The world in the 1960s was not free at the time.

After making a scene until he collapses, Dongshin abstains from alcohol for a few days to cleanse his body of alcohol in order to paint, and goes on a hike or meditation to cleanse his body and mind. Then he goes into his studio, sets up his easel, and places his canvas on it.

For days, he continues to be absorbed in drawing and croquis. And after squeezing watercolor paints by color onto the palette, he stands around for a long time, waiting for something to happen. What is he waiting for? Then, he starts swearing and yelling somewhere. "Eww!! You bastards!! I can't eat anything because of the loud piano sound that's going to be eaten up! Get out of here and get out!!" In an instant, Yeon-gyu sends all the students he was teaching home. That day, silence falls over the piano school. Strangely enough, but fortunately, the parents of the students who were learning piano from Yeon-gyu at the time did not complain at all. Perhaps it was because the warmhearted people of Gwangju, the center of the southern provinces at the time, valued the artistic spirit of Yeon-gyu and Dong-shin. After marrying Yeon-gyu, Dong-shin's life was like that of a king. Dongshin did nothing but draw pictures, and spent his time meeting many people outside, drinking, singing, and dancing. Then, as if that wasn't enough, he would bring his followers to his house, and after receiving a feast prepared by Yeongyu, he would drink and dance and dance until he was exhausted and collapsed. Someone who often came to Dongshin's house and got drunk told Dongshin. Mr. Bae always lives like this, so if you could tell me how to do it, I would be grateful. Dongshin answered in a drunken voice, shouting without hesitation. Hahahaha. There are a few black chests in my house, and if you hit them randomly, money comes out and blows up. My wife uses them to blow money. Huh. Hehehehe. Everyone looked at each other, burst into laughter, and drank again. Yeon-gyu was worried that Dong-shin might have liver problems and damage his health, so he ordered a book on family medicine from Japan and studied it, while researching the food to feed Dong-shin. The dishes cooked in this way were always on Dongshin’s banquet table, of course. Yeon-gyu invited all the members of various gatherings where Dongshin was involved to his home and held a feast with the dishes he had developed for Dongshin. In addition, it was equipped with cooking utensils such as electric ovens, which were not found in ordinary homes at the time, and kitchen utensils for easy cooking. And she left the housekeepers to buy food ingredients and run errands, and she cooked the food herself. Yeon-gyu taught piano to students, but at the same time, he sang with Dong-shin during drinking parties and sang songs that matched the dance moves when Dong-shin danced. The drunk people who were there also enjoyed it very much. Lee Dong-bong, Dong-shin's friend and prosecutor at the time, said he loved Dong-shin for his integrity. He was said to be an artist who enjoys poverty, with no material desires or interest in fame. Yeon-gyu wanted to present Dongshin to the world as an artist.

Dongshin's personality was very cheerful and sociable when he was with many people. He also expressed his opinions without hesitation. As a result, there were many cases where he would violently reveal his unpleasant inner self after drinking a glass of alcohol. Poet Ko Eun visited Dongshin's house while traveling in the southern provinces and was interested in Dongshin's lifestyle. When he heard that Dongshin was attending a gathering, he went to the gathering with him and witnessed Dongshin's absurd behavior. He wrote about that day in his essay collection. That day, the painters who worked with Dongshin got together to decide on a name for the gathering. He wrote in his essay that he was the one who overturned the table because they said that 25 people would gather and that they should call it the Namdohoe, but Dongshin said that they would not call it the 25-person gathering.

This extreme personality of Dong-shin clashed with Yeon-gyu a lot. When they fought in the early days of their marriage, the furniture in the house immediately became a mess. Yeon-gyu also did not sit still and endure Dong-shin’s unreasonable provocations. That is why the disadvantages of Dong-shin’s extremely emotional misdeeds did not affect Yeon-gyu. However, Yeon-gyu gradually came to understand and embrace Dong-shin. In other words, he knew that Dong-shin’s memory of distrust from the sudden change in his parents’ attitudes during his childhood would react with extreme nervousness the moment it clashed with his frustration. Yeon-gyu realized that Dong-shin’s such phenomenon could only occur when someone like his mother, whom he trusted the most, was present. Dong-shin had a wife who had such a deep understanding of him. Yeon-gyu truly loved Dong-shin, and her care was the greatest treasure to Dong-shin.

But on the other hand, Yeon-gyu was always worried about the children being affected by Dong-shin's personality. Masae and the five children had already returned to Japan, but they were deeply hurt. Yeon-gyu and Masae sometimes talked on the phone. Dong-shin's second son, "Un," refused to become a naturalized Japanese citizen and joined the Red Army, a political opposition group in Japan. The eldest, "Yong," was receiving psychiatric treatment and had difficulty telling whether he was in Korea or Japan, and was looking for his father, asking where he was. So they decided to send him to Korea for a while as soon as he got better. The third son, "Myeong-ja," said that he often cried because he missed his father.

Meanwhile, when Masae left Korea and entered the country through Haneda Airport in Japan, seven of Dongshin's paintings that he took with him in his bag were caught at the airport security checkpoint. The on-site airport investigation team investigated and confirmed that the paintings were paintings by Bae Dongshin, a regular member of the Japan Free Art Association, and that Masae was Dongshin's wife. The process was covered and reported by NHK reporters who were at the airport. And the Japanese art gallery community responded enthusiastically to the works. So, the fact was also cited and reported in Korea.

Masae, who chose the future of his children and left Korea, always tried to create opportunities for Dongshin's success as a close friend of Dongshin and as a father to his children. That was to make it possible for Dongshin to hold an exhibition in Japan, where he and Dongshin met.

And finally, he delivered the news that he had received an invitation from the Japanese art world. Masae asked him through Yeongyu to devote himself to painting in Korea.

And in Japan, all of the art supplies, including paints and paper, that Dongshin would use were sent as products from "Holben," the world's best professional company at the time.

Indeed, while Dong-shin's status as a painter was the best thanks to the support he received from his two wives in Japan and Korea, his appearance as a husband and father was truly that of a male lion in the lion family that appears in the animal kingdom on TV.

Yeon-gyu has a daughter. Her father, Kim Hyung-ju, married Yeon-gyu off to the Jang family after graduating from college, but they divorced a few months after having a child and returned to their parents' house to have a daughter. The daughter's name is "Ryeong." Yeon-gyu's mother, Go Myeong-ju, raised Yeon-gyu, but after marrying Dong-shin, she gave her Dong-shin's surname. When Yeon-gyu's daughter Bae-ryeong was less than a year old, the Korean War broke out and it was during that time. A shell exploded near Yeon-gyu, startling her and causing her to faint. After that, as she grew up, she showed signs of autism and was diagnosed with mental retardation. Yeon-gyu always had to worry about her daughter's safety. And in the early days of their marriage because they loved each other, he was always on edge trying to protect Yeon-gyu from Dong-shin. However, Dong-shin would always protect Yeon-gyu from Dong-shin whenever Yeon-gyu made a mistake, and comforted Yeon-gyu. Yeon-gyu found it amazing that Dong-shin also had a special personality for the weak, showing such special consideration for the spirits of the same people.

In October 1970, Yong landed at Gimpo Airport. He had come to see his father, Dong-shin. In the meantime, his family’s life in Japan had improved a lot. Yong cried when he saw his father. Dong-shin also cried. Dong-shin was 50 years old and Yong was 27 years old. It was the first reunion in seven years with his eldest son, who had left Korea at the age of 20 and returned to Japan. While patting his grown son Yong’s head, Dong-shin thought of the faces of Masae and his children whom he had sent away to Japan, one by one, and asked how they were doing. Dong-shin tried hard to hold back tears when he heard that they all missed their father, Dong-shin. Yong bowed deeply to his mother, Yeon-gyu, in Korea. He repeated “Thank you, mother, thank you” several times and gave her the letter and gift he had sent from Masae. Yeon-gyu held Yong’s hand and shed tears of relief, saying that everything was fine. He also greeted his younger siblings, Yeong, Han-seong, and Gyeong-ja, in Korea.

Dongshin asked Yong specifically about Yun's news. Yun's second son Yun entered North Korea. In March of that year, he hijacked a Japanese passenger plane, JAL, and defected to North Korea, so Dongshin was investigated by the authorities. However, the ideology of the Red Army Faction that Yun belonged to did not fall under the category of political crimes in South Korea, an anti-communist country, and Dongshin's art was not ideologically biased, so he was safe. However, Yun, who went to the North, rejected the North Korean system, so his life in North Korea was miserable. He said he worked at the so-called Aoji Coal Mine.

So, Dongshin and Masae continued to send money and supplies to Yun through the North Korean authorities of Chongryon in Japan.

On the day Yong-i returned, Dong-shin and Yeon-gyu saw him off together to Gimpo. Dong-shin's heart was filled with sad memories of that day when he sent Masae and the children off.

Masae's nickname unknowingly leaked out of Dongshin's mouth as he watched the dragon enter the boarding zone, clutching his chest, which felt the pain of being split. Ma-chan... Ma-chan, as if moaning, came out several times without realizing it. The female employee at the airport, who saw Dong-shin's expression, wiped away tears without knowing what was going on. After that, Yong came to Korea every year to see Dong-shin and relayed news from Japan.

Dong-shin's heart became much lighter, and Yeon-gyu bought a house with large windows on the second floor for Dong-shin. He also made the entire second floor into Dong-shin's studio, and piano lessons could be held on the lower floor. He also bought a 60-pyeong apartment in Yeouido, Seoul.

And Dong-shin was rising as a big name in the Korean art world thanks to Yeon-gyu’s passionate support and encouragement. In Gwangju, he was elected as a member of the Hwangtohoe and Jeollanam-do judging committee, Jeollanam-do Cultural Award winner, and president of the Watercolor Artists Association. In Seoul, he was invited to the Gusan Exhibition, an association of the best Korean painters of the time, and became a regular member. The Gusan Exhibition featured Park Go-seok, Jang I-seok, Hwang Yu-yeop, Choi Yeong-rim, Park Hang-seop, Jeon Hyeok-rim, and Park Seok-ho. And finally, Bae Dong-shin’s watercolor solo exhibition was held at the Seoul Newspaper Center (Press Center) Gallery. It was the 20th solo exhibition on June 19, 1973. There was a pre-event for the exhibition. All of his close artist friends were amazed in front of his works. Dong-shin’s works were a clear and clean lump of volume, that was Dong-shin’s inner curve, watercolors sparkling like jewels in the gaps of the vast world of figurative and abstract forms, and Dong-shin’s appearances, which no one else resembled, were hung on the walls of the gallery one by one. Bae Dong-shin, who was poor, sick, and on the verge of collapse, miraculously returned alive. He overcame hardships and adversities and brought a watercolor painting craze to the Korean art world. During the exhibition, a man named Hesi visited the American embassy and said that Dong-shin was a world-class genius. Afterwards, the American embassy proposed an exhibition of Dong-shin in the United States. Lee Kyung-sung, the father of Korean art criticism, wrote an article in Shindonga titled, “Bae Dong-shin is a painter who is like a wedge in the Korean art world.”

The following year, in the spring of 1974, Dongshin was feeling something while gazing toward Mt. Mudeung from his studio on the second floor. Yeongyu shouted from downstairs, holding a letter and climbing the stairs. “Honey, I got a letter from Japan.” He handed it to Dongshin, saying that it was surprising news. An exhibition invitation had arrived from the Tokyo Art Gallery in Japan. Dongshin had been called from Tokyo, where he had studied. Dongshin’s exhibition schedule was set for September. On August 15th of that year, gunshots rang out during the Liberation Day ceremony, and Ms. Yuk Young-soo collapsed. It was the day Dongshin was supposed to leave for Japan. Dongshin left for Japan the next day. Yeongyu thought as he sent Dongshin off.

I will be able to meet Masae in Japan and see all the children's faces! Life is truly unpredictable, but Dongshin thought that this was the way to untangle his tangled knot, and watched the plane Dongshin was on take off.

While Dong-shin was preparing for an exhibition in Japan, he met all of his Japanese family members at the hotel where he was staying. They all cried together. At first, Myeong-ja was angry at her father for abandoning his family and said harsh words to him. However, she decided to forgive him. She hugged Hwa-ja and Du-seong. Even though everyone was gathered, the invisible figure of Woon became clearer in Dong-shin’s mind. Yong quietly left Dong-shin and Masae alone and left with his brothers. Is this what they mean when they say, “I have no more regrets.”? Oh, what had happened in the meantime? She came to Japan to study painting, met Watanabe Masae, fell in love, was happy, had five children, was poor, suffered, broke up, was frustrated, met again, reconciled, and finally! It was a sad story. The true nature of life was not in reality. It was in each person’s thoughts and hearts.

The Bae Dong-shin watercolor exhibition opened at the Japanese Artist Gallery. Japanese art figures, embassy officials, affiliated reporters, and Japanese cultural reporters flocked in and exclaimed in admiration. They all exclaimed in unison, “Wow! It’s big, heavy, bold, and truly a creation.” Japanese painters also murmured, “We’ve never seen such watercolors in Japan,” according to “Yoon Tak,” the cultural officer at the embassy at the time. “Hu Hai Sho,” the president of the Japan Watercolor Association, said that he had been waiting for this day after seeing the self-portrait on the invitation you sent him, and that he was moved by each and every one of the exquisite works, just as he had expected that world-class watercolors would be exhibited. The next day, the exhibition hall was packed with visitors, shoulders touching shoulders. The next day, even more people came in. In front of the paintings in the exhibition hall, sighs of emotion could be heard here and there from the visitors. It was truly a melting pot of excitement. On the last day, someone from the Japanese imperial family came to visit Dong-shin. All the paintings were sold. Dongshin clearly defined the paintings that should be sold and those that should not be sold, and put them into practice. He also made a separate list of exhibitions to be held at the second Japanese large-scale gallery, and made thorough preparations for the exhibition. In many ways, Dongshin’s Japanese exhibition was a great success.

The day Dongshin first gave Masae the money he earned from selling his paintings, Dongshin felt like he had everything in the world. It was the day he had been waiting and waiting for.

Dong-shin returned to Korea in high spirits. Dong-shin's paintings were included in the national textbooks of the time. And every year, he was invited to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to exhibit his works. In addition, Dong-shin's works were displayed in numerous major exhibitions. As Dong-shin's watercolors impressed many people, a watercolor craze swept through the Korean art world. Painters who had been painting oils began to paint watercolors, and watercolor exhibitions were held everywhere. The "Watercolor Artist Exhibition" was created to gather famous painters to hold watercolor exhibitions, and the "Korean Watercolor Association" was founded. In 2000, the Korean government recognized Dong-shin as a world-class painter who contributed to the development of regional art culture and expanded watercolor as a genre of art, and awarded him the "Republic of Korea Cultural Medal."

After the Japanese exhibition, Dongshin lived in Yeouido, Seoul for 10 years and worked as a central painter in the central art circle. Then, in 1989, he urged his wife Yeongyu to move to Yeosu. Yeongyu initially opposed Dongshin’s idea of ​​abruptly giving up life in Seoul, but eventually decided to follow Dongshin. With Yeongyu’s concession, Dongshin eventually returned to Yeosu, the southern province where he had worked at a herbal medicine shop with his father when he was young and had decided to study abroad in Japan.

He thought of his work in Yeosu as the last battleground where he would exert all his abilities as a painter. He thought it was a place where he could try to model the sea of ​​Dongshin’s unique forms. Mt. Mudeung in Gwangju, Mt. Geumjeong in Naju, the port of Mokpo, the sea and shipyard of Yeosu, and Dongshin’s exclusive model Yeongyu are also women of the southern provinces. Dongshin also grew up receiving the scenery of the southern provinces, and he returned to his hometown of the southern provinces because he felt that his image should be established somewhere in the southern provinces. In an apartment with a view of Odongdo Island on one side and a dock on the other, Dongshin thought about his work while listening to Chopin’s piano pieces that Yeongyu enjoyed playing. The painting he had to draw this time was to float the heavy Mt. Mudeung that he had drawn before on the sea. The small boat in the sea in front of Yeosu is not a small boat, but Mt. Mudeung and Mt. Geumjeong that contain the weight of my life, and the soft curves and voluptuous volume of the nude. Just as the shining clouds floating in the southern sky become one with the waves rising above the sea, the sea of ​​shapes in my paintings will be born as my own paintings that express the meaning of my soul one by one. Dongshin considered each work as a series of experiments. He restrained the harmony and beauty visible to the naked eye, and reconstructed the balance and beauty of the broken structure from a completely different angle.

As large brushstrokes soaked in water pass quickly from side to side on the paper, making a swoosh sound, pure water color flows in drops on the white background. After a while, a fishing boat floating on the sea off Yeosu appears on the ground that has become thicker and wet. The intense light hitting the deck sends a dazzling blue signal, and Dongshin instantly draws a curve of pure blue. As if time stops for a moment, the splendor that gradually spreads elegantly on the white background settles down to the shape of a bow.

Then, the fixed shapes spread out here and there, each with their own vitality. The land scenery that unfolds along the coastline with ships, sea, and sky harbors. When the pouring scenery of the southern provinces flows along Dong-shin’s gaze and stops, a single Dong-shin painting on the canvas is completed. The painting that is drawn is not that beautiful, nor is it well-matched and organized. It is an awkward, formless scratch of the brush without any outstanding dexterity. Dong-shin simply drew them in his work. He colored the dots, lines, and planes and used the space to fascinatingly mix his emotions. In this way, the essence of Bae Dong-shin’s paintings is the simplicity of the beginning.

Dongshin tasted a sip of seaweed soup that Yeongyu had fed him at 3:00 PM on December 9, 2008, under the warm winter sun of Namdo. Then, he breathed his last as if he was enjoying a comfortable drink.

Masae passed away in 1999, and Yeongyu Dongshin passed away on December 1, 2014, seven years after his death.