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Busan City Completes Preservation and Restoration of Late Artist Chun Hyuk-lim’s “Korean Scenery”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it has completed the preservation and restoration of “Korean Scenery,” a large-scale painting by the late Chun Hyuk-lim (1916–2010), which represents the spirit of Busan City Hall.

○ Created in 1998 to commemorate the opening of the City Hall building, the artwork spans both sides of the Citizens’ Hall walls across three floors and is composed of 28 individual panels.

Due to long-term exposure to indoor temperature and humidity changes, the artwork had suffered surface contamination and damage to the paint layers. As such, since 2024, the City has undertaken comprehensive preservation and restoration work to ensure stable maintenance of the piece and allow continued public appreciation.

○ Unlike museum environments that maintain stable temperature and humidity conditions, “Korean Scenery” had been exposed to environmental fluctuations and direct sunlight for extended periods, resulting in surface dirt, flaking paint layers, and separation between canvas segments.

In 2024, Busan completed restoration of the 16 panels (each 5m×2.5m, total width 20m, height 10m) on the wall opposite the Media Art Zone. This year (2025), restoration work was completed for the remaining 12 panels (each 2.7m×4m, total width 10.8m, height 12m) exhibited in Deullak Nallak, a cultural space for children.

○ This comprehensive preservation and restoration project for a large-scale painting is rare even on a national level.

○ According to experts involved in the project, the paint layers and canvas fabrics have aged relatively stably. Restoration procedures focused on removing surface and reverse-side contaminants, stabilizing paint flaking and cracks, and repairing holes and tears observed on canvas edges to recover the artwork as closely as possible to its original form.

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“Korean Scenery” is an oil painting titled as a “Compendium of Korean Folk Paintings.” It incorporates traditional symbols such as clouds, wind, moon, sun, waves, and mountains—elements of the Sipjangsaeng (Ten Symbols of Longevity)—and combines traditional iconography and calligraphy with semi-abstract modern expressions.

○ This grand work was created by Chun Hyuk-lim at the age of 84, encapsulating his artistic spirit. It is praised for its powerful Obangsaek color palette, freeform shapes, and distinctive Korean aesthetic.

○ The work abstractly portrays the sea, the port city of Busan, and everyday Korean life. More than a mere artwork, it is considered a symbolic asset of Busan City Hall and a monumental example of modern public art. As a piece encountered daily by citizens and visitors alike, it holds special significance as accessible public art.

Mayor Park Heong-joon remarked, “This preservation and restoration project will greatly help safeguard and expand the artistic and historical significance of this masterpiece for future generations.” He added, “We will continue to foster Busan City Hall as an open cultural space that enhances the city's artistic stature and instills cultural pride in our citizens.”