Calligraphy Scholarship In the year he became 40, Son Dong-Jun decided to study in China. He considered this carefully until the last moment as he told his family about going to China only ten days before leaving. At that time, his mother was in a hospital ICU so he left for China with only 500 dollars after giving money to his brother for his mother’s medical bill. Eventually in October of that year, when he was in China, his mother passed away. His efforts through suffering and desperation became the foundation that made Son Dong-Jun the first Ph.D. student to receive the Chinese government calligraphy scholarship.

Currently, he is living in an artist village in Panjin City in Liaoning Province as the only foreign resident artist. This artist village, which is located in the downtown area of Panjin City, offers studios and apartments to 100 artists who have been chosen from throughout China. Also it is a multi-cultural complex of about ten hectares, with exhibition space and various cultural facilities. When Son was moving into this residence, a graduation picture with Ouyang Zhongshi was a crucial sign for people to trust him. His studio-cum-gallery became a tourist attraction where many famous people, representative of Liaoning Province, come to visit.

The Il-Jung Calligraphy Award was established to commemorate Master IlJung’s spirit of calligraphy. The Il-Jung Commemoration Association selects one elder calligrapher (Il-Jung Calligraphy Prize) and one young calligrapher (Il-jung Calligraphy Excellent Artist Prize) every two years and supports invitation exhibitions for the winners. The artist Son Bul-Ae also commented that “receiving the most prestigious prize in the Korean calligraphy field is the highest honor that has been given to me in my life of calligraphy.”

“I focused on the possibility of an exhibition which gives the pleasure of seeing and the enjoyment of the process of feeling instead of giving the burden of reading the calligraphy works like at normal calligraphy exhibitions. For this purpose, these works emphasize the visual effects and the three-dimensional effects of the strokes. In the formative construction, I tried to not be restricted to conventional structures and the use of brushes. Ultimately this exhibition can be said to be a process of exploring a way of overcoming the conventional idea that calligraphy should be done with “the four treasures:” brush, paper, ink-stick, and ink-stone.”

“The most urgent problems in the Korean calligraphy field is to find the identity of calligraphy in Korean society. Indeed is calligraphy an unnecessary art genre in Korea? I think not. Many members of our society still trust and respect calligraphers and there are many enthusiasts who want to learn calligraphy. I believe that there is a higher possibility of the development of market demand for calligraphy than for the conventional art market which is struggling in recession. Therefore one of the most urgent things to do is to expand mediating channels with actions like fostering professional curators of calligraphy. Of course before this, calligraphers, themselves, should make creative efforts to constantly lead new trends as well as respect the innate essence of tradition.”

△Kim Yoon-Sup(Chief of Korean Arts Management Institute and Ph.D. in art history)

◇SON DONG JUN

▲Born in Seoul of ROK in January 1971 ▲Educational background=△In 1998 graduated from Calligraphy Art Department of Wonkwang University and obtained Bachelor of Calligraphy Art. △In 2002 graduated from Painting Art Department of Traditional Art College of Kyonggi University and obtained Master of Fine Arts. △In 2003 studied in Zhejiang University in China. In 2007 obtained PhD degree in Confucian Classics Department of Sungkyunkwan University. △In 2014 graduated from The Research Institute of the Culture of Calligraphy of China of Capital Normal University and obtained Doctor of Fine Arts, tutored by Ouyang Zhongshi (first Chinese government calligraphy art award winner)

▲Honors and awards=△In 1991 2nd prize of 6th round of National Calligraphy Art Conference △In 2001 1st prize of 1st round of Seoul Calligraphy Art Exhibition △In 2002 1st prize of 2nd round of ROK Internet Calligraphy Art Exhibition △In 2004 1st prize of 1st round of ROK Calligraphy Art Exhibition △In 2004 1st prize of 17th round of ROK Calligraphy Art Exhibition △In 2005 his works were exhibited twice in East Asia Fine Arts Exhibition △In 2016 Il-Jung Calligraphy, Outstanding Calligrapher Award in ROK.

▲Personal exhibitions and invitation exhibitions at home and abroad=In 2016 11th, "Flowers Fall, Leaving Fragrance" (Baegak Art Gallery, Seoul, ROK) △In 2014 10th, "Trans-boundary" (Guanyingshanfang Art Collection Museum, Beijing, China) △In 2005 2nd, "Strange Bedfellows" (Yanhuang Art Museum, Beijing, China) △In 2005, 1st, "Diminishing Orientation", (Baegak Art Gallery, Seoul, ROK) ect.