1851’s Chungin Tongchung Movement and the Court Painter Group’s Reactions in Korea

In late Joseon era, the chungin, who resided in capital Hanyang for generations as neither aristocrat nor commoner, formed a social class. Despite their important roles as experts in various fields of the cental government. the rigid status hierarchy made it impossible for them to get a high-ranking government official positions. In 1851, the chungin class including the court painter group began to start a movement for rise of status. Concentrating on the court painter group members’ different attitudes toward the movement, this study argues that the study of Korean art history needs to focus on the chungin court painters and reevaluate their new artistic experiments. The chungin court painter group can be divided into two categories. One was that of court painters without high reputations as artists, who were enthusiastic at the movement. The other was those isolated painters with high esteem as a painter. Relatively passive to Tongchung Movement, these painters projected their status consciousness onto their works through artistic experiments, sometimes satirizing Yangban class. The contemporary study of Korean art history has tended to ignore the experimental works of these painters, which contributed to the new genre of popular culture in Korea. Now is the time to focus on their works and reevaluate their artistic experiments.